Rental Query.

luckyj_2

Hi all, a friend has just finished their letting period, it was student accomodation in a rented 3 bedroom house, from sep-july. The letting agency are asking for £400 for repairs to the one of the rooms to cover costs of mattress, bed, flooring, and paint.

I was under the impression that any non contractual payments like damages etc, do not need to be paid straight away or in a lump sum, i.e. they can pay off say £50 per week, is there any legality to back this up?

The company in question seems a bit cowboy and when ringing them up theyve basically said that it needs to be in one lump sum and done asap, im under the impression there just trying to intimidate the tennant into paying, anyone have more of an understanding?

BitterAndTwisted

Were all of these students on a joint-tenancy or separate ones? If the repairs are necessary then they can only claim for the replacement value according to the age of the items, not the full new for old value.

And no, if the charges are justified there is no scope for paying it off in instalments.

Was there a full inventory when this tenancy started?

luckyj_2

Do you mean a list of all the items that were included in the tennancy agreement? It still doesnt make sense how they can demand a large lump sum which could put you at financial risk etc?

BitterAndTwisted

Yes, that's exactly what I meant but also noting the condition of same as well.

A person could argue that trashing a landlord's property would result in putting themselves at financial risk. A risk which could be avoided by not doing so.

Please answer my question about the joint-tenancy. It sounds like only one room and one person was responsible for this damage. Was there a deposit paid by all three or separate ones?

luckyj_2

All accidental damage, the mattress was a genuine accident aswell, if the bed wasnt so cheap in the first place maybe it wouldnt have happened, they all got individual damage totals so yes each person was responsible for there room, and they all paid £200 deposit minus 25 admin.

taxsaver

It doesn't matter that it was an accident... they caused the damage and they are liable for it. I don't understand why so many people think that doing something by accident absolves them from liability!

If I drove my car into yours by accident would you think it fair that I don't pay for your damage as it was an accident, or because your car was perhaps of poorer build than mine? I doubt it!

BitterAndTwisted

Accidental damage to mattress, bed, flooring, and the paintwork?

I think the best your friend can do under the circumstances is to ask the agents for a breakdown of how they arrived at that £400 figure and see if there's any scope for reducing or disputing it.