rental repairs beyond fair wear and tear....how to procede ???

theartfullodger

Are tenants still there?? Did you not notice state of the place during your periodic inspections??

theoretica

I sometimes dry clothes on radiators - because the radiators are painted and the paint is in good condition the wet doesn't get to the metal to rust it.  This makes me thing the radiators in question must be relatively old and any allowable deduction for damage is likely to be small.

Hannimal

I would agree that your tenants haven't been looking after the property in a way that most people would. However, that to me still sounds like it falls within the realm of what is normal and therefore would be wear and tear. Not everyone is careful of their surroundings. Mouldy silicone in a bathroom certainly is normal wear and tear. 

greensalad

Is it an old property? I presume wooden window sills if they've been painted. 
If so, breakdown sounds reasonable after a few years. Sorry but the house is owned by you so regular maintenance to the fabric of the property should be kept up by you. I wouldn't dare paint something like a window sill as a tenant. 

9oaks

thank you for comments, the tenants are not moving out , we have just done an inspection. tenants have been in for 5 years.
there was no rust on the radiators prior to them moving in, photo evidence.
there is one radiator in the childrens room which is behind the cot headboard, so no washing can be hung over it, there is nothing wrong with this one- no rusting, or cracking, but all the others are rusted as they have admitted to us they hang washing over them, for the past 5 years! despite being told not too.
the insides or the windows also also black mouldy patches, due to lack of ventilation due to indoor drying.
we were looking to speak with the tenants to come to an arrangement onn getting the radiators replaced.
they are only in the state they are in due to their misuse of them, and so i feel this is above normal wear and tear, so they would need to cover this cost.
we have the deposit with safe deposit scotland, but this will not cover the cost of replacing ALL radiators.
the fact they have broken the shower and admittedly told us this.....i asume means they need to replace/cover repair costs.
appologies if this is info i should know, but this is our first and only rental and we want to do things legally, im not sure if there is a concise site you can direct me to.
many thanks

 

AdrianC

9oaks said:

thank you for comments, the tenants are not moving out , we have just done an inspection. tenants have been in for 5 years.
there was no rust on the radiators prior to them moving in, photo evidence.

Lovely, but that was half a decade ago.

...they have admitted to us they hang washing over them, for the past 5 years! despite being told not too.

You can tell them to do this or not do that as much as you like, but they do not HAVE to conform to it - it's their home... They can live in it as they wish.
If the manner in which they do so causes the condition to deteriorate above fair wear and tear, then that's a matter for the deposit.
But you cannot tell them how to live.

we were looking to speak with the tenants to come to an arrangement onn getting the radiators replaced.
they are only in the state they are in due to their misuse of them, and so i feel this is above normal wear and tear, so they would need to cover this cost.
we have the deposit with safe deposit scotland, but this will not cover the cost of replacing ALL radiators.
the fact they have broken the shower and admittedly told us this.....i asume means they need to replace/cover repair costs.
appologies if this is info i should know, but this is our first and only rental and we want to do things legally, im not sure if there is a concise site you can direct me to.

After five years, the property is probably due for redecoration anyway - especially if it wasn't freshly decorated when they moved in. So no deduction would be valid there.

Modern steel radiators don't last forever - although they should have substantial lives. Again, how new were they when the tenants moved in? If we say an average 20yr life, and they were 5yo when the tenants moved in, then you've lost about half of their expected life, so a fair claim would be half of the cost of replacement - ~£25 of the ~£50 size I linked to above. If they were ten years old before, then they're now 3/4 of the way through their life, so you would be entitled to the remaining quarter.
Removing radiators is part of decorating properly anyway, so there's no valid labour element to the replacement cost, unless the old size was an unusual one and the pipework or bracketry needs changing.

The shower... again, it depends. You cannot just say "This tile came loose, so you have to pay the full cost of retiling the entire bathroom"

mattyprice4004

I've hung washing over radiators my whole life, as long as the paintwork is in good condition it's impossible for them to rust as the paintwork is a barrier to the water on the clothes. 

You've had 5 years rent; these are very minor issues and if they've always paid rent on time and otherwise been fine you're doing well to have such minor issues. 
Being a landlord is not a case of getting a rent cheque every month and having no additional costs - ask me how I know (I'm a landlord... )

If the radiators were freshly painted 5 years ago, there'd be no rust etc present. Ours were last done 8 years ago, and they're still fine despite clothes being dried on them all the time. 

9oaks

their contarct states
'you will pay the cost of replacing or making good any losses or damamge occuring during the tenancy other than caused by fair wear and tear'
the propery is the same age as our own and our radiators are the same as the day they were put in. my arguement is the way they have mistreated them has resulted in the state they are in.
they have also admitted to breaking the shower but did not notify us of this until inspecstion, the loose tile is as a result of the shower being broken by them......not  just  normal fair wear and tear.

'you will ensure the property is kept in a clean and tidy condition.'
its not clean, i dont expect to be going round to clean a shower and windows that they should be maintaining. if we dont clean them, then it could lead to bigger problems.

'you will be responsible for the expense of having the property cleaned after vacatingif in the reasonableopinion of the landlord it is not left in a satisfactory condition' this is a bridge to cross later.
i would just like to clarify what is reasonalble for us to pay for and the tenant to pay, as i believe they are in breach of their contract.

AdrianC

9oaks said:

i would just like to clarify what is reasonalble for us to pay for and the tenant to pay

Ultimately, the deposit scheme arbitrators will decide that.
You submit your evidence, they decide what's fair. The balance of proof is on you.

Remember that the expectations for wear on a tenanted property are higher than those on an owner-occupied one.

davidmcn

9oaks said:

i would just like to clarify what is reasonalble for us to pay for and the tenant to pay, as i believe they are in breach of their contract.

You've been told the answers above, what your tenancy agreement says doesn't overrule the general legal principles.

I'm not sure why you cleaned the shower for them (especially if they are still occupying), surely you just point out to them that they ought to be doing a better job? I hope you're not proposing to charge them for your efforts.