Landlord Liable For Repair?

smj43

Looking for a bit of advice. A family member was visiting my flat which is rented. She lent on the fence (lightly) and the whole panel fell out and broke. Another relative (who is a builder) had a look and said the fence wasn't put in properly.

So who is liable to pay to repair?

marliepanda

You (or your friend)

It worked fine until she leant on it.

Thrugelmir

smj43 wrote: »

She lent on the fence (lightly) and the whole panel fell out and broke.

Lightly ?

Sounds as if it was more than just being pushed over unless the wood was rotten.

smj43

Correct, but I have children who play in the garden who could have easily lent on it and it would have fallen. My relative sustained a quite bad head injury due to the fence giving way and required stitches. Surely a fence should be able to support some sort of weight?

smj43

It was held on with an MDF baton and not all the screws had been put in

neas

a fence is to seperate two bits of land. It doesnt have an explicity must hold a persons weight requirement.

Your friend should get it replaced.... Im curious how the fence broke as well? Fence panels can be quite cheap and would be east to break if you lent full on them, the cheap 20 quid panel jobbies are.

So what are we talking here? A £20 panel and 8 screws, maybe a lick of wood stainer to blend the panel in.

You say it was hold on by mdf... Are you sure? MDF isn't really an external material, usually you get treated panels like this

smj43

Didn't realise they were so cheap. Suppose I could just replace it. I wouldn't make her pay (my mother in law) as it was an accident and she did get hurt so I'd feel kind of bad!

pmlindyloo

First of all have a look at your rental contract and see if it says anything about the repair of fences.

If it says nothing then it usually is the responsibility of the landlord.

http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/repairs_and_bad_conditions/responsibility_for_repairs/responsibility_for_repairs

However, this is a grey area in your case as it could be argued that your relative caused the fence to break. I accept that you believe that the fence was not fit for purpose. It could be argued that you shouldn't lean on fences but personally I think that is a bit daft. Presumably it would have blown over in a high wind?

So, report it to your landlord and see what they say. Put your point about it not being secured properly.

As often in these cases it is a matter of compromise. Perhaps you could go halves/get it fixed and deduct from your rent?

smj43

neas wrote: »

a fence is to seperate two bits of land.

You say it was hold on by mdf... Are you sure? MDF isn't really an external material

Yes the panel wasn't big enough for the slot it was in so they attached an MDF baton to the wooden post and nailed the panel to that.

My brother in law who is a builder said the same thing that it shouldn't have been used outside as it rots.

jjlandlord

pmlindyloo wrote: »

If it says nothing then it usually is the responsibility of the landlord.

Well no, the landlord has no statutory obligation to repair the fence.

neas

seems a bit of a bodge i agree. I replaced fence panels at my last house and 6 5 ft panels cost around 120 quid... we used the old posts. Main problem will be as per your landlords old problem he didnt get the posts seperated well. At the very least externally treated wood should be used to bridge the gap. It probably was a bit weaker.