Tenant contract: Landlords obligations for repairs

inevitablewoody

Hi! We’re about to sign a contract for a flat in England but there’s a clause I find unreasonable. I would appreciate your thoughts over the matter:

I sent this message to the agency this morning: “We can't agree with 4.4.7 (Have the use of all appliances provided in the Property, as listed in the inventory save those which are noted as not working. However, should any items require repair, or be beyond repair, the Landlord does not undertake to pay for any costs of repair or to replace the appliance, except those which the Landlord is required by law to maintain.) nor with a part of 5.9.b ((b) to keep in repair ... but not other fixtures, fittings and appliances for making use of the supply of water, gas or electricity);). As the white golds and appliances we saw during the viewing are quite old and these are provided by the landlord, we need the landlord to undertake pay for any cost of repair or replacement of the appliances and white goods that are provided with the property.”

The letting agency replied the following: “The Landlord is legally obliged to pay for the repair and replacement of the fridge and oven. We automatically ask for Landlords to repair washing machines and Landlords normally take this on without giving it a thought. I can, however, ask the Landlord if I can amend this clause, but this will bring to her attention the fact that she is not required to fix it. So, I would suggest leaving this and we can continue how we normally do asking the Landlord to pay for the repairs – let me know though.”

What are your thoughts? Should I just leave it as it is then?

propertyrental

Statute law does not require the LL to repair all goods provided, unless specified in the contract ie under contract law.

The Landlord & Tenant Act 1985  S11 says

11 Repairing obligations in short leases.

(1)In a lease to which this section applies (as to which, see sections 13 and 14) there is implied a covenant by the lessor—

(a)to keep in repair the structure and exterior of the dwelling-house (including drains, gutters and external pipes),

(b)to keep in repair and proper working order the installations in the dwelling-house for the supply of water, gas and electricity and for sanitation (including basins, sinks, baths and sanitary conveniences, but not other fixtures, fittings and appliances for making use of the supply of water, gas or electricity), and

(c)to keep in repair and proper working order the installations in the dwelling-house for space heating and heating water.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1985/70/crossheading/repairing-obligations

Most LLs would however voluntarily undertake repairs. But the contract may specify that they will or will not repair those items.

tacpot12

You should check the tenancy agreement for an Entire Agreement clause. if it doesn't contain such a clause, I would recommend emailing the agent back to say that you are happy to take their suggestion, providing you can dispose of any items that the landlord decides they are not going to repair. This should takes the heat out the situation, while ensuring you are not stuck with broken items on the inventory that the landlord is not prepared to repair. If there is no Entire Agreement clause, the letting agent can vary the agreement just by replying to your email (assuming they have the right to bind the landlord contractually, which they usually do). It will be best to confirm by email if you ever do dispose of an item under the terms of this agreement, so that the inventory can be updated and you have evidence in the event of a deposit dispute.  

If there is no Entire Agreement clause, then what the agreement says goes, and you will have to look after the landlord's broken appliances unless the landlord repairs or replaces them, which could never happen, UNLESS the letting agent agrees to change the contract. They can probably change the contract without reference to the landlord, but they probably won't want to do so. They will say that changing the contract needs it to be reviewed by a solicitor and the cost of this is too great. It is then up to you what you do, and will depend on how much you need to rent that particular property. 

The letting agent is correct though. Most landlords will just repair or replace an item than breaks down without considering whether they have a legal obligation to do so. A few will remember what the contract says and just ignore you. 

The term does look unfair; it should not be possible to rent out a furnished property without having a repair/replacement obligation for every appliance and item of furniture supplied by the landlord. Omitting certain appliances from the repair obligation is not common, but if you sign the tenancy agreement you are agreeing to be bound by it. Only a court can decide that the term is unfair, so you would need to take your landlord to court, and I expect the court would not find in your favour if you signed the agreement knowing that it included this problem. 

RHemmings

For my two previous rentals, the washing machine wasn't repaired, even though it had been provided at the start of the rental. 

In the first case, there was nothing said but after some years the machine broke and I was just told that the washing machine wouldn't be replaced. At that time I expected that I wouldn't be in the property for more than three months or so, and I just bought a second hand washing machine from Gumtree, which was installed (and the old one taken away - with permission from the landlord) as I thought that at £100 we would save more than the purchase price in paying for a laundrette. Not to mention the convenience. 

For the next rental, I was told up front that there was a washing machine there, but that it wouldn't be replaced if it broke down. I took the purchased washing machine from the previous house, and stored it. When the provided washing machine broke down, I simply disposed (with permission) and installed my own. That Gumtree washing machine, bought in March 2018, then was used there, and followed me to my current (purchased house), and is still in use. Generally it works fine, except that sometimes the door needs to be closed a few times before it registers that it's closed. Given that I'm still using the machine in 2024, six years later, I guess it has paid for itself

I'm not saying that this is all fully legal, but in the first case at least I thought it better to just replace the machine myself, rather than arguing about it. 

Online I read an anecdote posted about this type of situation. The washing machine broke down and the landlord refused to replace or repair it. The tenant bought themselves a new washer dryer, which they described as an expensive and good one. When they moved out, they took the washer dryer with them. The landlord, upon discovering the machine (bought by the tenant) was gone they immediately had a fit complaining that the tenant had taken the washing machine. After the now ex-tenant refused, the landlord sent the police around saying that the washer-dryer had been stolen. Upon the ex-tenant showing the police the receipt they went away. These sorts of anecdotes should of course be taken with a pinch of salt, but it certainly is an interesting story. 

TL;DR: I had two experiences of rentals where the provided washing machine wasn't replaced or fixed by the landlord. I disposed of the old items, with permission from the landlords.