Dispute over accidental damage

[Deleted User]

I live in a rented detached bunglow. I accidentally damaged the garage door which has a dent with I touched it with my car while parking. Now I got someone to come over and repair it. It is repaired but not perfect and  you still see very slight dent. My landlord says it has to be in perfect shape and is asking me to replace a 20 year old garage door fully which will cost us around 1000 pounds. I know the damage is caused by me and own up to it and tried my best to fix the dent. But can the landlord as me to replace the entire door for such a small dent? Any advice would be appreciated. 

[Deleted User]

You do not have to replace an old garage door even if you damaged it.  This is called betterment.  But it might be best to do a better repair.  Or expect him to dispute return of the deposit.  I'd be having words with the repair person for a refund (why did you pay them?) as it doesn't seem they have done what you paid them for.

greatcrested

You must return the garage door to the condition i was in at the start of the tenancy, less fair wear and tear. The damage is, by your admision,not in the same condition, and it's not wear and tear.

So, as you say, you are liable.

But you are not liable to provide/pay for a better door than at the start of the tenancy. As deannatrois says, that is 'betterment'.

If the LL wants a brand ne door costing £1000, you would be liable for a % of that cost, based on the age and condition of the old door, and it's life expectancy.

A garage door should last... oh I don't know... 20 years? (maybe more). So if this door is already 10 years old, the LL has had the benefit of half its life expectacy, so cannot claim more than 50% from you. You can adjust those figures appropriately, but that's broadly the legal context.

Of course, if you can make a repair good enough to bring the condition back to how it was, then there's no liability at all. Is this a wooden door? Metal up/over? Automatic?

foxy-stoat

I wouldn't of said anything to the landlord, doubt he would of noticed when you left.  Now he will be looking at it with a microscope.

Although did he take photos when you moved in of the door, it could of been less than 100% perfect (20 years old) already.

theartfullodger

Do nothing until you leave.  If you stay 30 years probably little or nothing to pay.  If going in 2 weeks time offer say £50.

Cheeky greedy landlord.

Artful: landlord since 2000

Ditzy_Mitzy

Just further to what @theartfullodger said, £1,000 to replace a garage door is rather steep.  Assuming it's a single, one can get a really fancy electric one for that sort of money.  A good ordinary steel up and over door costs less than half that.  If the mechanism is O.K. and it's a standard size, meaning a literal like for like replacement is possible, the job ought to be able to be done for a few hundred.  
Or sand it down, fill the dent and paint over with a spray can.  It's only a garage door after all.  

[Deleted User]

Thanks for your all suggestions. @greatcrested  Its a steel up and over door and I actually got a quote to replace it and repair it. The min quote for like to like is about 750 and we have already spent around 100 for the repair. Now I think you can see slight dent only if you really carefully look and you know where the initial dent was. And I don’t think it can be any better than this. But my landlord says it has to be in the perfect condition as I have to replace it. 

dimbo61

Your Landlord needs to prove the condition of the garage door when you moved in.
So did he do a video inventory ?
Done by an independent video company ?
Just refuse any deductions

tacpot12

I think I would chance that the Deposit Protection Scheme decide that the remaining damage is so inconsequential that they are not prepared to allow any deduction from your deposit. Marks and dents are very difficult to photograph well enough that damage that is visible to the human eye shows up on pictures. 
If you have to look to find the damage, it is inconsequential - if no-one viewing the property to rent it would notice it, then is can't affect his future rental income.  

greatcrested

sapnavh said:

.....Now I think you can see slight dent only if you really carefully look and you know where the initial dent was. And I don’t think it can be any better than this. But my landlord says it has to be in the perfect condition as I have to replace it. 

Was it in "perfect condition" before?

How old is it (aprox)?

Are there other dents, scratches etc?

Does the LL have proof of its condition before eg does the check in inventory describe the garage dooe as "perect condition"? Does the LL have a photo showing the door to be in "perfect condition"?

[Deleted User]

I'd probably leave it as it is then.  The LL is obviously a fool, he should know about betterment rules.  Keep your receipt in case of need and photos (do you have any photos that include the garage door before the impact?)  I am almost certain he is on a hiding to nothing.  But you may have to ask for your deposit back after you move out and await a decision.  As Tacpot said, it is very difficult to take pictures of slight dents and the LL would have to have a pic of the garage door before you moved in as well to establish you damaged it alone.  I would imagine the garage has had slight encounters before. Without that picture, the LL can't prove it was you that caused the damage.