Broken lift - what happens if we can't move some of our stuff out?

Leona1295

Hi everyone,

We are moving out of our 3rd floor flat and into another rented property this Saturday (31st July). The lift in the block has been broken for about a week. We phoned our landlord on Friday to ask if he could contact the management company or give us the details for them so we could get it sorted. We haven't heard back from him yet so have sent him an email to chase this up today. We have also tried leaving notes on the lift to see if anyone else has the details or has contacted the management company already. Someone keeps taking our notes down so we are still none the wiser!

We will be able to get most of our stuff out without the lift but we won't be able to move the massive and very heavy TV. In the event that the lift isn't working by the time we checkout will we be asked to pay because we have left something behind? Is it the landlord's problem because the lift is broken? We want to keep the TV so will be pretty annoyed if we have to leave it here and pay for the privilege!

Our contract expires on the 20th August but our landlord has agreed that if we vacate this weekend and surrender our keys on the 5th we won't have to pay for the last 2 weeks. We will be able to access the flat until the 20th (our house mate who is on a separate tenancy is staying until then).

What do we do now?

Leona

Mouseman

Find some big strong characters to hump the telly down the stairs, or leave it with the housemate if they are willing (Are you pals with this extra housemate?). If the landlord is reasonable they won't charge you for it but if new tenants arrive to find a big telly in the way, they certainly won't be happy!

googler

How are you going to get the rest of the stuff out? Down the stairs?

I know of rock bands whose roadies would hump a Hammond C3 organ up and down stairs on a daily basis, and I'll bet your TV is a lightweight compared to one of those brutes.........

Man with a Van
Removal Firm
Your Mates
Your Family

princeofpounds

If you leave property behind, under tort law the people you leave it with have a duty to look after it and make a reasonable effort to contact you and allow you an opportunity to retrieve it. However, they can charge you a reasonable rate for storage and eventually sell the item to recover those charges.

It sounds tough, but on this occasion I think it is your responsibility to deal with the TV situation. With help and creativity there is no reason why you shouldn't be able to move it. Get a friend in, get some blankets like movers use, strap or tape them around it, you might even be able to slide it down the stairs if you wrap it well enough.

But if the LL has not been helpful in this instance you don't have to allow any viewings for potential tenants or be otherwise helpful yourselves.

not_loaded

Leona1295 wrote: »

…The lift in the block has been broken for about a week. We phoned our landlord on Friday to ask if he could contact the management company or give us the details for them so we could get it sorted. We haven't heard back from him yet so have sent him an email to chase this up today…
…Our contract expires on the 20th August but our landlord has agreed that if we vacate this weekend and surrender our keys on the 5th we won't have to pay for the last 2 weeks. We will be able to access the flat until the 20th (our house mate who is on a separate tenancy is staying until then)…

It appears your TV is safe until the 20th. I’d keep chasing for the lift to be fixed. That date is THREE WEEKS from now!

I hope there’s no one stuck in the lift.

sarah_elton

We live on the second (and top) floor, so only one less flight than you and our building has no lifts. When I moved in, a few mates humped everything up the stairs for me!

We move out in a couple of weeks and this time I'm paying the professionals to do it all. One removals company quoted ludicrously high so obviously didn't want the bother.

Two strong blokes and careful lifting and you'll be able to get the TV out down the stairs.

pimento

Reminds me of when we lived on the 10th (top) floor of a tower block. We had a quote for moving to a house and my other half has load and loads and loads and LOADS of books.

Every stick of stuff out of our flat had to be taken down in the one lift. (There was a second lift but it only went as far as the 8th floor.) It took all day.

The removal guys earned their tip that day.

We used them again when we moved house nine years later. They were thrilled!

Leona1295

Hi all,

thanks for clarifying who is responsible.

The TV is one of the old style 32 inch ones. The weight is not the main problem (although it doesn't help!). The main problem is there is nowhere to really hold it so it is very hard to manoeuvre. I will speak to him about wrapping it in a duvet and sliding it down the stairs, we hadn't thought of that!

We have already enlisted two big burly friends to help us carry everything else and we have made sure that heavy items are spread across smaller boxes. It is really just the TV we are worried about.

The flat is being sold and our housemate is leaving on the 20th. We have separate tenancy agreements which were due to end on the same day (the 20th) but my landlord has agreed that my boyfriend and I can leave 2 weeks early because we have found somewhere else to live.

Seeing the responses from other people who have carried heavy and awkward items down several flights of stairs makes me feel a bit better. I'm sure we will get it out somehow!

Many thanks,

Leona

adg1

Use the stairs. Its only the second floor.

If the telly is on a built in stand take the stand off to make it easier, wrap it in a sheet and slide it, gently, down the stairs.

Sorry, ps and edit... I did it from the second floor - a 32 inch flat screen sony telly. 32 inches wide and about the same deep AND about 32 tonnes.

googler

Google "removal webbing" for the stuff that the professionals use when they need to move this stuff

Take the stand off, certainly.

Wrap it in bubble wrap or similar, secure the bubble wrap with lots of brown vinyl packing tape, and use either the webbing or loops of the vinyl tape, doubled or tripled up, to give you handholds and carrying loops.

Leona1295

Just thought I would update on how it went.

The TV was carried down the stairs by 2 big burly electricians with no problems.

I think my boyfriend is just a bit of a wimp

Leona