Disproportionate damages claimed?

arumiat

Recently moved out of a property where there were multiple people staying. Halogen cooker with glass top had one corner chipped. Minor cosmetic damage (but ultimately damage beyond wear and tear I suspect?). The landlord wants to charge for a complete cooker replacement, can they do this?

Thanks in advance

The_Drama_Llama

Do you have an inventory detailing the state of the cooker from when you moved in?

G_M

It's damage, not wear and tear.
LL cannot claim 'betterment' ie getting a brand new hob in place of an old one.)

How old is it. If it's 3 years old, say, and the expected life of a hob is 15, then LL can claim 12/15th of the cost.

arumiat

1. I moved in a year and half approx. after the other tenant (boyfriend was also around a lot). No walkaround was done with the LL, just given the keys by the other tenant, I did do an inventory, I'll have to go back to it I don't have access at the moment where no doubt the cooker is mentioned in some way as it seemed quite well done. The damage definitely occurred since I moved in though.

2. and G_M how do you work out the figure of 1/12th - 1/15th?

Thanks both for your responses

IronWolf

If its just you that has the inventory, I wouldn't go waving it around unless it states there was damage to the cooker already.

arumiat

No, when I moved in I added to the the professional inventory that was done when the other tenant initially moved in (I think 3 other tenants had my room before me), signed it and then emailed the landlord a copy

BitterAndTwisted

A new glass top could cost in the region of about £300. If you accept (for argument's sake) that the expected life in a rental-property for such a thing would be 15 years (I wouldn't), it was brand-new when you moved in and your tenancy was three years then the cost to you would be 12/15 of the cost of a new one. i.e. you have deprived the landlord of 12 years out of the old one.

If I was a landlord I wouldn't dream of having one of those glass-topped hobs in a rental: it's just asking for trouble.

G_M

arumiat wrote: »

1.
2. and G_M how do you work out the figure of 1/12th - 1/15th?

The figures were examples. Like Bitter I wouldn't put a glass hob in a rental, so don't really know how long it 'should' last.

OK - try an expected 10 year lifespan.
You've been there 1 1/2 years and 3 tenants before you, so say it's 5 years old (nice easy maths!)

LL can claim half the cost.

arumiat

Thanks. I've done a bit more reading and such apportionment aas you describe would only be appropriate where damage was so severe as to affect the achievable rent level/ lettability or quality of the property. I really don't think that this chip in any way shape or form would constitute that.

Do you think it might be fair to offer the landlord ~£45 as apportionment?

BitterAndTwisted

I think your comment about the achievability of the rent etcetera is wrong: damage has been caused to the landlord's property and the s/he is entitled to be recompensed regardless.

arumiat

Ah okay, I took that from http://www.depositprotection.com/documents/dealing-with-deposits-disputes-and-damages.pdf

"Avoiding Betterment & Considering Apportionment
The landlord should not end up, either financially or materially, in a better position than he was at commencement of the tenancy, or than he would have been at the end of the tenancy having allowed for fair wear and tear. To avoid betterment, the allocation or apportionment of any costs, charges or compensation for damage must take into account all the factors relating to
(a) fair wear and tear,
(b) the most appropriate remedy and,
(c) that the landlord should not end up either financially or materially in a better position than he was at commencement of the tenancy or as he would expect to be at the end of the tenancy having considered (a) and exercised (b).
The principles of some very general examples might include: -
1. Minor damage to an item, a small to medium stain or mark on a carpet or mattress etc – perhaps £15 - £35 e.g. the cost of a “spot” clean or, this amount as the tenants’ contribution to a full clean of the whole item, or as compensation for the diminution. A small to medium size chip or mark, scratch or burn on a kitchen worktop - perhaps £5 - £25. A landlord could of course decide purchase a new item, to have a new carpet put down or a new kitchen worktop installed if they wished, but, they cannot lawfully charge the tenant for that full cost. The costs should be apportioned and shared between the parties on the principles given above. E.g. Cost of new carpet £500 – apportioned £465 to landlord, £35 to tenant.
2. In the rare circumstances where damage (to the worktop/carpet/mattress/item etc) is so extensive or severe so as to affect the achievable rent level/lettability or quality of the property the most appropriate remedy might be replacement and to apportion costs according to the age and useful lifespan of the item. Below is an example of how this might be calculated.

(a) Cost of similar replacement carpet/item =
£500-00
(b) Actual age of existing carpet/item =
2 years
(c) Average useful lifespan of that type of carpet/item =
10 years
(d) Residual lifespan of carpet/item calculated as (c) less (b) =
8 years
(e) Depreciation of value rate calculated as (a) divided by (c) =
£50 per year
(f) Reasonable apportionment cost to tenant calculated as (d) times (e) =
£400-00

This method of calculation could, (with a minor downwards adjustment to (c) to take account of the existence of more than average use of the carpet/item e.g. its useful lifespan had already been shortened prior to the tenancy in question.), be used to apportion costs of a carpet/item which had already or previously suffered excessive deterioration. "

I've emailed her asking how she would like to remedy the situation, (my ex flatmate told me she wanted us to pay for a new cooker) I'll see her response.