Tenant accidentally damaged property - who pays?

G_M

Lavatory was/wasn't working fine for the period leading up this blockage?
If not, had tenant reported to the landlord?
If working fine, how long was this period of working fine?
Blockage was caused by who?
Landlord was/wasn't informed of blockage prior to any attempt to clear?
Attempt to clear blockage was done by who?
Damage to pipe at rear of lavatory was done by who?

On the basis of the answers, which appear from your first post to be fairly clear, it is clear where financial responsibility for this repair lies.

Arrange the repairs asap (to get a working lavatory back), but make clear the bill will be forwarded to them. Ideally start wih a friendly face-to-face/telephone chat where you can explain the reasoning etc, but follow up with a letter.

societys_child

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

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.

a circuitous route?
the installation should be made up of sewer pipe (held securely in place) to the point it can be joined to the wc with a pan connector.

Getting something round the u-bend strong enough to cause the pipe to move is odd . . .

paddyrg

Toilets have U-Bends, so a plunger won't cause this unless the pipe was poorly fitted. If they mis-used draining rods, there may be a case, but if they tried to plunge and the pressure was enough for the pipe to disconnect, I'd say it was poorly fitted in the first place (and so a compromised cost)

LouC

Hi everyone, thanks for your advise, it is all greatly appreciated!

Here's an update: I got it repaired straight away and spoke to the management agent about it. The tenants are arguing that the pipe was badly fitted to begin with. I'm arguing that it's been fine for 5 years since the bathroom was fitted, so...

I guess i'd be happy to split the bill 50/50

GDB2222

LouC wrote: »

Hi everyone, thanks for your advise, it is all greatly appreciated!

Here's an update: I got it repaired straight away and spoke to the management agent about it. The tenants are arguing that the pipe was badly fitted to begin with. I'm arguing that it's been fine for 5 years since the bathroom was fitted, so...

I guess i'd be happy to split the bill 50/50

You should ask the plumber for a short report on whether the pipe was defective in any way.