Legal advice, renting: Damage rental property

apyabt

Hi there

My partner and I are moving out soon and one of our friends managed to burn a hole in the decking over the weekend. We have been looking to replace this but it's proving to be more difficult than we expected. There are only 2 planks damaged, and the labor, plus materials would be around £150-£300 for us to do ourselves. However we can't find matching decking planks anywhere (they are an odd width and have grooves in).

Is anyone able to inform us of our legal rights in terms of how much money they would be allowed to take from our deposit for something like this?

Would the landlord have the right to ask for the entire decking to be replaced if that type of decking has been discontinued and it won't match if replaced with something new? Or would he just have the right to ask for us to pay for the materials and labor to replace the damaged decking?

Where do our rights stand legally with this?

We live in London and our deposit is over £2000 so we really want to be sure that they can't take all of this off of us as we really can't afford it.

Many thanks for your help in advance.
Tom

Rosemary7391

They can't get "betterment" - by which I mean they can't swap their old decking for new at your expense. I don't know how long decking is supposed to last or how much it costs, so lets say 10 years and £1000 for ease of calculation. If it'd been there for 3 years by the time you leave, and it isn't repairable, then the LL can only charge you for the 7 years he'd lost, ie £700 on my guessed figures.

Guest101

apyabt wrote: »

Hi there

My partner and I are moving out soon and one of our friends managed to burn a hole in the decking over the weekend. We have been looking to replace this but it's proving to be more difficult than we expected. There are only 2 planks damaged, and the labor, plus materials would be around £150-£300 for us to do ourselves. However we can't find matching decking planks anywhere (they are an odd width and have grooves in).

Is anyone able to inform us of our legal rights in terms of how much money they would be allowed to take from our deposit for something like this? - given the quotes you've received, I'd imagine it would be around the £300-400 mark. If these need to be made bespoke, it could well be higher. Whilst the landlord isn't entitled to betterment, the lifetime of decking is quite long and wear and tear is minimal.

Would the landlord have the right to ask for the entire decking to be replaced if that type of decking has been discontinued and it won't match if replaced with something new? - unlikely, it would be cheaper to commission the replacement planks then redo the whole decking. Or would he just have the right to ask for us to pay for the materials and labor to replace the damaged decking? - typically yes, it's whichever option is cheaper.

Where do our rights stand legally with this?

We live in London and our deposit is over £2000 so we really want to be sure that they can't take all of this off of us as we really can't afford it.

Many thanks for your help in advance.
Tom

The LL doesn't actually have to do the work, just take payment to cover his or her loss.

pmlindyloo

apyabt wrote: »

Hi there

My partner and I are moving out soon and one of our friends managed to burn a hole in the decking over the weekend. We have been looking to replace this but it's proving to be more difficult than we expected. There are only 2 planks damaged, and the labor, plus materials would be around £150-£300 for us to do ourselves. However we can't find matching decking planks anywhere (they are an odd width and have grooves in).

Is anyone able to inform us of our legal rights in terms of how much money they would be allowed to take from our deposit for something like this?

Would the landlord have the right to ask for the entire decking to be replaced if that type of decking has been discontinued and it won't match if replaced with something new? Or would he just have the right to ask for us to pay for the materials and labor to replace the damaged decking?

Where do our rights stand legally with this?

We live in London and our deposit is over £2000 so we really want to be sure that they can't take all of this off of us as we really can't afford it.

Many thanks for your help in advance.
Tom

My thoughts are that this is best resolved through negotiation with your landlord.

It is a difficult one since this cannot be classed as fair wear and tear. As the tenant you are responsible for the behaviour of your visitors (although a contribution from whoever caused the problem might be appropriate) so this is something you need to deal with.

It might be possible that the landlord has insurance to cover this so worth discussing.

The difficulty is that it seems that the planks cannot be replaced. This seems to indicate that the decking is quite old so betterment needs to be taken into account for any costs that the landlord asks for.

It is also possible that the landlord may have some old planks from when it was installed that could be used. Or he may be able to get replacement planks.

So basically your options are:

1. Talk to your landlord.
2. Leave it to the adjudicator of your deposit protection scheme to decide on any dispute if you and the LL cannot come to an agreement about cost.

caprikid1

Sounds cheaper to buy a nice planter and leave it behind ?

always_sunny

whatever the LL will charge you must be backed up by a reasonable quote.
If you feel it's too much you could always bring your friend to court and ask them to pay for the damage?

Guest101

always_sunny wrote: »

whatever the LL will charge you must be backed up by a reasonable quote.
If you feel it's too much you could always bring your friend to court and ask them to pay for the damage?

That's not strictly true. A quote isn't necessary, though it is advisable.