Advice for landlord re: damage to property

lynsayjane

Morning all,
Had an incident over the weekend and just curious for others points of view.

I'm a landlord and the tenants have been having issues with the shower, back in January the PRD (pressure relief device) in the shower blew. The tenants had put on a new shower head (no explanation why, the one there was the the original for the shower and had no faults) and the manufacturer stated this may have caused it. I paid myself for the new PRD and had it fitted, I also asked the tenants to replace the head back to the original.
Then last month I was told the PRD had blown again. I again replaced it at my own time and expense, while there I checked the hose and head and found the hose damaged inside. I then had to order a new hose and head which I again paid for (notice a theme!).
Last week I got a text from the tenant to say the shower had no pressure and sounded like a kettle boiling. There had also been a report from another landlord in the building of a leak in the basement under my flat (it's ground floor). When I went out the basement was dry and no leak was seen. I had mentioned to them that it floods during heavy rain as it's below ground level but he reported a soapy smell.
I went in over the weekend to fit a brand new shower (yup, I paid) and discovered the sealant at the base of the shower was in terrible condition, covered in mould with holes in places. The tenant has neither tried to fix this or report it to me. I purchased bleach and anti mould sealant to clean it thoroughly and replace it.
Here comes the big issue...
While scrubbing the base of the shower I discovered that the base is CRACKED, this thing is cast stone and weights about a ton (ok, maybe not an actual one but the point is it's not cheap or plastic etc). I have no idea whatsoever how that can happen, neither tenant is large so it's not like there's a weight concern. I'm now thinking that between the crack and the holes in the sealant that this may have been causing the damp in the basement too.

So after spending hundreds of pounds and spending a lot of time going back and forth to the flat I'm now looking at a hugely expensive repair. In order to replace the base the cubicle will need removed, tiles etc. The cubicles are often damaged in removal and no doubt the plasterboard walls will need replaced following the tiles coming out..... I only put all this in two years ago.

I'm really annoyed about the whole thing, I don't understand how the tenants could have not noticed the cracked base or the damaged seal if they were cleaning it properly (which based on the mould I'm guessing they don't). The rest of the flat has generally been kept in good condition (that I can see from a cursory visit) and the tenants haven't caused any trouble, other than this issues with the shower.
I guess what I'm wondering is, given that some of this falls to lack of care from the tenant am I responsible alone for these repairs? How would other landlords handle this?

Thanks

G_M

....discovered the sealant at the base of the shower was in terrible condition, covered in mould with holes in places. .....

While scrubbing the base of the shower I discovered that the base is CRACKED, this thing is cast stone and weights about a ton

I assume by 'shower', you actually mean the shower tray???


It's an unfortunate state of affairs, but to be honest I don't see you can claim off the tenants.

They have clearly been reporting issues to you as they arise when they notice them. Unless you can show (on the balance of probability as the courts would require) that they deliberately chose to not report the cracked tray and thus caused further damage (the damp) it is just one of those repairing overheads.

Do you have insurance? Accidental damage?

The PRD thing seems wierd. I'm no electrician or plumber, but can't see how changing a shower head could affect the working of the shower. Still, someone else may be able to explain.

lynsayjane

The PRD blows when the flow of water is interrupted, the suggestion was that as the new shower head wasn't an official product it may have not allowed the water to flow fully. It can also be caused by mildew build up.

I do have insurance, need to call them but wanted to gather facts first. Have joined the Scottish Association of Landlords and awaiting a call from their advisor.

DaftyDuck

It doesn't sound too much like tenant-induced problems to me either. Shower trays are pretty solid and, if fixed to a level, solid surface, they won't crack under anything that could be termed normal usage. Chip, yes, but crack?

For

the sealant at the base of the shower ... in terrible condition, covered in mould with holes in places

that does rather suggest that careful regular inspections are not being made, that the sealant was of poor quality, or the wrong type, and that it might have been poorly applied. Sealant lasts, as a minimum, a couple of years, and can go five with no trouble. Mould can be caused by failing to clean, but a quality silicon bathroom seal will withstand that. As to suggesting a tenant do this kind of job.... NEVER! My first really costly mistake in letting came from a well-meaning tenant resealing a bath/shower with non-waterproof mastic, and the leak that resulted was horrendous.

Pressure relief devices that I've met also seem fairly failsafe, if properly fitted. Changing a showerhead really shouldn't affect them at all. It's the downstream pressure that might affect them: upstream, taps get turned on and off, loos flushed, whatever... and they cope! If the showerhead should not be changed, such a stipulation should be made plain to the tenant, with reasons given. Otherwise, changing a showerhead for one with, say, variable spray pattern would seem entirely reasonable to me.

The tenants just seem to be having a run of bad luck with the shower system, and I'm far from convinced they are the cause of the problems.

martindow

DaftyDuck wrote: »

It doesn't sound too much like tenant-induced problems to me either. Shower trays are pretty solid and, if fixed to a level, solid surface, they won't crack under anything that could be termed normal usage. Chip, yes, but crack?

I agree with this. It sounds as if the shower tray was not well installed and properly supported. Once it has cracked and moved the sealant is likely to come away from the wall. With a gap, mould could well develop behind the sealant and be impossible to clean.

It sounds like the LL's responsibility rather than the T's.

lynsayjane

The shower tray has been in place for around 10 years, I'm sure if that were the case it would have cracked before now?
The mould is over the sealant and the damaged piece was the section travelling up the wall from the corner up the tiling. Off the top of my head I don't think any parts of the sealant along the base were missing.

Fluff15

If the PRD blew twice and you ended up replacing the hose, it's likely there was a build up of limescale within the hose, so I highly doubt it was the head of the shower. Or mould, since the rest of the shower is having an issue (I am in the trade).

Mould will grow on sealant if it has not been properly sealed - I suffered from mould within my bathroom for the same reason, no matter how many times I bleached and treated it grew faster than I could get rid of it and actually grew within the sealant so was impossible to remove. Once the sealant was completely dug out and replaced, I have not had the issue since. The first lot of sealant looked properly done but it obviously wasn't. MartinD is right, if the shower tray is cracked it would have displaced the sealant and caused the issue.

I do not think any of these issues are the tenants fault. Annoying yes, but if you only noticed the crack by scrubbing and they're the sort of people who only wipe down the shower, it's likely they haven't noticed it either. Or, it was always like that when they moved in.

[Deleted User]

I agree also. Even an extreme lack of cleaning could not cause the tray to crack unless there was something wrong with the seating, the tray was really thin etc.

I am really short sighted. Don't wear glasses in the shower.., there'd have to be a 6 inch wide gap for me to notice it lol.

Unless you can prove they are jumping up and down in the shower with stilleto's on, you can't really claim the damage is their fault.