Excess - Us or landlady?

tenmah

Hello

I had a kitchen fire on Sunday which resulted in the cooker being a complete write off, the wall being blackened and one of the kitchen cupboards being burnt, all of which are the landladies items.

Obviously it was a complete accident, and the landlady is lovely, I have never had a problem with her - she has always responded immediately to any issues.

Whilst surveying the damage, she mentioned that she has to pay a £200 excess and I got the feeling she was hinting that we should pay it.

Now morally I understand that this would be the correct way of doing things, but I do not have £200, so I didn't say anything.

Legally can she insist we pay it though? Or is that something a landlady has to accept might happen with tenants?

thanks

pawpurrs

Was the fire your fault? If it was I think morally you should pay it, never mind legally. Although you would be expected to hand back the house in the same condtion it was let to you, so unless the fire was the LL fault.
We all have things happen we cant afford, car breakdown etc.

poppy10_2

The cooker I assume was provided by the landlord at the start of the tenancy. Therefore that and the fixtures and fittings (cupboards, wall) are the landlord's responsibility to maintain. If the fire was a an accident it is the landlord's obligation to repair them at their own cost.

barnaby-bear

poppy10 wrote: »

The cooker I assume was provided by the landlord at the start of the tenancy. Therefore that and the fixtures and fittings (cupboards, wall) are the landlord's responsibility to maintain. If the fire was a an accident it is the landlord's obligation to repair them at their own cost.

It's the tenants responsibility to return the property and fixtures in the same state as on the inventory at the tenancy start. If the fire was an electrical fault - it is the LLs responsibility as the damage is a result of their failure to maintain. If the tenant left a pan on it is theirs and the full cost regardless whether insurance exists can be passed on to the tenant.

sooz

What does it say in your AST?
There should be a clause covering this. Mine says more or less what barnaby-bear wrote...that the tenant pays the excess up to a max of £250 (i think), if they are to blame for whatever resulted in the LL having to claim.
If the oven spontaenously combusted, then it's the LL's fault.

Do you have tenants' contents insurance? If you do, it normally covers the LL's belongings, & may cover their excess too.

tenmah

Hello All

Thanks for the replies.

Just to clarify - yes the fire was my fault, I left the grill on accidentally. The landlady has indicated she will claim on her insurance for the cooker, wall and cupboard so that is not the problem.

As it is buildings insurance, the excess is £200.

If I had it, I would have given it to her there and then, as it was my fault.

My question was can she legally make me pay it, not whether I should morally (I had already stated I know I should morally) and it wasn't whether I should replace the cooker as she had already said she would!

In the meantime I have thought about it and offered to pay the excess in monthly instalments, so I am just waiting for her response.

Thanks again

Sharon87

If she asks you to pay it can you ask for it to come out of your deposit if you don't have it? I don't know where you stand you legally, you need to consult your tenancy agreement and check if there's anything in there.

barnaby-bear

tenmah wrote: »

Hello All

Thanks for the replies.

Just to clarify - yes the fire was my fault, I left the grill on accidentally. The landlady has indicated she will claim on her insurance for the cooker, wall and cupboard so that is not the problem.

As it is buildings insurance, the excess is £200.

If I had it, I would have given it to her there and then, as it was my fault.

My question was can she legally make me pay it, not whether I should morally (I had already stated I know I should morally) and it wasn't whether I should replace the cooker as she had already said she would!

In the meantime I have thought about it and offered to pay the excess in monthly instalments, so I am just waiting for her response.

Thanks again

Legally she can deduct it from your deposit (which is to cover putting right tenant damage - just such as this)

clutton_2

you set fire to her kitchen - she is willing to pay to replace the cooker - you admit it was your fault - so you should be paying for this - and yet you also want to wriggle out of paying for her excess ?

be fair mate - be fair

pawpurrs

If it was your silly mistake, yes you should deffo pay, sounds like you have a nice LL there, that is willing to claim for the damage, I should think she would be in her rights to ask you to pay for the damage without claiming on her insurance. At £200 excess I think you have got off lightly. If you had tennants insurance then you wouls still have to pay the excess. I know its not easy when you cant afford it, but you have to take responsibility if it was your fault. You have to hand the house back in the same state as you rented it in, which includes damage to the kitchen. If the damage resulted because of a faulty oven, wouldnt you expect her to pay?
You have damaged her property.
If you damaged a rental car, ie crashed it would you not expect to have to pay the excess?

soolin

Gosh, this gave me pause for thought. My friend's son shared a house when he was at uni and someone there had a chip pan fire and although it was caught quite quickly the cooker had to be discarded and the fridge freezer had some cabling melt so that packed up as well. The landlords made the students pay as they said that the tenancy agreement made them liable for all damage to contents of property, they even had to pay for new tea towels and things that got damaged in the fire as well.

Mind you, I am sure they must be stricter with students.