Landlord says window repair is my responsibility

thesaint

babe_ruth wrote:

As the window was damaged in gale force winds I would think his insurance would pay for it. Although I suppose it depends what his excess is.

Assuming that he has buidings insurance on his property.

Anyone know if buildings insurance is a legal requirement along with gas checks etc?

No, it's not a legal requirement.

babe_ruth_3

thanks saint :T

catkins

Your Landlord sound just like mine!! It is his responsibility, but as you say if you insist that he pay for it he may well evict you when your tenancy is up.

I have lost count of the repairs that myself and OH have paid for in our rented house which the Landlord just will not pay. We still have no carpet in our living room after being here for 2 years although he promised he would get it sorted. Trouble is we like the house, it is in an area convenient for us and we have a large dog and two cats and a lot of Landlords do not take animals. At the end of the day if you like where you are and the window will not cost that much it may be easier to pay for it yourself

Wickedkitten

Hah, If he made me pay to fix it, I would be taking it with me when I moved out.

prudryden

Sounds like it was a casement window.

Unfortunately, it also sounds like it would be your word against his. You probably would have to prove that you didn't leave the window open (negligence), if you wanted to take it that far.

In any case, either his building insurance or your contents/liability insurance should cover it. It probably recommends that you have contents/liability insurance in your contract, but not mandatory.

After initially thinking that the LL should pay, I now think it might be better to offer 50/50, as was mentioned in an above post.

Debt_Free_Chick

I'm not fully convinced that you have no liability to pay. What does your tenancy agreement say?

Although this is the LL's property, it is under the tenant's care, so any damage that occurs could well be the tenant's responsibility. If it were wear & tear, that would clearly be the LL's cost .... but accidental damage .... hhhmmmmm....

See what your tenancy agreement states first. But look at this from the LL's point of view too - he let a property with a window in it. Now there is no window and the loss occurred whilst there was a tenant in the property.

I'm not trying to say that "it's your fault" - but that generally one would have some responsibility for another person's property, if it were in our "possession".

Regards

movieman

But look at this from the LL's point of view too - he let a property with a window in it. Now there is no window and the loss occurred whilst there was a tenant in the property.

So if the landlord had let the place out with bits of chewing gum holding the window closed, and if it smashed in a gale then it would be the tenant's responsibility?

If the tenant closed the window and locked it to the best of their ability, I'd say there is no way they can reasonably be considered responsible for breakage and the landlord is just being tight-fisted. If I was in that position I'd just move out; if nothing else, if they're trying to avoid paying such a small sum I wouldn't trust their financial position in maintaining the mortgage on the place.

Alan_M_2

If a window is designed to be opened, has mechanisms in place to be opened, and fixed in an open position, I'd like to see any of the above posters prove that using this mechanism and opening a window is in any way negligent from a legal view point.

What planet are you on?

Debt_Free_Chick

There doesn't need to be any negligence. Indeed, insurance claims for storm-related damage are paid without even enquiring about negligence. And accidental damage, if applicable, does not involve negligence.

I don't see anyone at fault here. But the LL's property was damaged whilst "in the care" of the tenant. Tenants' insurance would probably have covered this, but it doesn't sound like the OP had any.

It would still be interesting to see what the tenancy agreement specified.

Just to be clear - this is a situation where no-one is to blame, but the owner of the property is still out of pocket. Perhaps the solution is to share the cost 50/50 as others have suggested

Caz2_2

God. some of these landlords give the rest of us a bad name. He is trying it on! It is his responsibility to fix it and he should be happy to do it since you are a regular paying tenant. Our tenants are great and I know we would just about fix anything that went wrong to keep them. Call his bluff he wont want rid of you if you are a good payer. Sorry for ranting just sick of hearing about these landlords.....:mad: