HELP: Rental Property ARTEX who responsible?

beckykb

Morning, I am tenant in a private rental property. Our landlord recently did a home inspection, and the main problem is with the artex ceiling in the dining room. The artex is starting to fall away and a small section is hanging from the ceiling. We were assuming this was the landlords problem to fix, but they have demanded we "put it right".
Does anyone know of we can dispute this? I'd be happy to fix the problem if we had caused the damage, but seems very unfair to expect us to fund this repair when it appears to be a problem with the artex itself?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Becky xx

G_M

Write a polite, friendly letter addressed to the LL at the address on your tenancy agreement:

Dear Mr LL,

Thank you so much for your time the other day(on xx/xx13). It was a pleasure to see you, and kind of you to take the time to come and identify issues with the house.

As you saw, there is a structural problem with the artex in the dining room which is falling away.

We will be happy to cooperate with your contractors as far as possible regarding access, and look forward to hearing from you with details of who will be coming to fix it, and when.

Yourssincerely

A Tenant

beckykb

Thank you for the quick reply, so the problem can be classed as structural and therefore not our responsibility?

seriousDFW

Whether it's structural or otherwise, it's maintenance and that is the responsibility of the LL.

moneyistooshorttomention

I'd hazard a guess that the landlord has read stuff along similar lines to what I've been reading about artex.

This goes basically: if Artex is early 1980s or before then it might have some asbestos in it. If this is the case, then what the owner of the ceiling in question needs to do is to skim plaster over the Artex and certainly not try and remove it themselves.

That was my take on what I was reading, after studying it a bit because an awful lot of houses where I've been looking to buy have these darn artex ceilings.

So, hence him trying to shove the responsibility for it onto your shoulders.

DRP

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

I'd hazard a guess that the landlord has read stuff along similar lines to what I've been reading about artex.

This goes basically: if Artex is early 1980s or before then it might have some asbestos in it. If this is the case, then what the owner of the ceiling in question needs to do is to skim plaster over the Artex and certainly not try and remove it themselves.

That was my take on what I was reading, after studying it a bit because an awful lot of houses where I've been looking to buy have these darn artex ceilings.

So, hence him trying to shove the responsibility for it onto your shoulders.

Good point. Another reason for the LL to be sorting this out quickly and safely.

Raksha

Surely it depends on *why* the artex is falling away. There's a patch on our kitchen ceiling that's come away - because 'somebody' had left a bathroom tap running and/or not put the shower screen in place properly...

G_M

Yes - if the tenant caused the damage, either by throwing saucepans at the ceiling or flooding the floor above, then the tenant is financially liable.

But it is still down tothe LL to fix.

In the absence of clear evidence about the cause/blame, it is routine maintenance which the LL is financially liable for.