Renting: liability for descaling drains

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FBaby wrote: »

What was done then? If the drains were unblocked then, it seems odd that the subsequent blockage was still due to previous tenant, almost 12 months on 6 months after the first clear up, which they did not challenge.

From the perspective of the LL, if they have been renting the place for years before and never had an issue with the drains, it is not unreasonable to assume that the problem was due to your lifestyle. You might believe that it isn't and you might be right, but in the end, it's their choice whether to keep you as a tenant or not.

Yeah I understand why the landlord would have suspicions, however it is not the case that they have not owned and rented the property for year. The landlord bought the property from the previous residents then rented to us, we have found out previous owners immediately before us were a couple with a baby (i.e. potential users of baby wipes...!).

The invoice from the contractors states that the drains reblocked and would continue to reblock as they needed to be descaled.

Cakeguts

Find out if anyone in your house has put anything down the toilet apart from toilet paper. Baby wipes covers not just baby wipes but anything that looks like baby wipes. So it can include things like toilet cleaning wipes that are marked flushable but aren't really or anything else that can be flushed. If no one has flushed anything down any toilet in your house apart from toilet paper then you probably were not responsible but you will have to check first. If anyone has put something marked flushable down the toilet that isn't toilet paper then you are responible for the blockages.

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Cakeguts wrote: »

Find out if anyone in your house has put anything down the toilet apart from toilet paper. Baby wipes covers not just baby wipes but anything that looks like baby wipes. So it can include things like toilet cleaning wipes that are marked flushable but aren't really or anything else that can be flushed. If no one has flushed anything down any toilet in your house apart from toilet paper then you probably were not responsible but you will have to check first. If anyone has put something marked flushable down the toilet that isn't toilet paper then you are responible for the blockages.

There are just 2 of us in the house. We are confident that we have not put any down the toilets or drains that shouldn't have gone down there. I would feel awful if we had caused it and would have paid or sorted it immediately. I guess the trouble for the landlord is that we would say that wouldn't we? It's all just he says, she says

Cakeguts

questionsquestions wrote: »

There are just 2 of us in the house. We are confident that we have not put any down the toilets or drains that shouldn't have gone down there. I would feel awful if we had caused it and would have paid or sorted it immediately. I guess the trouble for the landlord is that we would say that wouldn't we? It's all just he says, she says

So only toilet paper or what is supposed to be put in there. Nothing else at all? No toilet cleaning wipes marked flushable? The point is that things marked flushable generally aren't.

I live in a hard water area and the drains have never blocked or been scaled. The sink blocks from time to time and we clean it out with a sing unblocker but I don't remember the toilet ever being blocked in 27 years so this is not down to a bit of descaling. The reason why some things that are marked flushable aren't is because they don't break up. Toilet paper is designed to break up when flushed.

aneary

Cakeguts wrote: »

So only toilet paper or what is supposed to be put in there. Nothing else at all? No toilet cleaning wipes marked flushable? The point is that things marked flushable generally aren't.

I live in a hard water area and the drains have never blocked or been scaled. The sink blocks from time to time and we clean it out with a sing unblocker but I don't remember the toilet ever being blocked in 27 years so this is not down to a bit of descaling. The reason why some things that are marked flushable aren't is because they don't break up. Toilet paper is designed to break up when flushed.

The OP has stated several times that he hasn't put anything down there that he shouldn't.
The OP has stated that the previous occupier had a young child (probably wet wipes there) and that the contractor said that the cause could be a neighbour.

Unfortunately for the LL he is unable to prove who blocked the drains, tenant, previous owner or neighbour. This is one cost the LL will have to accept.

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Cakeguts wrote: »

So only toilet paper or what is supposed to be put in there. Nothing else at all? No toilet cleaning wipes marked flushable? The point is that things marked flushable generally aren't.

No. We're not idiots. But thanks for illustrating what I mean about this all being a bit "he said, she said" :rotfl: