Landlord wants us to continue paying rent after we vacate property

GDB2222

canaldumidi said:

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..

If the property cannot be let until the sink is fixed, there’s a consequential loss, as well as the cost of the repair. There must be case law on whether the tenant is liable for that?

Curiously, in many years of being a landlord, that has never arisen in my experience. There can be a gap between tenancies, and any repairs like the above usually get done during that time. However, the backlog in the building trade is causing issues like this to come up. 

newsgroupmonkey_

You can get a basin in 2-7 days.

https://www.victorianplumbing.co.uk/basins/full-pedestal-basins

I'm sure you'll find one there in stock that the Landlord agrees to (they might even get "betterment" out of it)

Order it yourself, get your plumber to fit.

I don't understand this whole "nothing in stock". We and friends have ordered from the above and they've got bundles of choice. Quality is absolutely fine and our delivery took 3 days.

hjd

Although they say the sink is discontinued, have you tried sourcing one elsewhere?
https://brokenbog.com/  has an awful lot of discontinued stuff and you may be able to match it.

Olinda99

The landlord is responsible for repairs, finding a plumber, sourcing a sink etc etc. It is not your place to go round getting estimates. The landlord needs to book a plumber and arrange a timescale etc, not you.

What you ARE responsible for is paying his reasonable costs. This does not include consequential loss eg rent

Ellie_Phant_619

Olinda99 said:

The landlord is responsible for repairs, finding a plumber, sourcing a sink etc etc. It is not your place to go round getting estimates. The landlord needs to book a plumber and arrange a timescale etc, not you.

What you ARE responsible for is paying his reasonable costs. This does not include consequential loss eg rent

It might include consquential loss - but that must be reasonable and mitigated

Section62

Ellie_Phant_619 said:

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.

Is it clear? (ref tangible and mitigated loss) There are currently global supply chain problems and shortages of a wide variety of items.  Coupled with a period of extreme activity in the building and construction industry.

It isn't wholly unsurprising that it might take two months to obtain a specific type of sink and have availablity of a competent person to fit it.  Other threads on this forum testify to the difficulties some people are having.

The question is whether it is reasonable for the landlord to want to wait for a specific type of sink by a preferred tradesperson, or just have whatever is available fitted asap by the first person who can do the job.

Rumana03

Why does it have to be that particular sink which has been discontinued? Can you not just buy a different sink and get that fitted in? 
You should try that instead and I'm sure it can be done before you leave. There are so many plumbers/builders looking for jobs at the moment. Try this app called 'Next door' so you can find local plumbers/builders.

My husband once broke a double glazed window in the flat we were renting by using too much force when opening it. We got someone to come and replace it before the landlord noticed.

I've been a landlord for a long time and usually if my tenants damage anything, I would find someone to fix it and charge the tenant's the cost.

Gycraig

This landlord is royally taking the !!!!!!, you don’t have to pay the full amount for a new sink, you have to pay the value of the one you damaged minus wear and tear for age. 

If you ruin a 10 year old carpet you pay for the ten year old carpet not the brand shiny new one he’s gonna rent to his next tenants. 

He also can’t charge you for the property being in a void period that’s his problem not yours.

id offer half of the repair at max and let the deposit protection scheme deal with it, he is taking the !!!!!!, at worst you pay for the full cost of sink the rest is a mockery 

Section62

Rumana03 said:

There are so many plumbers/builders looking for jobs at the moment.

Are there?  That isn't the experience of a lot of people in the industry, or of people looking for plumbers/builders to do work for them.

Rumana03

Section62 said:

Rumana03 said:

There are so many plumbers/builders looking for jobs at the moment.

Are there?  That isn't the experience of a lot of people in the industry, or of people looking for plumbers/builders to do work for them.

I always seem to see people advertising themselves on the app 'Next Door'. Plumbers, builders, electricians etc.