Rental House - Guttering - Whose responsible?

getzls

Notmyrealname wrote: »

I have a window cleaner who does gutters for £20. Once every couple of years I get him to do the gutters on the property I rent out. Its tax deductible and not a massive expense.

A window cleaner that gives you an invoice?:D Reading both sides, i would like to think a LL would clean the guttering. Comparing it to replacing light bulbs is nonsence imo. O.K. say the Postman is at your door and the guttering fell on him, who is he going to sue?

StuieUK34

Hey all.....

On the note of guttering, and taking it all in, based on the Housing Act and info from you lot, i will go on the basis that i am not responsible for cleaning the guttering (if it were empty to start with, i could handle cleaning it myself, but with years+ worth of moss growth, i feel i should'nt be liable for anything that goes wrong if the LL fails to maintain the house)

Now, heres the bigger issue. The LL lives in India, and has done for a while, hence him handing over the management of the house (its a 4bed detached) to an estate agent who have a reputation for being useless.....
I dont imagine the LL has any ideas about the guttering, as most likely the Letting agents wont have told him theres an issue....

Upon my email to a manager at the LA, i got this reply...
""
please be advised that it is the responsibility of the tenant to ensure that Guttering is kept clean and clear of build up of Moss & Leaves and to maintain the property in a tenant like manner, therefore should the guttering collapse due to the build up of moss you as the tenant could be held responsible. "

So given the moss build up is an accumilation over the years, and going by the housing act as to the Owner being responsible for structural and gutters, then i am hoping i can reply back to the snooty b!tch and say " The law says otherwise, so please arrange for a gutter cleaner to climb high up to clear the build up"

I dont have the LL (owners) details, and i guess i would have to raise a request with the LA requesting the contact details for the LL, if i were to want to inform the LL about the state of the guttering ?

I do the other stuff in the house, wife broke the garage door, but we paid to fix it, as we damaged it, etc etc.... Guttering as said stems from previous to us, and makes the place look a mess when it rains!

G_M

It is always useful to know how to contact your landlord (esp as you seem to have an unhelpful agent) so I'd write and ask quoting the Landlord & Tenant Act 1985 section 1.

As well as 'the law says otherwise' which as you've seen from the debate here is.... debateable, I'd also point out that you inherited blocked guttering and that the LL risks damage to other aspects of his property if he does not maintain them.