Mould caused by Tenant's Leaky Taps

pucci

Hi all,
The other week my OH went do a bit of maintenance at our rented house. The tenant showed him the bathroom which to his horror was absolutely covered with mould on all the walls. :eek:

Why on earth the tenant didn't let us know earlier is beyond me. In the course of sorting this out, OH hears constant trickling of water in the bathroom despite taps turned off. On investigating it transpired that the mixer tap (which tenant had got changed, with our permission, as they were originally single taps) was not installed properly by their appointed plumber and the hot water was leaking and has been leaking underneath the bath for the past 8 months!!!!!! The damage is quite extensive, joists are rotting as are the floorboards - luckily the sanitaryware hasn't fallen through!
So are we within are rights to charge the tenant, fully, whatever it may cost to rectify the problem?

Your advice is much appreciated.

Thanks

Old_Git

isnt this what YOUR insurance is for

stevetodd

Old_Git wrote: »

isnt this what YOUR insurance is for

Same thing happened to me (although it was that the tenants had not reported a slow leak, the leak itself was not caused by them) and I claimed it on the insurance all £2,900 of it as the whole bathroom had to be gutted including new flooring, even new stud walls, and re-tiling throughout (could no longer get the tiles to match up so insurance company agreed to 100% retiling). The only cost to me was £100 excess on the insurance which I did not pass on (afterall the new bathroom looked better than the old)

Meatballs

Tenant pays for excess of insurance claim?

POSSETTE

Meatballs wrote: »

Tenant pays for excess of insurance claim?

that seems reasonable idea..thats why we have insurance,and i believe its the buildings insurance NOT the contents part.

stevetodd

POSSETTE wrote: »

that seems reasonable idea..thats why we have insurance,and i believe its the buildings insurance NOT the contents part.

Yes its the building part, the contents part would probably only be applicable for the lino (which my insurance company would not pay for, but it was about 6 years old anyway and didn't cost much), ceramic floor tiles though probably would fall under the buildings part.

The poster should let their tenants know that the bathroom is going to be out of action for at least a week. When this happened to me I waited a month to get the work done when the tenants were moving out. It coincided with me wanting a week to redecorate the whole flat anyway, so it wasn't as if I was suffering a void. Perhaps the tenants might be going away for a week? or at least try and give them warning that they are going to suffer disruption or maybe there is a second bathroom in the flat (or at least a seperate wc). If not then speak to the builder about phasing the work to keep the time when the appliances are not in use to a minimum

pucci

Thanks guys for this info. My concern is that if I calim through buildings insurance my premiums would increase the following year.
I have spoken to the tenant and they have agreed to pay the costs for it to be put right. When I went there again today I noticed damp in the living room too (the external wall located at the front of the house). The bathroom is on the ground floor located to the rear of the house and I suspect the damage has spread throughout the foundation of the house - there's about a 3 ft drop from the floorboard to the base of house.
Is this what is known as rising damp?

Old_Git

pucci wrote: »

Thanks guys for this info. My concern is that if I calim through buildings insurance my premiums would increase the following year.
I have spoken to the tenant and they have agreed to pay the costs for it to be put right. When I went there again today I noticed damp in the living room too (the external wall located at the front of the house). The bathroom is on the ground floor located to the rear of the house and I suspect the damage has spread throughout the foundation of the house - there's about a 3 ft drop from the floorboard to the base of house.
Is this what is known as rising damp?

I am speaking as a LL ,and I think you are being totally unfair to expect your tenant to pay ANY off this .
First off your tenant changed the taps but YOU authorised it .YOU should have had it done and checked by your plumber ,it wasn't the tenants property or responsibly. Yes the tenant should have informed you there was a problem sooner but they didnt .When you spoke to the tenant and asked them to pay the full amount did you tell them YOU have insurance .The amount your insurance premium would increase is peanuts ,and it is tax deductable .I assume YOU do actually pay tax .If your house burnt down would you expect your tenant to rebuild it just to save your insurance premiums .Why is you OH doing repairs ? if you do your own repairs you should then pay self employed National Insurance .( info from tax man ) .You sound like a cowboy landlord to me and as I said I am a landlord .

Old_Git

I think your previous post tells us a bit more .
your tenants are moving out in January and you expect them to pay for your repairs .

Doozergirl

pucci wrote: »

Thanks guys for this info. My concern is that if I calim through buildings insurance my premiums would increase the following year.
I have spoken to the tenant and they have agreed to pay the costs for it to be put right. When I went there again today I noticed damp in the living room too (the external wall located at the front of the house). The bathroom is on the ground floor located to the rear of the house and I suspect the damage has spread throughout the foundation of the house - there's about a 3 ft drop from the floorboard to the base of house.
Is this what is known as rising damp?

Do you actually plan to tell your tenant that you're charging them for damp at the opposite end of the house as well?! It's quite clear that you haven't got a clue what you're talking about. I suggest you get an expert in to assess - perhaps your insurance company when you've opened the claim :rolleyes: before you start trying to lay incredulous claims like that on your tenants! :eek:

If you don't know what rising damp is then you really don't have any right to start assuming it's caused by the bathroom. The ground underneath your house contains moisture. You won't have water from the bathroom creeping to the opposite side of the house without leaving a mighty trail and it won't travel through concrete foundations either. There is water in the ground under your house and there is water coming down from the sky, as well as out of the taps. The front of the house is your own maintenance issue.

Building Insurance is there for a reason. It's unfair for your tenants to be faced with quite a shocking bill if joists need replacing around the bathroom just because you don't want your premiums to go up. They may not have taken responsibility for what has ensued, but neither did you when the taps were first installed.

Let them pay the excess and you learn the lesson. I wouldn't let a tenant organise plumbing in my own home so I don't expect them to do it in a house I rarely see the inside of either. Maintenance of my properties is my responsibility.

simpywimpy

Ive had a similar problem with a long existing leak. I claimed on my insurance. I agree that the tenant should have made you aware, and for that point they could be charged the excess but not the full amount, and certainly not for any damp problems at the other end of the property.