Landlord wants us to continue paying rent after we vacate property

Tulvander12

So, last month, we accidentally broke the bathroom sink in the property just a couple of days after we gave over a month’s notice to the landlord via agent of us leaving the property after living there for over a year. The landlord said that since the damage was caused by us, we would need to pay which fully agree on. Asked some plumbers for a quotes and measurement and soon discovered a problem. The sink and the unit has been discontinued and the plumbers were taking more than two weeks to get back to us. Eventually, we got a reply from the plumber with a quote (around 750.00) but they are unable to give us a start date until their supplier gets back in touch with them. There was no point in us looking for other plumbers as we had three others say the sink has been discontinued and we won’t be able to find a replacement soon. Relayed all this to the landlord and he said that until the sink is fixed, we would need to continue paying the full month’s rent despite the property being vacant when we leave I. E. If it will take 2 months until the sink gets fixed, we would need to pay 2 months worth of rent for this property while adding on rent to the other property we are already moving into. Question is, do you guys think that the landlord is fair to do that when we have already agreed to pay the full price for the repair? It’s not our fault that the sink and unit has been discontinued and that it’s taking ages for the plumbers to get it sorted. True, he isn’t getting tenants because of the broken sink but I can’t see how that all comes down to us.
Opinions please. And no, we can’t reject the the house we are moving into as it is a council house and we desperately need it and have been waiting to get this one for over 2 years.

TripleH

That doesn't sound right.

What does your contract say, if it doesn't mention that you must pay rent in similar circumstances then I doubt you can be held liable.

That is just my thought though.

babyblade41

I'm not sure of the legalities as that will be in your contract , but why wait so long to get it repaired?

It would have been completed in that time frame  if there was a wait of 2 weeks to get a suitable alternative 

user1977

Pretty sure the landlord's only remedy is the cost of the repair, not any (possibly purely notional) rent which a future tenant might have paid.

jonnydeppiwish!

I’m probably completely wrong, but assuming you’ve paid a deposit, surely the £750 can come out of that?

I’m not sure how the LL can deem you to pay rent until it’s fixed - that would be their responsibility to repair it once you leave?

Additionally, £750 to fit a new sink is rather expensive - check with a local builder rather than a plumber as all the fixings are there for a simple swap and reseal.

pinkshoes

This doesn't sound right.

Sinks get discontinued all the time so that would literally trap some people!

It also suggests it was old... (landlord cannot claim betterment).

I would offer the LL £500 to get the sink replaced or offer to have a B&Q one fitted.

Norman_Castle

Leave the sink. The landlord can take the cost from the deposit.

theoretica

The landlord has pushed their luck too far and would have lost my goodwill.  Let him charge what he can from the deposit - which will be reduced for the age of the sink, no extra rent, and he will need to be the one to organise.

K_S

@Tulvander12 Your LL is having a laugh, banking on you not knowing your rights. Yes you have irreparably damaged a fitting in the house which you will have some monetary responsibility for, but it's not automatically your responsibility to fix it or replace with new. 

If he were to try and claim from your deposit, and you contested it, there's no way he's going to get 100% of the cost of a new sink. If it's very old, he might get nothing at all for the sink and something for the cost of a plumber to fix it.

Here's an excerpt for a similar case. The full case study can be seen here https://www.tenancydepositscheme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/The_Adjudicator_21_Oct_2020_v2.pdf

"However, an award for the full replacement was not made as the adjudicator had to consider the pre-tenancy condition of the sink i.e. it was not recorded as new, the length of the tenancy, and that the sinks age, original cost and quality was not known. A contribution to the landlord towards a replacement sink including a contribution towards the fitting charge, was awarded."

canaldumidi

There are two totally unrelated issues which the LL is trying to connect.

1) The tenancy. Assuming you have served proper notice (no information provided), your tenancy will end when your notice expires (assuming you also vacate the property). No further rent will be due or can be claimed.

2) The damaged sink. You can fix this yourself (or arrange a contractor) before your tenancy ends. Failing that, the landlord can claim the cost of this from you, either via your deposit, directlyfrom you in cash, or via the Small Claims Court. In most cases like this the LL would deduct the cost from your deposit.

The LL could only deduct or claim a reasonable amount for the damage, (taking into account the age of the sink and its general condition). He could claim for both the contractor's costs, and the materials(new sink less allowance for 'betterment' which might or might not apply). He could not claim for 'rent'.

If he claims for more than is reasonable, decline topay the full amount claimed and use the deposit arbitration process (assuming he deducts from your deposit..

Ellie_Phant_619

The landlord is obliged to minimise his loss - which clearly he sint doing. And in anycase liability for rent ends when your leave (having served notice). The LL would need to demostrate a tangible and mitigated loss for that period - which clearly isnt the case if he's waiting two months to replace a sink.