Tenant damaged my furniture

Kells81

Hi everyone

I own a house which I rent out on a furnished basis.

My tenant has just moved out and I have noticed that they have replaced my lounge coffee table with another one.

I asked my letting agents to find out what happened and they have said the tenant took apart the table as they didn't want to use it and when they reassembled it was unstable so decided to get a new one.

The tenant did not inform the letting agents/myself that they had damaged the table or that they were going to replace it.

I am not happy with the table that the tenant has supplied but the letting agents have said it is in a good condition.

Can anyone offer me any advice on where I stand? I no I can't get my table back but I think it is unfair that the tenant gets away with chucking away my table without consulting me?

Many thanks

Kelly

pjread

Unless you can reasonably prove a detriment, it sounds as though the tenant has acted more than fairly and your own agent agrees. new for old replacement after damage is the best you could have hoped for!

stator

If the replacement isn't of similar quality, ie they've replaced solid wood table with chipboard vaneer, then you need to go through the normal process for a deposit deduction.

pjread

stator wrote: »

If the replacement isn't of similar quality, ie they've replaced solid wood table with chipboard vaneer, then you need to go through the normal process for a deposit deduction.

Yeah exactly, you need to show a 'loss' on your part. On paper and the facts given, they replaced an old table with a new one and your agent seems to think it's fine - so presumably no massive difference in quality.

Especially after allowing for wear and tear, I'd be surprised if you could get anywhere.

Slinky

Would you ever have put the coffee table back in your own home? If not, why worry? Presumably it wasn't particularly valuable or sentimental otherwise you wouldn't have put it in a rental house. Yes it's annoying, but it's not going to make the difference about whether another tenant rents your house or not.

Don't sweat the small stuff.

Kells81

Thanks for the replies.

I think I'm probably more sensitive about it as I use to live in the house but had to move out and rent it to tenants for various reasons and therefore I plan to move back in there again at some point and I assumed it would be with all the furniture I had originally.

I know I'm being silly but it just seems so cheeky that the tenant broke it, replaced it and didn't tell anyone. I just wish she had left the original one behind so I could have tried to fix it.

Many thanks again for your help.

Guest101

Kells81 wrote: »

Thanks for the replies.

I think I'm probably more sensitive about it as I use to live in the house but had to move out and rent it to tenants for various reasons and therefore I plan to move back in there again at some point and I assumed it would be with all the furniture I had originally.

I know I'm being silly but it just seems so cheeky that the tenant broke it, replaced it and didn't tell anyone. I just wish she had left the original one behind so I could have tried to fix it.

Many thanks again for your help.

Never let someone else use, something which you want back.

Just like lending money.

Shame, but its a table, life's too short

Kells81

Guest101 wrote: »

Never let someone else use, something which you want back.

Just like lending money.

Shame, but its a table, life's too short

I totally agree. I'm slowly starting to see my house more as a business than a home but it's taking me a bit of time! That's why I posted on here as I needed to get some clarity from some sensible people.

maninthestreet

So where is the original table??

Kells81

maninthestreet wrote: »

So where is the original table??

She got rid of it!

DaftyDuck

It'll turn up on the Antiques Roadshow in Spring... "...and, for insurance purposes, I'd cautiously value it at ....."

O.P. faints!