Liability for second hand whitegoods and appliances

lildoonbuggy

Thanks sal_III, agree. And besides, we dont want to make things difficult and end up with bad references, so there's definitely a case for balancing convenience with principal and potentially just sucking it up for the short term whilst we speed up everything else. But it is reassuring to know that actually they would probably be sweating it too and that we have a case to negotiate.

G_M, that's a handy reflection and good to know that whilst unpalatable, he can probably get away with it so I shouldn't be getting too cocky!

franklee

lildoonbuggy wrote: »

They are now refusing to budge and saying not only do we have to maintain the whitegoods, any issues with them would be taken from our deposit of 3 months rent if not addressed prior to leaving the property.

It depends what's meant by maintain. As a tenant you should be doing small jobs, cleaning washing machine filters, replacing fridge bulbs etc provided they are things any householder is supposed to do as documented in the user manual.

It would be foolhardy on both sides to make the tenant obliged to do larger repairs.

It could be a money pit for the tenant if the appliance is beyond it's useful life yet as the tenant doesn't own it they can't chuck and replace.

From the landlords point of view does he really want someone he does not know doing such repairs especially if the tenant gets them done at mates rates on the cheap. (I wonder what the landlord's insurance would make of that).

How will responsibly be apportioned when it's the landlord's clapped out machine that the tenant was forced to keep and repair. For example, what happens if the tenant repairs and then say there is a fire started by the appliance possibly weeks after the tenant has left?

At least if it's the tenant's machine that he repairs or the landlord's machine that he repairs the line of responsibly is clearly drawn and sensible decisions about replacement can be made by the owner of the appliance.

Electrical safety in rented homes:
https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/repairs/electrical_safety_in_rented_homes

lildoonbuggy

Thanks Franklee, they said 'the tenant will take on all future liability for the whitegoods', so I am fairly certain they mean repairs. We have been cleaning them regularly and even use liquid soaps instead of powders because the drainage is so bad, but we've still had issues with it tripping the electricity or jamming up with error messages.