broken glass in rental flat

mummygemma

My sister rents a 2 bed flat. The door that separates hallway and front roon is a wooden door with 2 massive sheets of untuffen glass. whilst carryin her new born she pushed the door shut with her foot, it shut (not hard) and the sheets of glass smashed everywhere cutting her arm in several places. we explained this to landlord but he is now ringing me sayin she has to pay the cost of new glass, Is this right?? please advice needed help

poppysarah

It should have been safety glass. Sometimes the marks are very hard to spot.



'Safety' glass is now mandatory in the home since 1992 when Building Regulations part N, covering glazing materials and their locations for all building work was very first introduced. I believe this was also updated in 1995 and the regulations apply to not only new, but also replacement glass. Briefly then, all glass changed since 1992 should have been done so with the use of safety glass in areas most at risk (called critical locations).


http://www.thewindowman.co.uk/safety-glass.htm


Cheapest door is probably a non-glass one about 20 and 25 quid I think to get it fitted.
nnot like for like - but I'd want to know you're not improving the landlord's place by putting in a safety glass door if it wasn't one in the first place.

Gwhiz

I've got glass doors in the place I'm renting at moment - non safety. You'd have to give them a pretty good shove to get them to break.... although not with a foot

tyllwyd

Gwhiz wrote: »

I've got glass doors in the place I'm renting at moment - non safety. You'd have to give them a pretty good shove to get them to break.... although not with a foot

Yes, but the thing about glass is that a small scratch (needn't even be a visible one) will weaken it. That's why you have safety glass, so that if it does break it won't be so dangerous.


I had a look around, and this case seems to imply that although new glass has to be safety glass, if the door was OK the landlord doesn't have to replace it.
http://www.residentiallandlord.co.uk/news921.htm

But morally, it does seem unreasonable to ask your sister to pay to replace the glass though. Has she spoken to citizens advice ?