Leak from Attic

jangor_2

My son has almost completed a six month tenancy on a house share. They have paid the full six months rent without any problem. The other house share friend moved out about six weeks ago and my son found he was unable to afford all the bills on his own. He therefore moved in with me for a few weeks. Unfortunately, because it was the first time he has rented, when he left he turned off everything including the heating thinking this was the correct thing to do and of course we then had the cold snap. A few items were left in the house and he has been waiting for his friend to remove these before he cleans the whole house. The landlord entered the property yesterday and found there was a slight leak from the attic and was very cross when he rang my son, who apologised and explained he had not realised he needed to leave the heating on! The landlord wishes to charge my son £850 for the repairs. However my son is quite happy to pay for the repair (which is fairly minor) to be carried out by a builder friend in order that he does not lose his deposit - the tenancy ends at the end of this month. Would this be considered a fair compromise?

clutton_2

the LL must get 3 quotes for the repair - it is up to the LL who he uses to get the repair done. However, your son did have a legal obligation to make sure the property was heated, and if the leak is because he did not leave heating on, he is probably responsible for the cost of the repair.

£850 sounds quite a lot.

IF the LL insists on £850 your son should invoke the Dispute procedure with the DPS

geri1965_2

Did he have a legal obligation to heat the property? I would tell the landlord to get stuffed personally - unless your son was told to leave the heating on, he is not responsible!

clutton_2

a tenant has a legal "duty of care" to prevent damage to any property s/he is renting - not leaving heating on in severe weather conditions is bound to cause damage from frozen pipes.

tbs624

Your son needs to check his tenancy agreement - there may be a clause in there about notifying the LL if the property is to be left vacant for 21 days or more (this is usually to do with the terms of the LL's building insurance policy).

Although it's clearly a good job that the LL did enter the property, or further damage may have been done by the leak, did your son know that the LL was going to be entering the property? Did he enter because he had been notified by a neighbour or cleaner that there was a problem, or did he simply go for an impromptu inspection?

Your son has an obligation to behave in what's called a "tenant-like manner" which includes being mindful of thinks like frozen pipes - most professional LLs will routinely issue winter letters to tenants reminding them of this.

As your son is still officially a T until the end of that fixed term he (& you) should take photos of the damage and possibly seek an independent quote with which to compare what the LL wants to charge. You mention a "slight leak" - what was it that leaked and what has it damaged? Is the result water stained ceiling or has it caused a ceiling to bulge, carpets to be damaged etc?

Was your son signed up to one contract with other tenants (having "joint & several liability" or did they each have their own contract? If they were all on one contract then all Ts will be jointly obliged to meet any costs up until the end of the joint fixed term, even if they moved out early.

Is the amount that the LL wishes to charge greater than the deposit retained by him? If it is then the LL may seek to recover his extra costs via the county court.

Presumably, your son's deposit was scheme-registered by the LL? If so, talk to the scheme's administrators. The Private Sector Rentals Team at the local Council should be able to advise, and they can liaise with the LL if necessary.

rogerdodger007

As your son is still the tenant, I'd suggest he get his friend in the fix the problem asap. On the day he is due to vacate the property, he should arrange with the landlord to do a joint moving out inspection.
If everything is back in the state it was when he moved in, he should get all his deposit back.