Landlord wants us to continue paying rent after we vacate property

babyblade41

Gycraig said:

babyblade41 said:

I also think people are getting confused with wear & tear on carpets etc but this is a broken sink that is now unusable

A stain on a carpet is still usable & the money off will indeed take into account wear & tear, but a bloody hole in a sink which must have been under some force to break it is not wear & tear it is mis -use . 

https://www.tenancydepositscheme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/The_Adjudicator_21_Oct_2020_v2.pdf 

You can’t charge new for old on any item as a landlord. 

A second hand sink of the same make is not new for old  .  It's about being able to rent the property after tenant has broken something that causes a financial loss to the LL.

It appears the LL is a douche bag but it works both ways... tenant should have made sure the sink was replaced  & fit for use before leaving even if it was a new but cheap replacement.that would have been perfectly acceptable or even a second hand sink 

The deposit may not be enough to cover this item depending if anything else needs to be deducted.. quite difficult to break a sink .

LL probably won't bother chasing as the chances are he won't get anything but I'd be pretty naffed off if one of my tenants had done this & not said anything at time of the incident 

It was quite an easy & cheap temp/permanent fix albeit not with an original .

I think to say just let them get it out of the deposit & get on with your life is  fine if you're the tenant ..not so if you are the  LL .

Gycraig

babyblade41 said:

Gycraig said:

babyblade41 said:

I also think people are getting confused with wear & tear on carpets etc but this is a broken sink that is now unusable

A stain on a carpet is still usable & the money off will indeed take into account wear & tear, but a bloody hole in a sink which must have been under some force to break it is not wear & tear it is mis -use . 

https://www.tenancydepositscheme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/The_Adjudicator_21_Oct_2020_v2.pdf 

You can’t charge new for old on any item as a landlord. 

A second hand sink of the same make is not new for old  .  It's about being able to rent the property after tenant has broken something that causes a financial loss to the LL.

It appears the LL is a douche bag but it works both ways... tenant should have made sure the sink was replaced  & fit for use before leaving even if it was a new but cheap replacement.that would have been perfectly acceptable or even a second hand sink 

The deposit may not be enough to cover this item depending if anything else needs to be deducted.. quite difficult to break a sink .

LL probably won't bother chasing as the chances are he won't get anything but I'd be pretty naffed off if one of my tenants had done this & not said anything at time of the incident 

It was quite an easy & cheap temp/permanent fix albeit not with an original .

I think to say just let them get it out of the deposit & get on with your life is  fine if you're the tenant ..not so if you are the  LL .

The landlord won’t chase because he isn’t even slightly entitled to what he is trying to get the tenants to pay. 

750 to replace a sink is absolutely ludicrous unless it’s a gold plated one and even it is 750 the tenant isn’t required to pay all of this. 

Trying to get 750 and 2 months rent for a broken sink is completely taking the !!!!!! from the landlord, replace it with a sink that is available charge some of the bill to the tenant and move on with your life. 

Did you even read the link which is an exact example of this, from the company that literally settles / decides tenancy disputes for a living ?. 

HobgoblinBT

Try Amazon Market place for a sink, and look on a local town/area Facebook page for a recommended handyman to fit.  

babyblade41

You are totally missing my point, Tenant broke sink & unit, they had a quote for £750 to replace inc labour as sink is discontinued .This is not normal wear & tear ,accidental ,but it does need replacing 

The OP could have told LL right at the beginning & relayed the info offering to replace with a much cheaper alternative & could be done well before end of tenancy ..that would have been the end of the problem.

LL might have got a bit funny but he would be foolish to waste money taking it any further , although from what he has done he may have tried  as well as charging rent (.He won't get far with that one ) 

The LL won't get very far by taking this route but also tenant should have just got a cheap sink & unit & someone to pop round & fit it (usually neighbour FB groups will normally know of someone)  End tenancy without drama.

There are ways to avoid situations like this  & if OP had done this  LL would be able to put another tenant in with no excuses about loss of rent or some other such nonsense 

It's called making life easier ... without stress 

Gycraig

babyblade41 said:

You are totally missing my point, Tenant broke sink & unit, they had a quote for £750 to replace inc labour as sink is discontinued .This is not normal wear & tear ,accidental ,but it does need replacing 

The OP could have told LL right at the beginning & relayed the info offering to replace with a much cheaper alternative & could be done well before end of tenancy ..that would have been the end of the problem.

