Tenant has damaged sink and asking it to be fixed at Landlord cost

charithacq · 25 April 2018 at 2:11PM

Hi I have given my house on rent and the tenants living there have damaged the sink and they are blaming this on the cupboard above being faulty and that due to this the contents on the shelf have fallen and damage the sink. They are expecting me to fix the sink and my cost. Could you please advice, I have had the property inspected before they moved in and I know there was no fault with the cupboard, what can be done as I do not want to pay for this.

It seems like they have damaged this and now lying about the cupboard being fault to make me pay for it. Please help its the first time I have rented out my house and its just becoming a real headache with these tenants. Thank you in advance.

Marvel1 · 25 April 2018 at 2:15PM

Is the deposit protected?

[Deleted User] · 25 April 2018 at 2:26PM

Hi

I am sorry but you haven't given your house on rent. You are renting it for a fee. Its a business.

I'm afraid it might be that you will have to visit the house, if you can and inspect the damage. It is possible that a cupboard can come away from the wall without the tenants being at fault (could be a problem with the wall, with the screws, the fixings).

The only way to find out is to go and look, and discuss with the tenants. I can't really see tenants swinging from a cupboard above a sink, but who knows, I guess anything is possible. I certainly am suffering myself from a fally apart kitchen cause its old (you open a draw and the drawer fascia falls away from the drawer and I am not heavy handed. I've only got one that is still attached out of five now). It does happen, but there can be tenant damage too. You'll have to go there and find out which it is.

How old is the kitchen, who fitted it? How sound is the wall? I'm afraid inspections don't normally do more than check the surface of things, they won't test a cupboard to see how sound it is unless it was hanging off the wall at the time of inspection. And not always then lol.

You might have to just put it down to costs of renting. I know that's not pleasant but there should be some budget for repairs.

KxMx · 25 April 2018 at 2:43PM

I once had a cupboard (double) fall from the wall.

When it was repaired it transpired that a single nail was holding it in place.

I agree OP you need to inspect and see what the situation is.

charithacq · 28 April 2018 at 3:47PM

yes it is protected.

csgohan4 · 28 April 2018 at 3:57PM

your a landlord, you did have landlord insurance? If you don't pay, don't expect to have good tenants, it's business and treat as such, things break.

if you pee off the tenants too much your going to have more trouble than it's worth, void periods, non payment of rent, eviction e.t.c

charithacq · 28 April 2018 at 4:41PM

The cabinet didnt fall off. Its actually one of those glass cabinets you see at B&Q. It has a divider shelf which is held by four plastic plugs. The unit was all in order when the house was handed, whats caused the shelf to fall is one of the plastic plugs has come off while the cabinet has been used so this has cause the shelf to wobble, hence the contents falling, which has damaged the wash basin. So this is on the tenants using the house in my opinion.

AnotherJoe · 28 April 2018 at 4:48PM

The "fault in the cupboard" is that its right above the sink, and since items do occasionally fall from cupboards, especially if a loose fitting shelf comes adrift, that wasn't a wise choice of location and its down to the LL.

[Deleted User] · 28 April 2018 at 4:56PM

You can't blame the tenants for the shelf support coming loose. They do do this. Its wear and tear. I use metal shelf supports myself (you can get them fairly easily). Plastic ones do break/come loose etc. I always replace them, but that's my choice. Its not something tenants have to do.., you could have though. I do it because its less hassle, the metal supports last longer.

Sorry, I think you are going to have to cover the repair. Its fair wear and tear. They didn't do anything to break the support or cause the shelf to wobble and drop its contents on the sink. Unless you can prove otherwise. It was actually probably quite a shock for them, particularly with a glass shelf above a sink. Could have caused a nasty injury. Be glad this didn't happen.

You aren't going to like this, but its one of the costs of renting out a property. Its sounds to me as if you aren't really running it as a business.

FBaby · 28 April 2018 at 5:26PM

Except you'll never know. It could be that they put too much weight on it, or stack things in such a way that the plastic plug got worn, or banged it accidentally... or it was a fault with it or how it was set up.

Without knowing, how can you accuse them?

shirlgirl2004 · 28 April 2018 at 5:43PM

Some might say the tenant had a duty to let you know if the shelf support had broken; after all I'm sure they wouldn't want you popping around on a regular basis to check every cupboard. I assume this is a bathroom cabinet which would by convention be over the basin so I'm not sure why people are suggesting it shouldn't be there. To be honest having said all that I'd just get it fixed and suggest the tenants keep an eye on the shelf supports in future. That is assuming that in all other respects these are good tenants.

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Tenant has damaged sink and asking it to be fixed at Landlord cost

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