blocked drains responsibility

00ec25

I have a friend who has never rented before (it is a family relocation and he has yet to sell his own place) and he is paying around 2,500pcm. His LL is an accidental LL who wants to sell the house when the tenancy agreement expires, and therefore has little knowledge of what being a LL means and no committment to it either.

The tenancy agreement requires my friend to “maintain the gutters and pipes”. Recently the sewer under the driveway was blocked and the LL refused to pay for this to be cleaned saying it was a tenant responsibility as stated in the AST under pipework. OK, I accept you can argue it either way in that the T had poured something down which caused the blockage so should pay, or it is a LL responsiblity as it is a fixture and fitting?


However, the problem in this case is that the plumber confirmed it is a shared drain which also links to the next door property, so should my friend insist that the LL obtain 50% of the cost from the neighbour on the basis that it is impossible to clearly establish blame as to who caused the blockage - my friend the T or the freeholder next door?

BitterAndTwisted

Sounds to me like it's not actually part of the property per se so I can't see how or why the tenant should be responsible for this expense and at the very least the next-door neighbours should pay half but it's going to be very difficult for a tenant to insist on receiving payment from them. Now, if it was the waste-pipe from the kitchen-sink that would be entirely different. Strictly I believe it's normal for tenants pay for damage and the landlord to pay for repairs and maintenance where it's not caused by the tenants damaging anything. Considering the amount of rent your pal is paying I think it's unreasonable for the landlord to decline to cover this expense and I think your pal should put this in writing to their landlord right away.

bryanb

Just as an aside, a rental of £2500 per month is outside the limits of AST, which is £25000 Per Annum. Also no need to protect deposit at this rent level.

BitterAndTwisted

The tenant "maintaining the gutters and pipes" is a world away from clearing a block drain in a shared sewer outside the property which to my mind is a repair. Your pal should only deal with the LL in writing. Who has actually paid for this, the tenant?

Gwhiz

LL responsibility unless the blockage was caused by the tenant doing something silly like flushing tons of fat or used lady hygiene products down the loo.

Fire_Fox

I'd ask the landlord for proof the drains were completely clear immediately prior to the tenancy commencing!

Alberto01

More often many people don’t actually think about their home’s plumbing. There is a tendency that you are going to rush in looking for ways to fix your plumbing problem quick. When you get to know what is causing the blocked drains, you can do something about it. Hence it is better to learn some basic tricks to remove your drain blocks.

poppysarah

2,500pcm and has to do the landlord's work?

Bad call by your friend to have found an awful landord.

martindow

bryanb wrote: »

Just as an aside, a rental of £2500 per month is outside the limits of AST, which is £25000 Per Annum. Also no need to protect deposit at this rent level.

Didn't that change last year? I thought the limit was raised to £100 000 p.a.

tbs624

martindow wrote: »

Didn't that change last year? I thought the limit was raised to £100 000 p.a.

Yes: the threshold was changed at the start of October 2010

N79

00ec25 wrote: »

I have a friend who has never rented before (it is a family relocation and he has yet to sell his own place) and he is paying around 2,500pcm. His LL is an accidental LL who wants to sell the house when the tenancy agreement expires, and therefore has little knowledge of what being a LL means and no committment to it either.

Sigh

00ec25 wrote: »

The tenancy agreement requires my friend to “maintain the gutters and pipes”. Recently the sewer under the driveway was blocked and the LL refused to pay for this to be cleaned saying it was a tenant responsibility as stated in the AST under pipework.

Whether this tenancy is actually an AST is debatable if it started before October last year. Fortunately, this is an academic debate as the LL's repairing obligations under S11 of the LL and T Act are the same for both ASTs and Common Law tenancies.

00ec25 wrote: »

OK, I accept you can argue it either way in that the T had poured something down which caused the blockage so should pay, or it is a LL responsiblity as it is a fixture and fitting?

Basically, the starting point is that the LL should pay. However, if the blockage has been caused by inappropriate use of the drains by the T (eg solid fat, nappies / other products etc) then it is reasonable for the LL to charge the T the costs of the repairs. If the blockage is caused by any other cause (collapse, tree roots, ground heave etc) then the LL is solely responsible. The burden of proof rests with the LL to show that the Ts have a responsibility.

00ec25 wrote: »

However, the problem in this case is that the plumber confirmed it is a shared drain which also links to the next door property, so should my friend insist that the LL obtain 50% of the cost from the neighbour on the basis that it is impossible to clearly establish blame as to who caused the blockage - my friend the T or the freeholder next door?

00ec25 wrote: »

LL can choose to claim 50% from freeholder next door or not as they wish (and as the property covenants allow). If the T's actions caused the blockage then they are liable for 100% of the costs. If the T's actions did not then they are liable for 0%. How the LL and the other freeholder split the bills is down to them.

However, the practical effect of having shared drains means that it is highly likely that the LL will not be able to show that the T is responsible as they will be unable to determine if the T or the other freeholder is responsible if the blockage turns out to have been caused by "bad habits".