UK Landlord Forum / Life

Last saturday I got a phone call from my tennant to tell me that they had water dripping through the ceiling in the dining room. So I rang a plumber to go sort it out (1st mistake).Later in the day I rang plumber(2nd mistake) to find what was wrong, who very curtiously didnt ring back till monday morning and then told me there has not been a leak but my tenants have been having showers and letting the water flood over the bathroom floor on a daily basis for months hence the bathroom floor now has to be replaced(chipboard has broken up, yes broken up, thats how wet it has been). The basin and shower tray will have to be removed to sort the floor out as well as some of the tiles arround the tray and then we have to replace some of the dining room ceiling and then reskim the rest to match it up(original is artex, bloody typical). I then spoke to my letting agent(3rd mistake) who told me that I shold ring my insurance up to claim from them as my agent has no power to deal with the dumbness of tennants.Next stop ring the insurance company (4th mistake) who informed me they dont insure against stupidity. next stop was to try to sort out the mess so got a plumber who could go the next day then I rang the tennant at 11 o clock (5th mistake) who told me he would ring me back to confirm that it would be ok to go in the next day.9 hours later the plumber has found himself another job by this time ,the tennant rings back to say its ok to go in, He couldent ring back as he was out on the town with his mates.   What I would like to know is do I have any way of recovering the money which I will have to spend to sort this out Does anyone have any advise and yes I have thought of evicting them but I would like to recover the money first. Thanks or reading

Hello Fluke,

Sorry to hear of your problems.  Yes, you do have a way of recovering the money: It's your damage deposit, that's why you collected it up front.  But you can't recover from it before the tenant vacates.  When the tenant vacates, this damage is one of the items you deduct for.  As you'll have rectified prior to vacation, you may want to do a few precautionary things: Get your plumber to provide written advice as to it being tenant mis-use.  Send a letter to the tenants stating you will fix the damage but consider it their fault.  Get some photos of it looking at its worst.

If I were in your position, I think I would also replace the floor with solid wooden floor boards, even though it will be more expensive than replacing in chipboard (you can only reclaim from the deposit to replace as good as you originally had).  Floorboards can endure / recover from this absue much better than chipboard.  I'd also lay a vinyl floor, which will give you a waterproof floor covering.  I'm guessing you've got carpets in at the moment.

Lastly, I'd be thinking about the shower.  Is this the kind of shower where you really have to be a muppet to get the floor wet (like an enclosed shower cubicle) or is it the kind of shower where spillage is much easier (like a shower curtain over a bath).  If it's the latter, do you have any scope to improve things, like installing a glass shower panel down the side of the bath?

If you are determined to evict the tenant for this, check out the blog pages about different eviction notices.  An "at fault" notice will not guarantee you a smooth ride through the courts.  Think carefully before donating a part of your life to it.  It may be easier upon your stress levels and bank balance to let the remaining tenancy period run its course and then walk away at the end of the tenancy.  Have you tried talking to the tenant: Putting over your point of view that you're disapointed they's looked after the bathroom so badly?

I hope this helps you: Let us know what you decide to do and how it turns out.