Tenancy Damages

yummynoodles

Just wondering where I stand on this really. I have recently ended a tenancy and the only damage to the property was to the hob, a saucepan lid fell on it and cracked the edge which left a small chip, this in no way affected the workings. I know i'm liable for the damage, but the hob wasn't new but i'm being charged for a new one £445 (states it's for a replacement on invoice) can they charge me for a new one? If this is so am I entitled to keep the old one?

Right before Christmas too...:eek:

BitterAndTwisted

The landlord cannot charge you new for old as that would be betterment. A calculation needs to be made according to how old it was when you handed the property back. If you accept fr argument's sake that the useful life of a cooker is ten years and it was five years old at the end of your tenancy then you owe the landlord 50% of the purchase price. All this should be negotiated through the tenancy-deposit's arbitration procedure.

If you're going to agree to pay that bill in full I'd say you were within your rights to take the old one.

Have you done any research to discover what the replacement part would cost? I don't think it's likely that the whole cooker would need to be replaced. Have a look at some of the "White Goods" websites.

G_M

Bitter is spot on.

theartfullodger

Assume you are in England

Was it an AST or were you a "lodger". If AST was the last new tenancy start date before 6th Apr 2007?? If not deposit must be in a defined scheme & there are procedures for challenging such deductions see...
https://www.england.shelter.org.uk/...deposits/deposit_protection_schemes

even if before 6apr2007 then see this..
http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/paying_for_a_home/tenancy_deposits/getting_an_unprotected_deposit_back

Meatballs

Even if you did reduce the cost by 50% for a 5 year old hob, it's still a working hob and only has small cosmetic damage on a functional object, so there's no need to replace it, or even to replace the part.

I would only offer to contribute a some of the amount to replacing the part if it still worked fine as most people wouldn't bother replacing it if they did it in their own home...

BitterAndTwisted

That might be your view but the landlord is entitled to expect their fixtures to be returned in the same condition they were at the start of the tenancy. Damaged is not the same state.

yummynoodles

Hi, yes I'm in England, and my deposit was held with the local council, the person I needed to speak to is unavailable till Monday, but I'm not holding out much hope when I challenge the deductions.
Someone from the council attended "checking out" and I queried the decision for full cost at the time, and they said I had to pay. I cant even remember the make of the ceramic hob, and these details haven't been included on the invoice.

BitterAndTwisted

I doubt that anyone working for a council would be an expert in these matters. Don't accept their word for it as they are wrong!

Have a look on the Shelter website for guidance and don't be bullied into paying for a replacement when you don't have to.

If the model number wasn't quoted on the invoice then how can you be confident that the landlord hasn't chosen to replace the old cooker with a far more expensive model? Query it!

theartfullodger

Who is tenancy with ?? A private landlord or with the council???

BitterAndTwisted

I suspect that the Local Authority put up a deposit guarantee for a private rental

geoffky

fight this one..the landlord is trying to better themselves