Broken door lock - maintenance issue but being deducted from deposit?

franklee

N79 wrote: »

Apologies to Eagerlearner for the off track debate but I don't think there is anything to add to opinions above.

While I am not arguing for any changes to LL's gas check requirements I do agree with the principle that GG is arguing which I think Clutton has neatly illustrated (my highlighting) which is that the mitigation of a risk is best carried out by those closest to the risk. Of course, in real life this is not always possible and hence we have safety legislation to try to focus the more distant minds onto the problem.

As a tenant I'd happily arrange the gas checks myself if the rent was lowered to reflect this cost but I'm surprised any landlord would want this. Reason being if the tenant arranges and pays for the gas safety check and gas service then the tenant chooses the engineer. Do landlords really want the tenant's choice of engineer touching their boiler?

What if the boiler subsequently fails is that fair wear and tear or will the tenant get blamed as their engineer was last to touch it? What happens if the tenants change and the new tenant is gassed before they can arrange their check. Can the previous tenant be held liable as they have no idea what happened to the boiler since they left or is the landlord liable when it was the old tenant's engineer who last touched the boiler?

IMO you'd need longer tenancies and the tenant to be responsible for all repairs to make GG's theory work, more like they do in Europe. That idea has some attractions as it would save the tenant from the landlord's choices of the cheapest solutions they can find which often leads to the tenant suffering more breakdowns or waiting ages for spares to old boilers, but the rents would have to be much lower to reflect the tenants paying for repairs.

With the current system over here the landlord is liable for repairs so I'd think he'd only want his choice of engineer let loose on the boiler. Obviously a tenant couldn't be expected to pay for the landlord's choice of engineer, that would hardly be fair and would leave the tenant open to inflated prices arranged between the landlord and engineer and the tenant paying for something that's not their choice way of doing it which undermines the whole idea of giving the tenant the responsibility.

franklee

Hi EL,

Can you let us know what the locksmith's emailed opinion was?

EagerLearner

Hi fraklee here it is - very friendly chap:

" I can confirm that it is normally always the outside handle of the pair that fails first.This is mainly due to the weathering of the internal components.If the handles are Stainless steel the internal washers etc would quite often be zinc plated steel which will corrode but the stainless handle will not.In 25 years of being a carpenter & Joiner I can say its always either outside handle corrosion or the lock mechanism has worn .In fact I would say its nearly always the washers or springs in the outside handle.This also goes for Upvc doors too.


Most handle manufacturers such as HOPPE or ALTO will give a 10-25yr gaurantee with their products so if you had the doors fitted after you bought the house it may well be worth contacting the manufacturers. Feel free to send me some photos or if you can see the Manufacterers name on let me know. "

clutton_2

i would send this to LL and also to Arbiters - it shows that you are doing everything possible to get a fast reasonable solution......

EagerLearner

Hello Clutton,

Thanks for your reply, I don't think though that I can copy in the arbitration folk as that's not yet started (though I do have their e-mail address...?), prob won't be for a couple of weeks as I am sure she will drag it out. Once they are on board I guess I could send them the e-mail history as we have kept it all on one.

So for now I guess we will e-mail her with each bullet point as recommended, including the quoted text from the plumber under the relevant point.

clutton_2

EL - there is a time limit within which the LL has to come to an agreement re deductions - did you look it up in the T&Cs i recommended ? or did you ask your deposit company ? they will give you the date - and you can then remind LL that she has to have responded by that date otherwise you will go to arbitration/dispute.....

lellow_lorry

As many have said..... wear and tear........unless the LL can prove otherwise. The fact you informed of the problem goes in your favour......bottom line you appear to have been reasonable and fair...and the LL should do likewise...its not a great amount, but I guess the principle of the matter of doing no wrong rides above the cost. Good luck and from what has come up on previous opinions , log it photo it and cover all possible problems is a lesson for everyone......no matter how ameniable they may same....although appears one bad egg is letting down the majority of very good and understanding LL's.... Document it all if it is to go dispute....otherwise you could sue in the small claims...costs as little as £50 and reimbursedwith the costs providing you win. Good Luck

EagerLearner

Hello all and thanks for the responses, yes Clutton it seems from the website she has 14 days to respond, hence my posts about e-mailing her in the interim with the professional opinion we got, to keep communication open.

My fear is that as we no longer have access to the property (to take photos of lock etc), she can now do as she pleases in terms of items 'discovered' to need fixing. I didn't think she would but she already suggested almost £300 'might' be if we did not agree to the current cost for buying her a new lock mechanism. Again those costs are not reasonable and not apportioned plus she was suggesting we'd be liable for the full guesstimate prices.

So overall we are feeling very dissappointed that despite being good tenants and voluntarily hiring professionals at the end of the tenancy, it still shows us the landlord is in control. The DPS told me she can even still change her mind and add additional items, which I feel is awful and once check-out is carried out there should be say a 7 day period for a LL obtain quotes, but no longer.

EDIT > Despite what the guy said on the phone, according to their website, once a repayment is initiated the landlord can cancel or make changes if needed by calling them that day but I *think* as several days have now passed she can't do this anymore.

EagerLearner

Hi everyone,
As the DPS site is showing that we can request repayment, thought I would paste on here what it says so make sure we don't mess up!

Since the agent / landlord is not present, enter the amount you wish to be returned from the current deposit amount. The current deposit amount takes into account any previous repayments which may have been made to either party. The agent / landlord will then be notified, and given the opportunity to accept or dispute the amount due to them.
Fields marked * are required

Deposit distribution

Response.Write("Please enter the total amount you have agreed to be returned from the deposit amount in the first box and any amounts agreed to be deducted by the agent / landlord in the second box. If there is a disputed amount, this will be calculated below the second box. If you wish to use the ADR service to resolve a dispute, you must ensure that the correct disputed amount is shown below the second box. If you do not show a disputed amount, we will not show the option to use the ADR service.

We have agreed she can take £30 but nothing else. So we would enter that in the landlord Deduction box.
Presumably , we want to ensure that the Disputed amount in the box is the £80, so that this amount remains with the DPS for arbitration if needed?

clutton_2

i haven't done this from the tenants perspective but surely you have to wait till the L L has declared her deductions before you can put any figures in .....

when is the 14 days up ?