Who should foot the bill?

retsbed

Hi MSE'ers
Perhaps you could provide advice on the following dispute we have with our landlady as I am not sure where we stand really:

My partner and I rent a 2 bedroom converted GF flat privately. My partner has been there for about 8/9 years and I moved in 5 years ago.

My partner had her bag stolen yesterday which contained our house keys and her diary with our address in amongst other things. I called the landlady's husband (who is a handyman by trade), explained the situation to him and asked him to please change the locks as we don't feel safe after having the bag stolen and he said to go ahead and get it done and he would check with his wife last night about claiming the cost back from their insurance.
There is another reason for wanting the locks changed immediately - we are having problems with a stalker and the police are involved hence us wanting the locks changed as we don't want to be taking any chances.
Needless to say we had the locks changed and it cost £140. We received a call from the landlady last night saying that the excess on her policy is £250 and it would be pointless claiming, which I can understand, but that we should bear the cost of the locksmith and also pay to have two keys cut for her and her husband, end of story according to her.
Now this has left my partner and I fuming and both feel that we are taking reasonable steps to protect HER property and that she should at the very least make a contribution towards the cost. We have told her this and she has point blank refused our request. We dont have a lot of money and just manage to make ends meet every month so this bill has knocked us for a six. Oh and I forgot to mention that her brother is apparently a locksmith but this was never mentioned to me when I spoke to her husband.

We never really complain about anything in the property - for eg the bathroom is full of damp as it has no extractor fan, the tiles have fallen off (landlord been promising to fix for about 7 months maybe more) and the wooden window sill is rotting. The backdoor keeps getting jammed, the carpets are worn through etc etc etc. We pay our rent on time by standing order every month and never really bother them.

Sorry this post is a bit longwinded....phew but we are both a bit stressed by all of this.
Any advice greatly appreciated from tennant and landlords alike :beer:

RabbitMad

I understand that money is tight but I think if it was me I'd want it done and would pay for my own peace of mind.

But £140 to change the lock? When I moved in to my house it cost me £20 to get a new lock from B&Q.

I'd be very tempted to not get round to getting the extra key cut for the LL until all the problems have been sorted out. E.G. "I'll give you the keys when you come round to sort out the tiles etc"

foxwales

If you don't complain about the state of the property then that is entirely up to you. You are entitled to live in a well maintained home as this is what you are paying rent for?

With regards to the locks; your landlord has no obligation to pay or make part payment towards this.

The keys are your responsibility whilst you occupy the flat; you didn't have to have the locks changed, but due to personel reasons and for reasons to protect your belongings it made sense to have the locks changed. I don't see why you feel the landlord should be responsible for this on any part.

retsbed

RabbitMad wrote: »

I understand that money is tight but I think if it was me I'd want it done and would pay for my own peace of mind.

which is exactly why we had it done.

RabbitMad wrote: »

But £140 to change the lock? When I moved in to my house it cost me £20 to get a new lock from B&Q.

London priced locksmiths I guess

RabbitMad wrote: »

I'd be very tempted to not get round to getting the extra key cut for the LL until all the problems have been sorted out. E.G. "I'll give you the keys when you come round to sort out the tiles etc"

good idea but then I'll guess she'll push up the rent which she has never done apart from the time we had a lodger for a while but then she dropped it again when they moved out. Not sure if I can push her that far, where do I stand legally on that?

retsbed

foxwales wrote: »

The keys are your responsibility whilst you occupy the flat; you didn't have to have the locks changed, but due to personel reasons and for reasons to protect your belongings it made sense to have the locks changed. I don't see why you feel the landlord should be responsible for this on any part.

We did it not only to protect our belongings but also to protect her property. What if this bag snatcher had more intentions than just wanting cash or cards? What if they gained access to the property and trashed it or set fire to it in our absence?
I am aware this sounds like we're being paranoid but you have no idea of the capabilities of this psycho-stalker

seabiscuit_2

When we burgled, they took our spare keys, we replaed the locks that night and it never occurred to us to get the owner to pay, we did however claim it via our insurance claim for the burglary.

Plus there is nothing to stop you reinstalling the original locks when you leave and take the new ones with you

silvercar

You should claim off your contents insurance. If you don't have insurance or the excess is higher than the cost then that is a choice you made.

retsbed

so am i correct in thinking that the general consensus is that we should foot the bill?

foxwales

retsbed wrote: »

so am i correct in thinking that the general consensus is that we should foot the bill?

Unfortunately Yes

zebulon

retsbed wrote: »

so am i correct in thinking that the general consensus is that we should foot the bill?

Yep from me too, sorry!

re the other problems you stated, if nothing was ever done by writing, I would send a "summary" letter to her, for her information, with the different problems in the flat...
(that is if you still don't want to really complain about these)

kizzykizzywizzy

Yes - sorry - it was you that lost the keys:o

I definately would ask, without upsetting your landlord about having the repairs done, just say by the way, are we any nearer having the repairs I asked you about done yet?
Do they have a copy of the bill for the lock? I'd ask to have this as you are paying, also can you claim on your contents, as someone else has asked, if so, you will need the bill for those purposes.
Good Luck