Money Moral Dilemma: Should I charge my tenant for damage?

Alan.tenanty

You should not charge. It is very likely any tenant but especially a (young?) Student will not have previously used such a device. It is not common knowledge to remove the covers. The damage is hardly deliberate or careless. Suck it up.
Next time leave the cover off when showing the accommodation and explain why and when the caps should ever be put on.
What next? A cover to keep the top of the fridge clean?

thedr

Little cap on each ring on the hob? Sounds like it's time to get a new hob! You can't blame someone for not taking into account the antiquated nature of your technology.

Davesnave

Scraping the barrel here!

May I make a suggestion? Steal a real post from around five years ago, delete that thread and no one will be any the wiser.

It'll be more realistic.

chrisdy34

Google hob covers/ available on Amazon about 5.99.
More importantly have a quick think about what else you have not explained properly!

Mouseboy007

I subscribe to a newsletter that posts garbage, recycled, or made up posts about pointless dilemmas missing most of the salient information. Should I unsubscribe?

robatwork

mouseboy007 wrote: »

I subscribe to a newsletter that posts garbage, recycled, or made up posts about pointless dilemmas missing most of the salient information. Should I unsubscribe?

Most of the newsletter contains useful information, and let's be honest the MMD are providing some entertainment if not enlightenment. Next dilemma.....are dog trousers better all in one or as 2 pairs?

dispassionateview

Show generosity by telling the tenant it was your mistake by not showing how to use the appliance and not to worry about trivial things. It will foster a good relationship and that is what both parties ultimately want in any healthy relationship.

REJP

No. It is your fault for not showing her how to operate something she may never have seen.

REJP

Further to my previous answer, where does the original poster say it was a gas hob?
Still should not charge the tenant, should have given her the instruction manual or shown her how to use the cooker. Not all students do the cooking at home unfortunately.
Never ever assume people know how to use appliances. Always assume they know nothing unless shown otherwise.

tain

I'm disagreeing with everyone here, on a number of grounds.

a) These caps can be quite expensive if you need to get the specific ones from the manufacturer. You can't just google any old generic one and assume them cheap things are the right ones. Have you ever tried to get a replacement shelf for your fridge? They're made from about 50p of plastic, yet they'll happily charge £80 for the replacement. That's one shelf, and you often have 2-4 of them.

b) You could assume that the tenant broke all 4 if it was a 4 hob cooker.

c) What if these caps were really darn obvious how to use, and the tenant is just throwing the 'you didn't show me' thing as an excuse? If it's the caps I'm thinking of, they're pretty straightforward.

d) What else does the landlord need to show the tenant just in case they break it? How to sit on the sofa properly? How not to put metal into the microwave? Explain to them that only the key you give them is suitable for the front door, and forcing the wrong key so the lock breaks isn't going to be acceptable?