Floor damage in rented property - who pays?

ARenter

Hello,

I rent a house from a landlord (generally pretty decent and helpful). I did a thorough mopping of the floor a while back, which is made up of interlocking wooden plywood slats. Unfortunately some of the water must have drained below, causing some of the slats to 'bubble' and rise at the edges, and now about 3-4 planks need replacing. As I mopped the floor, I am happy to pay towards it. However, one of the reasons the water leaked is that the slats had not been fitted properly, there being gaps between some of the slats. In this case, would the repair costs be a joint landlord/tenant responsibility? My fear is that the LL will say that as I did the mopping, I should pay the full costs (still waiting to hear back).

Any help on this point much appreciated.

thanks,

A. Renter

macman

Sounds as if you used far too much water in your 'thorough mopping'. It should be damp, but not so wet that water penetrates through and buckles the base layer. I'm assuming that this is a laminate floor that you are referring to? if so, they are water resistant, but not waterproof. 

[Deleted User]

ARenter said:

Hello,

I rent a house from a landlord (generally pretty decent and helpful). I did a thorough mopping of the floor a while back, which is made up of interlocking wooden plywood slats. Unfortunately some of the water must have drained below, causing some of the slats to 'bubble' and rise at the edges, and now about 3-4 planks need replacing. As I mopped the floor, I am happy to pay towards it. However, one of the reasons the water leaked is that the slats had not been fitted properly, there being gaps between some of the slats. In this case, would the repair costs be a joint landlord/tenant responsibility? My fear is that the LL will say that as I did the mopping, I should pay the full costs (still waiting to hear back).

Any help on this point much appreciated.

thanks,

A. Renter

Sounds like you damaged the floor over and above what could be considered fair wear and tear so you pay. Not for a brand new floor though because that would be betterment but for a portion of the cost. 

AlexMac

Can't you just live with it?  If it bubbled it's probably quite old, cheap laminate, like the flooring I had laid in my BTL flat about 15+ years ago, in that newer stuff which clicks together (thus minimising liklihood of gaps) is pretty water resistant?  In fact I've had a few plumbing leaks or overflows and the floor settled down afterwards without the need for replacement.

Then, 1, 2, 3 or more years down the line, all the landlord will be able to claim is betterment on the (by then even older?) flooring.  So you might have to cough up a small % of total re-flooring cost; if the inventory proves it was immaculate when you moved in and if the LL even bothers?  As a landlord, I just assume that I'm into a few hundred quid to remedy "fair wear n tear" every couple of years and laminate floors are cheap to replace...

AdrianC

Cheap badly fitted laminate would have a short life, so your cost without betterment would be minimal.

But if the floor was so badly fitted as to have gaps, that's just a good reason to take great care when cleaning it not to get it properly wet...

jasonf90

I'd argue the flooring is no good. I've flooded my bathroom and it didn't do much to the cheap laminate that was down.

Slithery

Personally I wouldn't have reported it until the end of the tenancy, that way it probably could have been written off as 'fair wear & tear'.

saajan_12

ARenter said:

Hello,

I rent a house from a landlord (generally pretty decent and helpful). I did a thorough mopping of the floor a while back, which is made up of interlocking wooden plywood slats. Unfortunately some of the water must have drained below, causing some of the slats to 'bubble' and rise at the edges, and now about 3-4 planks need replacing. As I mopped the floor, I am happy to pay towards it. However, one of the reasons the water leaked is that the slats had not been fitted properly, there being gaps between some of the slats. In this case, would the repair costs be a joint landlord/tenant responsibility? My fear is that the LL will say that as I did the mopping, I should pay the full costs (still waiting to hear back).

Any help on this point much appreciated.

thanks,

A. Renter

The proximate cause of the damages is excess water from your mopping. If the wood was functional as a floor ie supported the furniture and people above it, then it isn't defective, just perhaps a lower quality. However you take the floor as you find it - you could have seen the gaps and adjusted your mopping accordingly. 

So you're liable for 100% of the damage. However this would be capped at the depreciated replacement value, ie materials + labour based on the quality and age of the floor. 

ARenter

Thank you for these replies, though it is clear there is no obvious answer on this.

Yes, the floor is just a cheap laminate 'wood' floor - I've checked the local hardware shops and it is very cheap to buy even in bulk.

I was never given any instructions re. floor cleaning. I have been mopping it for two years with no problem. I gave it an extra thorough clean as there was dog mess on the floor. 

Again, I am not trying to shirk paying a contribution, even the bulk of it (2/3rds say). However, I do not wish to pay the full amount, given the cheap quality of material and poor fitting, especially if it turns out to be exorbitant.

Annoyingly the photos I took when I moved in do not cover the affected section, so I have no proof of the gaps between the joints (I suppose I could bluff but then could get out called on it).

annetheman

I had a somewhat similar thing happen at my rental. The "slate effect" tiles on the floor lifted up after using a steam cleaner on them with some water; shortly thereafter the "slate effect" started peeling away from the chip board!

I do believe that my action caused it to happen even if it was damage "waiting to happen" due to questionable installation; also it does not fit into normal wear and tear per contract so is arguably my responsibility as tenant.

I told the landlady and bought a new pack of tiles from B&Q for her to use to replace (didn't attempt to do it myself because I'd do a terrible job) and let her know it was unusual that that would happen, so best left to the professionals to replace the ruined tiles! 

She recently gave me a lovely card, Amazon gift voucher and my full deposit back - so I guess she's just a really nice person. But no charge for the damage/work required to fix. If you're planning on being there a long time, perhaps it's best to get the professional in yourself to fix it, though.

saajan_12

ARenter said:

Thank you for these replies, though it is clear there is no obvious answer on this.

Yes, the floor is just a cheap laminate 'wood' floor - I've checked the local hardware shops and it is very cheap to buy even in bulk.

I was never given any instructions re. floor cleaning. I have been mopping it for two years with no problem. I gave it an extra thorough clean as there was dog mess on the floor. 

Again, I am not trying to shirk paying a contribution, even the bulk of it (2/3rds say). However, I do not wish to pay the full amount, given the cheap quality of material and poor fitting, especially if it turns out to be exorbitant.

Annoyingly the photos I took when I moved in do not cover the affected section, so I have no proof of the gaps between the joints (I suppose I could bluff but then could get out called on it).

Its not just the cost of the flooring, it also has to be installed. You'd only pay the depreciated cost but its materials + labour. 

Also you don't need to be given instructions on how to clean. That's assumed knowledge, as part of acting in a 'tenant like manner', to clean in a way that doesn't damage the property.