LL might have got a bit funny but he would be foolish to waste money taking it any further , although from what he has done he may have tried  as well as charging rent (.He won't get far with that one ) 

The LL won't get very far by taking this route but also tenant should have just got a cheap sink & unit & someone to pop round & fit it (usually neighbour FB groups will normally know of someone)  End tenancy without drama.

There are ways to avoid situations like this  & if OP had done this  LL would be able to put another tenant in with no excuses about loss of rent or some other such nonsense 

It's called making life easier ... without stress 

They had a quote for 750 to fit a new sink they aren’t liable for a full new sink and fitting though. 

We have a tenancy protection scheme for a reason, finish tenancy landlord says what he wants to deduct, tenant then agrees or disagrees with the landlord, if disagree the tenancy deposit scheme deals with it,  Stress free as it’s designed to be. 

Maybe you are different but I want to pick what sink goes in to my house and I want to pick the tradesman that does it, I don’t want a tenant fitting the cheapest sink he can find fitted by Barry down the pub. 

Easiest solution is tell the landlord, go through the scheme that is designed for dealing with this sort of stuff, pay the portion you are liable for and move on with your life. 

GDB2222

Gycraig said:

babyblade41 said:

You are totally missing my point, Tenant broke sink & unit, they had a quote for £750 to replace inc labour as sink is discontinued .This is not normal wear & tear ,accidental ,but it does need replacing 

The OP could have told LL right at the beginning & relayed the info offering to replace with a much cheaper alternative & could be done well before end of tenancy ..that would have been the end of the problem.

LL might have got a bit funny but he would be foolish to waste money taking it any further , although from what he has done he may have tried  as well as charging rent (.He won't get far with that one ) 

The LL won't get very far by taking this route but also tenant should have just got a cheap sink & unit & someone to pop round & fit it (usually neighbour FB groups will normally know of someone)  End tenancy without drama.

There are ways to avoid situations like this  & if OP had done this  LL would be able to put another tenant in with no excuses about loss of rent or some other such nonsense 

It's called making life easier ... without stress 

They had a quote for 750 to fit a new sink they aren’t liable for a full new sink and fitting though. 

Quite right, in principle, but it makes little difference in practice:

The sink was say 3 years old, out of an expected lifespan of  say 100 years. So, the tenant's liability is only £730. 

Even if you argue that the expected lifespan of a bathroom is only 20 years (and ours is much older than that, by the way), the liability is still £630.  

The LL is not benefiting in any way from getting a new sink, as the other items in the bathroom are not getting replaced, and they will only last their normal lifetime. 

Anyway, ultimately, the OP will need to impress a court. 

simon_or

Lol, you've got a greedy (or simply clueless) landlord who has no clue of how deposits are protected, how disputes are adjudicated and seemingly doesn't even know how to engage a tradesman to repair a broken fitting in the property!

Look at the case study shared in one of the replies above which about the exact same issue, a broken sink. The adjudicator didn't even award him full costs for the plumber!

He'll only get a portion of his costs depending on how old the sink is.

As for those who're saying 'replace it with something', I've been there, done that and been stung for costs as the landlord was unhappy with item replaced as it wasn't exactly the same.

Send him a copy of the case study, politely let the landlord know that he is free to try and claim from your deposit and if it's excessive you'll take your chances at adjudication.

diystarter7

I've skimmed through the posts here and picked up on the price of the sink.

The bottom line is you don't know what the sink is like and it may have been set in a granite worksurface and therefore could easily cost 750 plus fitting. I see where the LL is coming from as who would want to rent a property that had no sink.

babyblade41

This is the problem when there isn't much info,  we all assume different things 

Section62

Gycraig said:

Did you even read the link which is an exact example of this, from the company that literally settles / decides tenancy disputes for a living ?. 

They aren't a court though, and the decisions made by them don't set a precedent that courts would have to follow.

There are significant legal differences between decisions made by adjudicators, and decisions made by courts.