Unfair repairs????

Jdan8419

Hello,

I am looking for some advice please

My friend is currently in privately rented property through a letting agency and unfortunately her young son has pulled the child lock off the front of the kitchen cupboard which has taken the front coating off the door, speaking with the letting agency they have informed her that the landlord has stated she wants this replaced now, which my friend completely accepts responsibility for and is willing to replace it. However the landlord has said the units are no longer manufactured and cannot be gotten hold of, therefore Every door will need replacing so they all match which she has said will cost approximately £900!
Considering she is more than willing to fund the replacement of the damaged cupboard door, replacing all the doors to match because that particular door is no longer available is not acceptable, surely?
Please if anyone has any advice where she stands legally, if you could throw it over I would really appreciate it

haras_nosirrah

would the landlord allow her to replace the door and pay someone to professionally paint all the doors to match or is the colour not the issue?

To be fair not many people would want a kitchen with 1 mismatched unit door so I can see the landlords point

FreeBear

Jdan8419 wrote: »

However the landlord has said the units are no longer manufactured and cannot be gotten hold of, therefore Every door will need replacing so they all match which she has said will cost approximately £900!

Sounds like the landlord is seeking "betterment" and wants shiny new doors to replace a set of old & tired looking ones.

If the units are (for example) ten years old, and were expected to last a total of 15 years, then the most he could reasonably expect would be £300.

I would suggest your friend take the damaged door off and visit a few kitchen stores in order to identify the model. If the door is truly discontinued, it may be possible to source one from somewhere like ebay... Might even find one of the kitchen stores in the process of riping out an identical kitchen.

Jdan8419

Although I can see the landlords point, it’s completely reasonable to want a matching kitchen, however one door which the tenant had damaged is going to cost her £900? It’s not reasonable in my eyes, I’m just wondering where she stands legally with it.
I’m not too sure if the landlord would allow that, the only correspondence through the agency is that she wants it done now. She has never been a problem tenant, but being in benefits this is really distressing her. A £900 bill for one door isn’t achievable for her

Jdan8419

Freebear,

Thank you for your reply, I will pass that info on and see if she can source it somehow herself, hopefully we can find out the legalities of her demand, in case it cannot be sourced and the landlord isn’t interested in a replacement of different matching doors if it comes to it.

You also touched on the age of the doors V the expected current value.

She doesn’t want to be a problem tenant, or cause issues but £900 for one door that she damaged is just unbelievable to me

System

There is no disputing that the door needs to be replaced but not all of them. using the guidelines for deposit deductions the landlord isn't allowed to claim for betterment which by replacing all the doors would be.


try and find out the make, style and colour of the doors and look online for something similar.

spadoosh

She doesnt have to pay for replacing all the doors.

In this situation she just gives the landlord an amount that is equivalent to the age and expected lifespan of the door versus its cost.

Typical 500mm doors cost about £30 new. Lets call it £50 on the conservative side, 15 years expected for a door seems reasonable, 10 years lasted, id tell her to offer £16.66. A court isnt going to expect her to pay more.

As for the landlord, well its part and parcel of business.

agrinnall

Was the child lock installed by the LL? If so it sounds like it was a poor installation if it could then be pulled off by the child that it's supposed to stop, and I wouldn't be inclined to pay anything at all.

saajan_12

spadoosh wrote: »

She doesnt have to pay for replacing all the doors.

In this situation she just gives the landlord an amount that is equivalent to the age and expected lifespan of the door versus its cost.

Typical 500mm doors cost about £30 new. Lets call it £50 on the conservative side, 15 years expected for a door seems reasonable, 10 years lasted, id tell her to offer £16.66. A court isnt going to expect her to pay more.

As for the landlord, well its part and parcel of business.

By the same logic why not price up the value of the coating film, ie £2, depreciate that and get to 66p? That would be unreasonable, as what the LL had was a matching kitchen, and now that is damaged.

OP, you should find the cheapest way to get the LL back in the position he was before, ie
1) show matching doors are in fact available and the deprecieated value of this
2) find cost of repairing the damage
3) find depreciated value + fiting costs for all doors

ka7e

There are loads of replacement door companies online, I bet your friend could source one herself. Also check ebay for discontinued kitchen doors.
https://www.kitchen-magic.com/kitchen-door-fronts
https://www.kitchendoorworkshop.co.uk/
https://www.hotdoors.co.uk/kitchen-doors/