Letting out my property - tile lip (tripping hazard?)

Tali1989

I’m looking to rent out a property I own. On the ground floor, in the kitchen, the floor is made up of ceramic floor tiles measuring about 30cmx30cm each. 

I put this floor in myself a while ago. Unfortunately I didn’t do a brilliant job as it was a DIY attempt. As a result, some of the tiles are uneven, with a slight lip. Not all of them are like that, but some have a lip of roughly no more than 2mm. There’s one tile that has a lip of about 3-4mm. The lip is not even around all 4 sides of the tiles.

I’ve never had a problem with it, it’s not that noticeable and you can’t even tell if you are wearing shoes. You can only tell it’s there if you are barefoot/in socks. 

I’ve never accidentally tripped on them, but I’m just wondering if this is something that would be seen as a health hazard? I find it hard to believe that someone would injure themselves if they were to somehow trip over due to the lip - they would have to be running, even though it’s a small room so I don’t know why they would be.

Should I be concerned? I’m sure there are ‘professional tenants’ out there that look for problems to take accidents in order to get money off of the landlord…

Tali1989

Fake accidents*

housebuyer143

When you become a landlord ensure you buy proper landlord insurance. This comes with liability insurance in case of claims against you. It also covers building insurance.

When working in a letting agent a tenant tripped over a loose paving slab out the front of the property which I believe was reported and not fixed. The tenant took that landlord to court and he didn't have any such insurance. I'm not sure the outcome but it always made me think it's something you need if you are running a business.

user1977

Tali1989 said:

Fake accidents*

The accidents (fake or not) would be for your insurers to worry about.

tacpot12

Has any visitor to you home every stumbled due to the uneven tiles? If they have, then I think you have a problem that needs to be addressed. Also, bear in mind that a small child (toddler) might trip over a much lower obstacle than an adult. If your home is one that it more likely to be let to young family, you might want to consider whether you want to have to deal with a parent who is upset because their child has hurt themselves.

It's very unfortunate that you didn't acheive a good quality of finish and now want to rent your home out. It's not going to be an easy problem to fix, but it would be a lot easier if you had a spare tile. With a spare tile, you can break the old tile to remove it, grind away the excess adhesive, and reset the spare on a level bed of adhesive. 

Tali1989

tacpot12 said:

Has any visitor to you home every stumbled due to the uneven tiles? If they have, then I think you have a problem that needs to be addressed. Also, bear in mind that a small child (toddler) might trip over a much lower obstacle than an adult. If your home is one that it more likely to be let to young family, you might want to consider whether you want to have to deal with a parent who is upset because their child has hurt themselves.

It's very unfortunate that you didn't acheive a good quality of finish and now want to rent your home out. It's not going to be an easy problem to fix, but it would be a lot easier if you had a spare tile. With a spare tile, you can break the old tile to remove it, grind away the excess adhesive, and reset the spare on a level bed of adhesive. 

I could always redo the section of tiles, as the place I bought the tiles still stock them. It would be a right pain though. 

I’ve never had a visitor stumble, and to be honest you really can’t tell that there is a slight lip if you’re wearing shoes. 

Would you say a slight tile lip (e.g. 1mm or so) is reasonable? Personally I think the chances of tripping  over it are slim. I think there’s much more of a chance of tripping over a step between two different rooms, but there’s nothing I can do about that. 

Would an insurer likely not cover a trip due to the tile lip (if there was an accident/claim) due to the fault being down to poor-workmanship and/or pre-existing?

user1977

Tali1989 said:

tacpot12 said:

Has any visitor to you home every stumbled due to the uneven tiles? If they have, then I think you have a problem that needs to be addressed. Also, bear in mind that a small child (toddler) might trip over a much lower obstacle than an adult. If your home is one that it more likely to be let to young family, you might want to consider whether you want to have to deal with a parent who is upset because their child has hurt themselves.

It's very unfortunate that you didn't acheive a good quality of finish and now want to rent your home out. It's not going to be an easy problem to fix, but it would be a lot easier if you had a spare tile. With a spare tile, you can break the old tile to remove it, grind away the excess adhesive, and reset the spare on a level bed of adhesive. 

Would an insurer likely not cover a trip due to the tile lip (if there was an accident/claim) due to the fault being down to poor-workmanship and/or pre-existing?

No, that's not how insurance works for this sort of thing.

njkmr

Get a tradesman in to sort it.
Few hundred quid perhaps for piece of mind and being able to sleep at night...?

[Deleted User]

You're now running a business, this changes everything you think you know about being a landlord - and some of the members, here, will tell you it's not for the faint hearted, not a good profit-maker now that interest rates have risen, and, a hassle.

I agree with all previous comments, get this flaw sorted before you invite any claims headed your way - don't give tenants the opportunity to make a claim against you, at any time.

stuart45

1-2mm isn't considered a trip hazzard. I've put riven slate tiles in the bathroom that will have that in places. Even 4mm isn't. I've got rosehead nails that stick up that much. 
There's different ideas from people on the height that a sudden change in height becomes a hazzard, but some some day 1/4 inch, others 1/2 inch.
The council used an inch for their pavements.

YoungBlueEyes

I'm not an expert but - how about putting down a bit more grout/cement/whatever so the lip isn't a lip but more of a tiny wee slope?