Flatmate has damaged flat but it's their word against mine

competitionscafe

I moved into a flat with someone and the tenancy is ending soon. The landlady is coming to inspect the flat next weekend and unfortunately there is some damage which has been caused by my flatmate's lack of care. There is a burn mark on one of the kitchen counters, stains on the wood shelves, in the bathroom, spill stains on sofa, water damage to a tile on the bathroom floor which has buckled and peeled and scratches to the top of an expensive stainless steel range cooker because it was cleaned with a steel wool scourer! :mad:

I am now in a position where I will have to explain all this to the landlady when she comes next weekend. Although I am always very careful and have not been responsible for any of the damage I feel guilty and also fear that we may lose our entire deposit including my share. My flatmate may also just deny that it was him which makes it his word against mine.

I just cannot believe that someone can cause such a lot of damage in just a few months - I lived in my previous flat for 6 years with various different flatmates during that time and there was no damage to the flat apart from wear and tear.

This is also likely to damage my chances of finding somewhere else to live as I am unlikely to get a reference from my current landlord.

Any advice on how to handle this would be much appreciated as well as any info on cleaning/repairing the damage where possible. I don't think anything can be done about the burn mark on the wooden kitchen worktop but perhaps there is a way to reduce the scratches on the stainless steel cooker and the stains on the wooden shelves in the bathroom (caused by placing/spilling shaving foam/ deoderant cans, toothpaste etc on them?)

gauly

I guess you are going to be responsible for paying for half of this stuff - though hopefully your flatmate will own up - you never know! With the scratches on the cooker you could try a very fine wet-and-dry sandpaper (used wet) but try it on a small bit first and see if it improves it but I think it will still show. If the bathroom shelves won't clean using normal cleaning products then the only solution is going to be to sand them down (and revarnish / rewax if necessary). Sofa stains might come out with a fabric cleaner like 1001 which you leave to soak in and then wipe off (try in a small hidden area first). If the kitchen work surface is solid wood then it should be possible to have it sanded down and refinished rather than going to the expensive of replacing it but I would have this done professionally. And it should not even be possible to water damage a bathroom tile - I think you could argue that was normal wear and tear in a bathroom!?!

competitionscafe

Thanks. By water damage I mean that water from the shower has got between the gap between the tile and the wall and the tile/flooring square has lifted up and warped. I always wipe down the shower screen with a dry facecloth after each shower as it's the water from the spray and condensation on the shower screen which drips down the side and makes a small puddle on the floor if you don't do this. However the area with the most damage is further away - my flatmate had friends to stay for a few days and they always left a big mess in the bathroom with water everywhere and this is when the main damage was caused.

It was also his friends who 'cleaned' the stainless steel cooker hob with a scourer as I had cleaned it all with a soft cloth the previous day after cooking a meal for them and the following night they cooked sausages on the hob (grease everywhere) and then used the scourer to clean it, I was horrified when I saw what ha happened the next morning.

The kitchen worktop and bathroom shelves are made from the same material, not one piece of solid wood but blocks of wood 'tiles' - have tried to clean them but it made no difference. Will try astonish or chomp cleaner from Lakeland to see if that works?

paintpot

Try baby oil on the stainless steel hob, it brings it up a treat to a nice shine without streaks and may reduce the appearance of scratches. Try a few coats with a cloth.

If the shower screen wasn't fittted correctly and allowed leakage then this could form an arguement for the floor damage. They need to be tightly fitted to prevent such leakage. I can't quite work out what type of flooring you have but if they were proper grouted tiles water would not be able to filtrate through and if they aren't then I'd suggest the combination of bad floor choice (for a bathroom where water does get everywhere) combined with a poorly fitted shower screen has caused/contributed to the issue. I personally can't stand shower screens, they are a total pain in the backside although i do have them but I have hard wearing floors and I seal every crevice in the bathroom to try and prevent water damage in my rented houses.

competitionscafe

Thanks, will try the baby oil. The shower screen and floor damage was mostly caused when he had friends to stay for 4 days and they left the bathroom in a complete mess with water all over the floor - this was the same time the damage occured to the stainless steel hob.

He now says that as he 'cannot get any money from the cash machine' I should use his deposit to 'pay the bills' (he has not paid any bills since moving in despite constant reminders). In any case deposits are not refunded until after the property is vacated and deductions made for damages and cleaning. So I am not sure what I am suppossed to use to pay the bills which are (over)due now and in any case come to more than the deposit. The council tax, gas, elec and tv licence comes to over £400 and his share of the deposit was only £300. :mad:

As the bulk of the bills is council tax I was thinking of paying my half and writing to the council to let them know that I am paying what I owe but the other resident of the property is refusing to pay and they should persue him for the remainder?

BridgetJones_2

Whose name are the bills in?

Little_Star_3

sounds like you live with my flat mate...if you need a new flat mate give me a shout, im currently looking in Edinburgh!

Little_Star_3

As the bulk of the bills is council tax I was thinking of paying my half and writing to the council to let them know that I am paying what I owe but the other resident of the property is refusing to pay and they should persue him for the remainder?


From my research with the council tax, they dont go for this, the council tax is in both names and they just want the money so will persue you both, if the council tax is in both your names.