Tenant caused damage but wants me to claim on my insurance

stroppymare

Which is unfair really as the garage was functioning perfectly well before this.

G_M

Good grief! Where to begin!?

stroppymare wrote: »

In August my tenant did not secure the handbrake on her car and it rolled into and damaged the garage door. She informed the agent and said that she'd had it assessed and the door needed replacing as it was unsafe.
She had it asessed? :eek: What did you do about getting it assessed?It's your door!

She suggested I claim on my buildings insurance but I refused as I did not cause the damage and the terms of her rental agreement clearly state that the tenant is responsible for repairs for damage created by her or visitors etc. Quite right. So you obtained a quote immediately and sent it to her with a request for payment yes?

Several times over 3 months I asked for a copy of the report she had been given, but nothing was forthcoming. ????? Why?It's not for her to provide a report. You should be doing that!

In October, she gave one month's notice.
Was the notice valid/correct?

She refused to allow me access to see the damage and I was told I had no right to do so without her permission.
Yes..... and no. But I imagine if you have a decent tenancy agreement it allows you access following 24 hours written norice yes?

Consequently, I had to wait until after she had left and the inventory had been completed before I could see what damage had been done. It was considerable. I took photos and send these to the agent. to the agent?Why not to her? Along with the quote for repair?


On the same day as the inventory was done, I had a garage specialist assess the damage and he confirmed that the door was unsafe and needed replacing. A repair job or sorts had been attempted but it was obvious that it had not been done by a specialist.
Why did you employ a non-specialist?

A report was forwarded to the agent and the tenant. OK. I bit bl**dy late though!

I had a new door fitted as new tenants were moving in. The quote I received for replacing and fitting the same door was over £800. I had to go for a cheaper, lesser quality model, £685 as I don't know how much, if at all, I will be able to retain from the deposit. (£900 is held in an account by the agent).
Well the cheaper the price you pay
a) the more of a bodge job you might get (you've already used a non-specialist once!) and
b) the less you can claim of the tenant

The agent has now raised this with the TDS but the tenant, and her 'legal advisor' are adamant that I should be claiming on my buildings insurance. Ignore

I am worried that I could be considerably out of pocket,or have an increase in premium if I have to claim, for something that was not my fault.Correct

Any advice/comments/suggestions gratefully received. Thanks

Claim the full cost of the proper repair.
* if that is less than the deposit, deduct from the deposit
* if it is greater than the deposit, sue for the difference

stroppymare

I suggest you begin by re-reading the post before sending such a condescending reply.

The tenant had it assessed before reporting it to the agent. She would not give me access.

As she would not allow me access, and I apparently have no right of access without her permission, I could not have the door assessed until the property had been vacated and the inventory completed.

The assessment could not be sent directly to her as I did not have the address to which she has moved. I pay an agent a management fee to deal with the tenants.

If someone tells you me they have had a report which says the door needs replacing why should I not ask to see it? I couldn’t have a report done as she refused to allow me into the property.

The notice was valid.

The report and quotes were sent to the agent. because I pay them to manage the property and the tenant didn’t leave a forwarding address.

As I said, I DID have a specialist to check the door and it was obvious that prior to this someone had attempted to repair it who didn’t have a clue.

I have been communicating with the agent regarding this issue since the day I was informed.

I have not used a non- specialist at any stage.
The door chosen is perfectly adequate for purpose, just not as aesthetically
pleasing as the model which was previously in situ.
The less I pay also means the less I will be out of pocket if the award falls short.

There, simple to understand now isn’t it?

steampowered

The law says that you are required to 'mitigate your loss'.

I would have thought that this would include claiming on your insurance policy. Though of course in this scenario the tenant should be responsible for any excess and for any increase in premium.

diggingdude

steampowered wrote: »

The law says that you are required to 'mitigate your loss'.

I would have thought that this would include claiming on your insurance policy. Though of course in this scenario the tenant should be responsible for any excess and for any increase in premium.

claiming on one's insurance is hardly mitigating losses, the person doing the damage should have fixed it before leaving

gomer

Wouldn't a landlords buildings insurance cover this sort of thing? It seems a tricky one. If i were the tenant claiming this on my car insurance would probably not even occur to me, but then if it had been other cars it damaged rather than a building....

stroppymare

It probably would, but I don’t see why I should claim on my insurance when it was clearly her fault.
I did suggest she claim on her car insurance but it seems to me that she thinks I should pay it all and she should pay nothing.
It seems that she had the damage assessed, thought I would pay and then as soon as she realised I was expecting her to, became obstructive.

gomer

I see what you mean now yes. Looks like her deposit is going to have to pay for it then. She did cause the damage after all. Let arbitration argue the toss themselves.

lookstraightahead

Am I wrong here but tenants can't get buildings insurance anyway? I know there's the car insurance option but isn't this something that landlords take out building insurance for?

I don't think there is such thing as a tenants building insurance. So I can see where your tenant is coming from- it might be that her car insurance company is saying it's a building insurance claim.

MobileSaver

lookstraightahead wrote: »

So I can see where your tenant is coming from- it might be that her car insurance company is saying it's a building insurance claim.

The tenant caused the damage so the tenant is liable. Whether the tenant has insurance or whether it is even possible to get tenant insurance is immaterial, the tenant has to pay either out of their own pocket or through insurers if applicable.