big problem-advice please

jonnyw_2

"my friend has just told me she may have to give up university for a year because the bath in her rented flat has been damaged(though she doesn't know how and she was the last person to use it)"

If she is the last person to use it and she is sub letting to her cousin then what is going on? Who baths where and why!!!!!!!!

Is her cousin male or female?

Is she entitled to sublet under her lease (if she has one) without Landlords consent.

And did her landlord really give her a key without he name being on thel ease.

I suspect there is more to this!!!!!!!!!!!

whizzkid_3

the flat was let to her male cousin.
she is renting a room from him.
he has a girlfriend.
rent is ridiculously high.
nothing too outrageous there!

Sapphire

There's a company called Renubath who could resurface the bath, which would cost less than replacing it. The repaired a chip in my bath which was right down to the metal, and completely resurfaced the bath to restore the glossy appearance.

clutton_2

sapphire - how much did it cost ? was it a cast iron or a more modern plastic bath ?

trigger_mike

Heres a company in Scotland that resurfaces baths, you don't need to replace, just have it repaired, it will be soooo much cheaper!
http://www.allaboutbaths.co.uk/

trigger_mike

This company also covers central Scotland, has photos of the work as well.
http://www.renewalledinburgh.co.uk/index.htm

Bossyboots

whizzkid wrote:

the flat was let to her male cousin.
she is renting a room from him.
he has a girlfriend.
rent is ridiculously high.
nothing too outrageous there!

None of this explains why your friend is being blamed and being expected to pay.

Sapphire

sapphire - how much did it cost ? was it a cast iron or a more modern plastic bath ?
____

My bath is a metal one.

The company has three levels of payment. From memory:

1. The first one is about £100–£150. They resurface the bath and you have to wait for five days for it to dry before you can use it.

2. About £200–300 for it to be ready to use on the same day.

3. About £400 for a top of the range service, with polishing, etc.

I was quite pleased with the result - beats wrecking your bathroom in order to get the bath out. I think quite a few people use their services. The chap who did my bath said he'd just finished resurfacing Lord Sainsbury's bath - apparently has marble surround and is built in, etc., and obviously the Lud didn't want to trash the whole bathroom just to replace the bath. :rotfl:

lynzpower

Bossyboots wrote:

None of this explains why your friend is being blamed and being expected to pay.

Completely agree with bossyboots here.

If her male cousin is illegally subletting the room without the LLs knowledge and shes not on the tenancy, then tough luck, the cousin who has subletted shall have to take responsibility, not here. theres a reason why subletting w/o LLs permission is not a good idea, heres a great example.

the cousin should not be trying to get her to pay for it, she has no ( i suspect) contractual agreement to being there so how can it be enforced. The male cousins reaping what hes sown there im afriad.

Im not sure this is fact though, its my opinion really.

rosysparkle

So the lease is in the cousin's name, and he sublets to your friend, is that right? If so, then it's the cousin that is breaking the terms of his lease. To whom did your friend pay the £700deposit, and to whom does she pay the rent?

If neither your friend nor her cousin took out insurance, then that was a little shortsighted, most insurance policies geared to rental properties will cover up to around £2,500 of damage to the landlord's f&f. Endsleigh and Letsure both do suitable policies and there will be others available.

The landlord should have insurance to cover damage to f&f and could claim on his insurance, but it would be only right that either your friend or her cousin paid the excess on the policy if they have damaged the bath - ie that the damage isn't down to wear and tear (which wouldn't be covered under the insurance anyway).

Why does she have to leave uni in order to repay the £700, she could work around her uni studies. My eldest son works weekends and evenings to pay for his beer and pizza at uni, and still manages to study (at least a bit, lol).