Should there have been safety glass?

AnotherJoe

As other posters have said, safety film seems the obvious thing. Will also disguise any difference in the panes assuming its a slightly frosted look.

AdrianC

davilown said:

it’s difficult to replace glass that’s potentially a few hundred years old!

No, not really.

If the glass's unevenness was part of a cosmetic feature of the property, then architectural salvage will be able to supply similar. If a cosmetic feature of the property has been replaced by a non-equivalent replacement, then that could well be an allowable deduction for the landlord from the deposit.

Of course, it may just be straightforward glass in a door that's not part of the heritage of the property.

Replacing a pane like-for-like would not, AIUI, need to conform to BR. In addition, if the pane was indeed just 300x600 (0.18m2), I don't believe it would need to conform to BR even in a newbuild, since the minimum is 450x450 AND 0.33m2, even though 1200 from the floor is within the height.
https://www.planningportal.co.uk/info/200130/common_projects/14/doors_and_windows/2

A neurotypical 15yo would be entirely personally liable for their own actions - only the scale of their ASD can determine if they should have been supervised or not... It certainly isn't the landlord's fault that the kid stumbled and fell against the door, not least because he's been living there for four years so can safely be assumed to be familiar with the fact there is a step there.

Soot2006

It sounds like a true accident. These things happen, and thankfully it sounds like there wasn't a significant injury.

Let the landlord know that it happened, offer to replace the glass and discuss replacement options. It might be that if you offer to pay for "normal" glass like for like to replace what was there, the landlord may be interested in upgrading to safety glass.

It could also be worth a call to your contents insurance as some will cover this sort of accidental damage. Though equally might not be worth it, as glass isn't expensive.

saajan_12

davilown said:

flipflopflo said:

davilown said:

theartfullodger said:

You could try suing landlord referencing Defective Premises Act 1972 - see

https://england.shelter.org.uk/legal/housing_conditions/duties_and_liabilities_on_landlords_and_builders_under_the_defective_premises_act_1972

- but you might not win.

'phone Shelter to discuss, 0808 800 4444

And what would that achieve? As stated before, it’s an old house and glass in the windows does not have to be up to current modern standards.
 

A teenager breaks a window - it happens, on a regular basis. replace the glass (with a more modern a safety glass if required) and get over it. (I remember doing it myself many years ago)

We will replace it. Hopefully the landlord won't gripe about one different pane when they do the inspection in 2 weeks.

They shouldn’t do - it’s difficult to replace glass that’s potentially a few hundred years old!

The LL doesn't have to accept mismatched panes.. It may not be that hard by searching in places that receive glass from buildings torn down etc. Alternatively, perhaps replace all panes with newer ones, so at least they match. 

flipflopflo

Thanks for all your thoughts on the matter. I will take them on board.

sammyjammy

If it were me I would mention it the LL before you go to the trouble of replacing it or you could end up paying out twice!

emjay2kay

theartfullodger said:

You could try suing landlord referencing Defective Premises Act 1972 - see

https://england.shelter.org.uk/legal/housing_conditions/duties_and_liabilities_on_landlords_and_builders_under_the_defective_premises_act_1972

- but you might not win.

'phone Shelter to discuss, 0808 800 4444

The pane wasn't defective within the meaning of the Act. Not being up to modern standards isn't a defect, and there's no requirement (absent any specific legislation) to bring old things up to current standards. Something has to be broken / missing for it to fall within the parameters of the Defective Premises Act. There's usually an overlap with the Landlord and Tenant Act, depending on what notice a landlord had about a defect, when it comes to personal injury claims against a landlord.

I see OP doesn't want to make a claim anyway. The important thing is that their son will be ok long term.