UK Landlord Forum / Life

Hello
I installed a new Maia Worktop in October 2014. Cost £1095 + £450 labour.
This is a solid surface and was guaranteeed for 10 years (warranty) but could have lasted much longer.

Tenant burnt it and cracked it in 2 places.

Only way to fix this is replace the half of worktop. Cost would be in the region of £450 for the material and probably £200-300 labour.

The agency thinks I cannot claim out of the deposit. I wonder if I decided to contest this with TDS - how much could I be entitled to?
Ideally I want at least £700 / £750 to repair the piece. It was in perfect condition and only 2 years old when the tenants moved in. They have been in there 2.5 years and they just moved out which is when I found the 2 large cracks.
The total deposit I have is £1950 ... there are other things they have broken (oven glass, lots of holes in the wall)

Thanks for your advice.

Kind regards
Massi

Try to obtain agreement from the Tenant through reasonableness. Try to avoid going through the Deposit Scheme's resolution service. You're unlikely to be pleased with the result. One question to ask is - does it still function as a worktop? The answer could be "yes" even though it's not aesthetically pleasing. You are also not entitled to replace old with new. You said it has a warranty of 10 years and is almost 5 years old... depreciation rules men the maximum you could claim is ~50% of the cost. That said, what does the warranty state? If the warranty cannot assist that is good ammunition to prove the damage was way beyond fair wear and tear.

Is the Tenant minded to be reasonable?

Take your Agent out of the equation, they're not being helpful. Probably confused as to who they're working for, as so many are. Whether you could claim the expected lifetime is even longer then 10 years would be debatable. Don't rely on the Deposit Scheme to fight your corner.