Accidental Damage by Tenant

Alias_Omega

Child Proof Induction hob, fitted into fitted kitchen.

Found damaged (cracked) during property inspection. Tenant said accidental damage. Hob less than 6 months old. Hob still works, tenant happy to use hob.

Replacement Hob for same model will cost roughly £200-220 to supply, plus £50-£60 for fitting.


Letting Agent seems to think that this can be dealt with upon checkout of the property through Tenants deposit. Tenant says hob was chipped when they moved in, though inventory & pictures do not show it was.

Landlord has accidental damage on landlords insurance policy, though excess is £200.


We ask, who is liable to pay for the repair.?

Would it be acceptable to leave the hob damaged & repair/replace it upon checkout as an wear & tear item.?


Regards,

Mrs AO

BitterAndTwisted

Damage is chargeable to the tenant. I agree with your agent, that the tenant should be made to contribute towards the replacement at check-out.

If there was no mention of the hob being chipped on the check-in inventory then it wasn't. If it was, the tenant should have made the observation IN WRITING at the start of the tenancy.

G_M

The tenant appears to have caused the damage so is responsible.

However, the tenant's responsibiliy is to leave the property at the end of the tenancy as it was at the start (less fair wear and tear).Tenant could choose to repair (replace the cracked part?) or replace, or it could be deducted from deposit.

Remember the LL cannot expect 'betterment'. So if the T moves out after, say 12 months, and the hob was 6 month old at the start, claiming for a brand new hob to replace an 18 month old one would be 'betterment'. LL would have to allow for the age and loss in value of the hob.

As for action now - you may wish to explain all this to the T so they can decide what to do and it does not come as a shock when they leave.

Werdnal

Whilst I would agree with the advice given above, I would be very wary of using (or allowing a tenant to continue using) a cracked ceramic hob. If moisture gets into the cracks, I would suspect there to be electrical issues. Its all very well to say "tenant is happy", but tenant receiving electric shock, might not be such a good idea :eek:. Moisture entering the circuit through the cracks will eventually lead to continual tripping of the electrics every time the hob is used.

Having a ceramic hob myself, even being careful, I still occasionally boil a saucepan over. How badly is it cracked? I would very very concerned about the integrity of the hob in these circumstances. At the very least it might blow the hob completely, at worst maybe the tenant :eek:.

Alias_Omega

Thanks for the replies.

I shall have to check the receipt to find out when it was purchased, though 6 months is a rough guess of the age of the hob. The hob was touch sensitive, and was child proof as no knobs were present. We purchased it for more, but its up for £199 right now at Amazon delivered.

I agree with the pan boiling over. We will press the LA tomorrow to request that the hob is replaced to prevent water ingress, though the only way to tell if it is replaced is to carry out another inspection.

The deposit would cover the replacement of the hob if not carried out, though we understand that the hob was damaged by accident, and would want to keep the tenant happy.

The house is kept in good condition, and this is the only thing that has happened in the past 2 years, a working couple with rent paid on time.

G_M

Might be worth just swallowing the cost yourself. You keep your tenants (very!) happy, and also cover yourself from an electrical safety point of view.

Trouble is, ceramic hobs crack easily if pans are banged down, or heavy pans used. So if you DO cover this cost, make it clear it's a one-off (write to confirm) as a gesture of goodwill, but next time you'll expect them to replace.

jjlandlord

If hob and cracked and unsafe then I'd say it is beyond repair and should be replaced. So I think this is LL's responsibility since he provided a hob as part of the tenancy.
But as the damage was caused by T, I'd say T is liable for the cost.

Personally I would not offer to cover the cost. It's one thing to keep a tenant happy it's another to send the signal that I'll pay for whatever damage they do.

Alias_Omega

G_M,

I would not expect the hob to be damaged that easily. I shall check the pictures from the inventory & get back to the LA.

poppysarah

If it's very new is it under warranty?

You have to be pretty rough to break one - what did he say he was doing at the time?

poppysarah

G_M wrote: »

Trouble is, ceramic hobs crack easily if pans are banged down, or heavy pans used. So if you DO cover this cost, make it clear it's a one-off (write to confirm) as a gesture of goodwill, but next time you'll expect them to replace.

Are they?

I would suggest if they are that fragile they are not suited for use by anyone other than people who don't eat.

The OP should perhaps replace it with a more functional practical hob.

chappers

Also if the hob is only 6 months old I would consider that new and expect the tenant to pay the full cost.
I would also agree that this is something that needs fixing now rather than at the end of the tenancy.