Tenant accidentally damaged property - who pays?

LouC

Hi everyone,

The tenants in my rental have accidentally pushed the pipe out of the back of the toilet while trying to clear a blockage.

Unfortunately, because of the way the bathroom has been fitted, the plumber needs to go through the wall in the adjoining bedroom to fix the problem. Between him and the builder, the cost for the job will be about £500.

I'm normally very good with repairs, and have fixed both the shower and the oven already this year - but this has pee-ed me off a bit as I think it's their fault.

What happens in a case like this? Has anyone else been in this kind of situation?

I rent the property through a management agency if that makes a difference...

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Lou

jjlandlord

Damage was caused by tenant, so:
If you're not insured they're liable to pay the cost of repair.
If you're insured, they're liable to cover any excess.

That said, you are responsible for the repairs, so you should have them carried out ASAP.

BitterAndTwisted

The tenant caused the damage so the tenant pays. I daresay they also caused the blockage, too so that's doubly compelling.

Warn them that they will be paying one way or another, so it doesn't come as a nasty shock when you make a deduction from their deposit. Keep copies of the tradesmen's invoices close to hand.

theartfullodger

Clearly problems with toilet outlets need fixing fairly quick & you may not get agreement from tenant very soon.

Suspect LL is responsible for ensuring toilets work OK anyway

I'd say get tradesman to fix it quick-ish, keep estimates & invoices and advise tenant right away you expect him to pay.

If he doesn't pay you may have fun trying to persuade deposit scheme of the condition of the outlet pipe when tenant moved in..

Seems time for an appropriate quote: "Sh*t happens"..

chris_m

theartfullodger wrote: »

you may have fun trying to persuade deposit scheme of the condition of the outlet pipe when tenant moved in.

I doubt it;

"Has the tenant ever complained that the pipe leaks when they flush the toilet?"

"No".

"Ergo, it was fitted when they moved in. At what point did it cease to be fitted and needed work to refit it?"

"The point at which the tenant pushed it out of the back of the toilet"

t0rt0ise

If I were the tenant I would be carefully watching the plumber as he repaired it and making light conversation getting him to tell why it would happen. If it was due to the condition of the pipe then I would keep the bits he removed as evidence and refuse to pay on the grounds that it was already defective.

Your tenant, if he's got any sense will do likewise.

tbs624

LouC wrote: »

I rent the property through a management agency if that makes a difference...

If you let the property via an agent then bear in mind that if you use their trades there will be a hefty mark up.

As the others have said, you have to maintain the sanitary conveniences in working order, so you need to get on and get the work underway having given the Ts the bad news. They of course may argue that your plumbing was at fault and that it should have been able to withstand the usual methods of clearing the.. ahem... blockage.

BitterAndTwisted

I suspect that this blockage may have been caused by trying to flush things down there that shouldn't be flushed. Like a nappy or similar. Those "wipe" things accumulate and block lav outlets and sewers all the time. In an office where I worked the plumbers were called out on a quarterly basis. Get the plumber to include in his invoice the reason why they thought the pipe became blocked. He should be able to see it if they hadn't managed to clear it with their inept meddling.

getzls

You see L.L. posting on sites, if the tenant broke it they fix it etc. So they are at times dammed if they do and dammed if they don't. Yes they should have said to you about it before they tried a self repair. Come to a compromise with them, maybe share the cost.

societys_child

If the pipe's been pushed off and the only way to repair it is to "go through the wall in the adjoining bedroom", it sounds like the pipe/wc was badly fitted in the first place.

BitterAndTwisted

Going by a circuitous route to the down-pipe does not automatically mean that it was badly fitted in the first place. Presumably it had been completely adequate for some time before the tenants managed to block it and then break it.