UK Landlord Forum / Life

Hello,

My wife and I live in a small 750pcm apartment in Milton Keynes and have been here for just over 2 years. 

We managed to put a hole in the kitchen door because my wife's pushbike fell over and that small amount of force caused the handle to go straight through the door.  When we examined the hole, we realised that the kitchen door isn't really made of solid wood, but more of a cardboard-like 'woodgrain' material.  When we looked online, the very same door we had was retailed for £25-£30 on B&Q.

Naturally we offered to replace the door - as long as everything is as per the inventory when we move out, then all should be well, we thought.

We subsequently had an email response from our letting agents saying that the landlord wanted to select his own contractor and that we would need to cover the invoice.  We didn't have any choice but to agree, and we had initially expected that the final figure would not be far from what we had calculated. 

As it happens, we have a fairly high end carpenter in the family who charges a flat rate of £85 per door plus materials, so we expected a quote in the region of £115.

So to cut to the chase - we have now been quoted £200 for the door to be replaced.  The carpenter was here for an hour max, meanwhile we observed that the new replacement door was identical to the one we'd damaged - available for £25-30 from B&Q.  So that means £170 labour? I don't think so.

Even if he'd bought two of the same doors, totalling £50, that would mean he is charging us £150 per hour labour? 

We complained to the letting agents saying that this is way overpriced and that we should have been given the opportunity to shop for quotes, but the lettings agent responded that the Landlord wanted to select their own contractor and their decision is final.

I don't see how this is fair, and I know that the law states that any costs charged to the tenant must be 'reasonable' - however that is defined.

In this scenario what's to stop them from charging us whatever they please, just because they "want to select their own contractor".  They could select a contractor that charges £300 to replace the door and then we have to pay for it because they say so.  Simply seems way out of order.

Anything we can do?

Anything you can do? Well, this may sound harsh, but you can learn from the experience.

You understand correctly that it is your responsibility to leave the property in the same state as when you took it on, minus fair wear-and-tear. The damage you describe would be beyond that of fair wear-and-tear as you obviously recognise, and you were willing to rectify the situation. If it happens again, you would probably be wisest to have the work done (as long as it's like-for-like and done professionally) without informing the Agent or Landlord... in the industry there is well-known tactic of Agents uplifting contractor's bills by amounts up to, say, 20% so it is absolutely in their interest to let you believe the Landlord insisted on using their own choice of contractor... even if that is not strictly true and the Landlord didn't care, as long as there's a door... you see what I mean?

You have probably (let's be kind - let's say possibly) been played by a crafty Agent who's marking-up the bill and taking a cut.

The term "reasonable" allows a lot of leeway, as you might expect.

Quote from: Hippogriff on April 11, 2019, 05:20:43 PM
Anything you can do? Well, this may sound harsh, but you can learn from the experience.

You understand correctly that it is your responsibility to leave the property in the same state as when you took it on, minus fair wear-and-tear. The damage you describe would be beyond that of fair wear-and-tear as you obviously recognise, and you were willing to rectify the situation. If it happens again, you would probably be wisest to have the work done (as long as it's like-for-like and done professionally) without informing the Agent or Landlord... in the industry there is well-known tactic of Agents uplifting contractor's bills by amounts up to, say, 20% so it is absolutely in their interest to let you believe the Landlord insisted on using their own choice of contractor... even if that is not strictly true and the Landlord didn't care, as long as there's a door... you see what I mean?

You have probably (let's be kind - let's say possibly) been played by a crafty Agent who's marking-up the bill and taking a cut.

Thanks Hippo - yes we realise that something doesn't quite seem above board as we are basically being forced to pay a figure that is plucked from the sky.

The Landlord may have gotten an even bigger bill than what you saw, after the Agent added some "admin. and arrangement fee" to it. Think that's crazy... think again. It takes a special creature to play both sides like an Agent can. Many Tenants are stuck in situations where they never see their Landlord... you do have that right. Whether it's wise to rock the boat if, barring this issue, you are pretty happy where you are... all very debatable. Take it on the chin. Save up. Get your own place. Get out of the renting gig. This is a Landlord talking. I am well aware that you can get a property to buy in that area of the country where the mortgage payments would be [a bit] less than £750, and I don't mean with a 40% deposit either.