House Fire Lost everything, I don't accept liability!

bmhr

I moved into a newly rented property. Used the tumble dryer for first time on the 2nd, put my wet clothes in it and I put it on a cupboard dry setting. I then left it on to dry my clothes and left to visit a friend’s house at around 9pm.

I returned to the house at 1am and the house was on fire. I called the fire brigade and they made the house safe.

The downstairs kitchen was completely burnt out and there was substantial smoke damage to the entire property. The house will be uninhabitable for 5/6 months.

Unfortunately my bedroom door was open and all of my belongings have been damaged beyond repair. As I had only been in the property for 2 days I hadn't managed to take out contents insurance.
I did not use the oven/microwave at all, I don't smoke and I did not misuse the tumble dryer.

I don't accept liability for this and I think the landlord should have checked whether the appliances in the property were safe for use before any tenant moved in. Is this reasonable?

How should I go about getting compensation for the loss of my belongings?

MentalMinnie

Who does the tumble dryer belong to? You will need to wait for the Fire service report on what caused the damage.

Strapped

So you're thinking of suing the LL? Should go down well.

JonnyBravo

bmhr wrote: »

I moved into a newly rented property. Used the tumble dryer for first time on the 2nd, put my wet clothes in it and I put it on a cupboard dry setting. I then left it on to dry my clothes and left to visit a friend’s house at around 9pm.

I returned to the house at 1am and the house was on fire. I called the fire brigade and they made the house safe.

The downstairs kitchen was completely burnt out and there was substantial smoke damage to the entire property. The house will be uninhabitable for 5/6 months.

Unfortunately my bedroom door was open and all of my belongings have been damaged beyond repair. As I had only been in the property for 2 days I hadn't managed to take out contents insurance.
I did not use the oven/microwave at all, I don't smoke and I did not misuse the tumble dryer.

I don't accept liability for this and I think the landlord should have checked whether the appliances in the property were safe for use before any tenant moved in. Is this reasonable?

How should I go about getting compensation for the loss of my belongings?

Hadn't managed to take out contents insurance in 2 days? How long does it take?

Just because you don't accept liability doesn't mean it's the landlords liability. You'll actually have to prove it's his liability. You better hope the fire brigade report says the tumble drier should have been condemned years ago or something similar.

I suspect you're about to learn an expensive lesson.

bmhr

The tumble dryer was supplied with the property by the landlord.

I have sent for a copy of the fire report.

What would be the outcome if the fire report states that the fire started:

a)"From the tumble dryer"

or

b)"An appliance in the kitchen"

I don't know if it will be clear it started from the tumble dryer as the fire has completely destroyed it including the appliances next to it, (dishwasher and washing machine).

phill99

So you knew you were moving into a new property, but didnt have insurance in place to be effective from the date you moved in? It takes 10 mins to get insurance on the Internet, but you didn't do that. Now that there is a problem, you think someone else is to blame.

Seems about right.

bmhr

Yeh I admit I should have taken out insurance before I had even moved in to the property, I shall definitely be doing that from now on.

JonnyBravo

bmhr wrote: »

The tumble dryer was supplied with the property by the landlord.

I have sent for a copy of the fire report.

What would be the outcome if the fire report states that the fire started:

a)"From the tumble dryer"

or

b)"An appliance in the kitchen"

I don't know if it will be clear it started from the tumble dryer as the fire has completely destroyed it including the appliances next to it, (dishwasher and washing machine).

So what if the tumble drier is the source?
You'll have to prove the landlord supplied you with an unsafe tumble drier and that was the cause. You'll have to be ready, for example, to prove that it was nothing to do with with overloading it.
So what if it's another appliance?

You've got to prove the landlord did something wrong/negligent if you want to sue the landlord.

The most obvious negligent action in this thread with the information we have so far is your lack of contents insurance.

hazyjo

Sorry to hear about what happened - must have been a huge fright!

Hope I'm not stating the obvious - but are you sure everything you put in the tumble drier was able to be tumble-dried? From my experience, not a lot actually is! I only really use mine for towels occasionally. Even the bedding can't 'officially' go in the tumble drier. Most of my clothes can't, so I've just given up with it really.

Jx

GDB2222

bmhr wrote: »

The tumble dryer was supplied with the property by the landlord.

I have sent for a copy of the fire report.

What would be the outcome if the fire report states that the fire started:

a)"From the tumble dryer"

or

b)"An appliance in the kitchen"

I don't know if it will be clear it started from the tumble dryer as the fire has completely destroyed it including the appliances next to it, (dishwasher and washing machine).

It doesn't matter. You will need to prove that the landlord was aware (or ought to have been aware) that the tumble dryer was faulty. It's most unlikely that you can do this, but you could try contacting the previous tenants.

His insurers may counter-claim that you misused the tumble dryer. Talking about 'wet clothes' does not help your case, as it sounds like they were sopping, in which case you can expect a bill for reinstatement of the house to come winging your way. Likewise, if they can show that you were at fault in some other way, eg overloading.

I can just imagine you being cross-examined in court: "What was the dry weight of the clothing you put in the tumble dryer?" You: "Oh, I didn't weigh it." Counsel: "What does the dryer's manual specify as the maximum weight?" You: "I don't know." Judge: "Judgement for the landlord and his insurers, plus costs."

On the plus side, I can tell you my experience of having had a severe house fire. First, be EXTREMELY thankful nobody was hurt. Second, the smoke usually washes out of clothes after washing - you may need to do some stuff 2-3 times. You can wipe the soot off most hard items, and in time the smell will disappear. So, although it may look like your stuff is completely ruined, a lot of it is probably recoverable with some effort.

skintandscared_2

The fire brigade strongly advise to never leave tumble dryers running unattended.

I presume you did the vent checks that are done every time you use a tumble dryer (especially one you've never used before) to make sure all the vents were free of fluff?

I wish you luck though.