Broken washing machine LL responsible

G_M

Does you tenancy agreement state that the landlord is responsible for repairing the washing machine? If not, then he isn't.

Unless the Tenancy Agreement makes express provision, the LL does not need to repair a washing machine. Read the underlined part of s.11(1) (Landlord and Tenant Act 1985) below:

Repairing obligations in short leases.

In a lease to which this section applies there is implied a covenant by the lessor:
(a) to keep in repair the structure and exterior of the dwelling-house (including drains, gutters and external pipes),
(b) to keep in repair and proper working order the installations in the dwelling-house for the supply of water, gas and electricity and for sanitation (including basins, sinks, baths and sanitary conveniences, but not other fixtures, fittings and appliances for making use of the supply of water, gas or electricity), and
(c) to keep in repair and proper working order the installations in the dwelling-house for space heating and heating water.

So unless the lease specifically states the LL will repair, maintain, replace the washing machine, he doesn't have to. However many LLs do not know this.

Or they know it, but like me repair/replace anyway as part of good maintenance, good management, and good LL/tenant relations.

So asking for compensation might p*ss him off so much he refuses to repair at all and tells you to do it!

BitterAndTwisted

Look at it this way: if you owned your own home and it was your own washing-machine which broke down you'd have to arrange the repair and pay for it yourself and there would be no-one to ask compensation from.

I definitely wouldn't be asking for compo from the landlord and I'd be appreciative that they are arranging the repair so promptly for you. Having to make alternative arrangements certainly is rather irksome but not anybody else's fault.

Fire_Fox

I do appreciate babies make more laundry, but their clothes are tiny so should not comprise twelve loads in a week! :eek: I don't wash bath sheets every week and mine are white so I would see if they are grubby. It's only hand towels that I launder frequently. I certainly would be a bit more lax on the bath sheets if I didn't have a machine. Do you not have enough clothing that you can manage without some of it for a week or two until the machine is fixed? I'd run out of undies first but, like baby clothes, they are small and easy to hand wash or air dry at home.

spike2012

Thanks for the replies, I will ask if there is any compensation simply because how long it is going to take to complete the repair.

The washing machine and fridge freezer are part of the inventory that LA/LL have responsibility to fix/replace.

I have 2 work loads per week, as I MUST wear a clean t-shirt daily (working outside all day in grubby conditions)
I have 1-2 casual loads per week
Our baby causes 2 - 3 loads per week, muslim squares, clothes and bibs
we do a socks/underwear load per week
My fiance has about 1 casual load per week
Her daughter - teenager, has about 2 loads per week.
1 Towel load per week.

The machine we have here is tiny, as a poser said the laundrette machines are large and would only take 3-4 loads to wash everything above.

ref: own home - I would have purchased a machine from a shop near us for £109 with 3 month guarantee, but the LA/LL wouldnt allow me to plumb it in and/or remove the exisitng machine. The machine guy that came over was concerned that I had even looked at the machine in any way.

princeofpounds

Sorry G_M, on this occasion I really have to disagree with you about the LL responsibility.

This canard about the LL having no liability unless the machine is in the contract has popped up a few times on this board in recent months, but it's the wrong way to interpret the law.

Whilst you are correct to say there is no section 11 obligation, that does not mean there is no obligation, just that the obligation does not fall under section 11.

The courts have held time and again that a LL who supplies appliances is, through his actions (which courts use as much as paper documents when establishing contractual commitments) implying an contractual obligation to maintain such services/appliances.

princeofpounds

I should add, unlike the section 11 obligations it is possible for a LL to contract out of appliance repairs, but this has to be *explicitly* made clear to the tenant, it cannot be a sin of omission as the court would hold it formed part of the contract. This is so the tenant is very clear the appliance cannot be 'relied upon' and you do not end up with a situation where a property is rented under a misrepresentation that appliances are available and they then do not work or are taken away.

nomnomnom

poppysarah wrote: »

I still find it hard to see how a baby can cause 12 loads a week.

Possibly... maybe they are using cloth nappies?

nomnomnom

spike2012 wrote: »

ref: own home - I would have purchased a machine from a shop near us for £109 with 3 month guarantee, but the LA/LL wouldnt allow me to plumb it in and/or remove the exisitng machine.

This is disgusting! The one in our house broke down when our twins were about 3 months old and I told the LL that we were buying our own and we'd move hers to the far end of the garage. It's still there, unfixed....

Tell them you need theirs fixed asap or you are buying your own next week and want them to remove the broken one.

Thought I might add though... when the one in my rented house broke down... I handwashed my twins baby clothes, muslins, bibs, bedding and our own clothes in the bath until we bought our own machine. It's not that hard! Just a pair of rubber gloves, a scrubbing brush and washing powder and you can get most things clean especially with the help of a shower spray to rinse quickly

gingerwhinger

Fire_Fox wrote: »

I do appreciate babies make more laundry, but their clothes are tiny so should not comprise twelve loads in a week! :eek: I don't wash bath sheets every week and mine are white so I would see if they are grubby. It's only hand towels that I launder frequently. I certainly would be a bit more lax on the bath sheets if I didn't have a machine. Do you not have enough clothing that you can manage without some of it for a week or two until the machine is fixed? I'd run out of undies first but, like baby clothes, they are small and easy to hand wash or air dry at home.

Sorry but that's just gross. You wash your bath towels less than once per week?:eek:

franklee

princeofpounds wrote: »

I should add, unlike the section 11 obligations it is possible for a LL to contract out of appliance repairs, but this has to be *explicitly* made clear to the tenant, it cannot be a sin of omission as the court would hold it formed part of the contract. This is so the tenant is very clear the appliance cannot be 'relied upon' and you do not end up with a situation where a property is rented under a misrepresentation that appliances are available and they then do not work or are taken away.

When I looked into this a while ago I ended up referring it to ARLA and they confirmed exactly this and they seemed pretty sure about it.