Broken window in rented house

sirmosh

I would assume that he needs to prove you did it otherwise he must pay and it sounds like it's going to be very hard to prove you actually did it.

nigem

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spontaneous_glass_breakage

Probably your glass had 'inclusions'.
This happened to me a few years ago. I was just sitting in the lounge when the outer pane cracked and shattered on a very large window. It was the outside pane of the double glazed unit. I explored all options to have it replaced as a manufacturing defect etc but no luck. I had to pay or use insurance for replacement.
I think they said it was just a potential problem in the manufacturing of glass process.
HTH

drummer_666

sirmosh wrote: »

I would assume that he needs to prove you did it otherwise he must pay and it sounds like it's going to be very hard to prove you actually did it.

It is impossible to prove I did it, because I didn't!

anselld

nigem wrote: »

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spontaneous_glass_breakage

Probably your glass had 'inclusions'.
This happened to me a few years ago. I was just sitting in the lounge when the outer pane cracked and shattered on a very large window. It was the outside pane of the double glazed unit. I explored all options to have it replaced as a manufacturing defect etc but no luck. I had to pay or use insurance for replacement.
I think they said it was just a potential problem in the manufacturing of glass process.
HTH

To be clear, you had to pay because you were the owner.
In this case the LL is responsible for the fabric of the building and should therefore pay or use their LL insurance.

nigem

I did pay, as the owner.
I would think that as it can be shown to happen without any input from the OP, it should be a LL issue. It needs accidental damage insurance cover to claim though.

s_b

i wouldnt pay
its obviously a stress issue as already mentioned
as for chunders down the bog blocking it well thats up to the landlord too
newspapers to save money down the bog would be down to you though but to be honest getting pictures coming off on your bum isnt nice

drummer_666

nigem wrote: »

I did pay, as the owner.
I would think that as it can be shown to happen without any input from the OP, it should be a LL issue. It needs accidental damage insurance cover to claim though.

he says he can't claim on his insurance because he has 20+ properties, so his excess is too high

I guess firstly I need to wait for him to get a quote and fix it
Then if he's still trying to make me pay, print out a load of information about spontaenous breakage etc

Then if he still wants me to pay ay he can take it out the deposit at the end... because landlords always take more of your deposit than they should for repairs

anselld

drummer_666 wrote: »

he says he can't claim on his insurance because he has 20+ properties, so his excess is too high

Not your problem.

drummer_666 wrote: »

I guess firstly I need to wait for him to get a quote and fix it

Yes

drummer_666 wrote: »

Then if he's still trying to make me pay, print out a load of information about spontaenous breakage etc

Then if he still wants me to pay ay he can take it out the deposit at the end... because landlords always take more of your deposit than they should for repairs

It is not allways the case, but if you are unhappy with deductions and cannot reach agreement with the LL then submit the evidence to the deposit scheme arbitrator.

(but dont say or send anything to indicate that you agree to being liable or to money being taken from deposit.)

paulus_the_woodland_gnome

Check the terms of your tenancy agreement- most stipulate that window breakage is the responsibility of the tenant, I guess that is why your LL is reluctant to pay. Most tenancy agreements also state that the tenant is responsible for ensuring that drains , guttering etc are kept clear. So when your LL explained that he was doing you a favour by dyno roding your jobbies , he was right.

I would try to explain that the breakage is not down to negligence or recklessness on your part and hope that he will pay the repair cost. He seems to have been reasonable in the past so it is worth a go.

pinkshoes

You could tell him that you'll get an independent expert to take a look at it, and if he deems it to be a stress crack and not your fault, then the LL needs to pay for both the window repair AND the cost of the expert.