Rented property - reasonable wear and tear
Discussion
Hi all,
We recently moved out of a rented property, and have been asked for £350 to replace the mantlepiece, due to a burn mark which was caused by my girlfriend placing a small candle on it with nothing underneath. The burn is circular and slightly larger than a £2 coin.
Understandably i'm not happy with having to purchase a brand new fire surround to replace the current one, due to what I perceive to be a minor cosmetic mark. I would class it as wear and tear, and would be happy to make a £50 contribution towards it.
Apparently it is a one-piece fire surround so the whole thing has to be replaced.
Any suggestions? Also our deposit isn't protected under any scheme, as the house was rented from family (which makes the whole situation twice as stressfull!)
We recently moved out of a rented property, and have been asked for £350 to replace the mantlepiece, due to a burn mark which was caused by my girlfriend placing a small candle on it with nothing underneath. The burn is circular and slightly larger than a £2 coin.
Understandably i'm not happy with having to purchase a brand new fire surround to replace the current one, due to what I perceive to be a minor cosmetic mark. I would class it as wear and tear, and would be happy to make a £50 contribution towards it.
Apparently it is a one-piece fire surround so the whole thing has to be replaced.
Any suggestions? Also our deposit isn't protected under any scheme, as the house was rented from family (which makes the whole situation twice as stressfull!)
mnkiboy said:
Hi all,
We recently moved out of a rented property, and have been asked for £350 to replace the mantlepiece, due to a burn mark which was caused by my girlfriend placing a small candle on it with nothing underneath. The burn is circular and slightly larger than a £2 coin.
Understandably i'm not happy with having to purchase a brand new fire surround to replace the current one, due to what I perceive to be a minor cosmetic mark. I would class it as wear and tear, and would be happy to make a £50 contribution towards it.
Apparently it is a one-piece fire surround so the whole thing has to be replaced.
Any suggestions? Also our deposit isn't protected under any scheme, as the house was rented from family (which makes the whole situation twice as stressfull!)
It's not reasonable wear and tear is it? It is avoidable damage, and I am afraid you are liable for it.We recently moved out of a rented property, and have been asked for £350 to replace the mantlepiece, due to a burn mark which was caused by my girlfriend placing a small candle on it with nothing underneath. The burn is circular and slightly larger than a £2 coin.
Understandably i'm not happy with having to purchase a brand new fire surround to replace the current one, due to what I perceive to be a minor cosmetic mark. I would class it as wear and tear, and would be happy to make a £50 contribution towards it.
Apparently it is a one-piece fire surround so the whole thing has to be replaced.
Any suggestions? Also our deposit isn't protected under any scheme, as the house was rented from family (which makes the whole situation twice as stressfull!)
For reference, reasonable wear and tear is a carpet going threadbare due to people constantly walking on it.
It was damaged due to your (the tenants) negligence. If the fireplace can't be repaired in situ then your LL is perfectly entitled to replace it and charge you for it. Alternatively, you could get it replaced but I suspect that you've already vacated the property.
To put it another way. How would you react if you lent your car to a friend who then bashed the front wing in. Then came back and said that it doesn't need repairing?
To put it another way. How would you react if you lent your car to a friend who then bashed the front wing in. Then came back and said that it doesn't need repairing?
The Restorer said:
Deposit not protected under a scheme. If it should have been, surely you can recover all of that back plus some...
Not necessarily. As soon as a LL realises they are about to get in trouble for this they can lodge the deposit with the DPS and I believe all is OK. This based on some old knowledge so may not still be right.
The Restorer said:
Deposit not protected under a scheme. If it should have been, surely you can recover all of that back plus some...
Only a matter of time before this was brought up.Obviously wasn't a problem for either party until this disagreement, and then it could be 'let's do whatever possible to screw the other party'
garyhun said:
The Restorer said:
Deposit not protected under a scheme. If it should have been, surely you can recover all of that back plus some...
Not necessarily. As soon as a LL realises they are about to get in trouble for this they can lodge the deposit with the DPS and I believe all is OK. This based on some old knowledge so may not still be right.
Yes you're rght it's damage rather than wear and tear.
I'm still unhappy about paying full price for a fire surround that wasn't even new when we moved in. We are in effect replacing their old (but admittedly in good condition) fire surround for a new one.
We have looked at repairing it, but even if you can sand down the mark, there's no way we could re-create the same paint finish.
I'm still unhappy about paying full price for a fire surround that wasn't even new when we moved in. We are in effect replacing their old (but admittedly in good condition) fire surround for a new one.
We have looked at repairing it, but even if you can sand down the mark, there's no way we could re-create the same paint finish.
mnkiboy said:
Yes you're rght it's damage rather than wear and tear.
I'm still unhappy about paying full price for a fire surround that wasn't even new when we moved in. We are in effect replacing their old (but admittedly in good condition) fire surround for a new one.
We have looked at repairing it, but even if you can sand down the mark, there's no way we could re-create the same paint finish.
Why not just repaint it?I'm still unhappy about paying full price for a fire surround that wasn't even new when we moved in. We are in effect replacing their old (but admittedly in good condition) fire surround for a new one.
We have looked at repairing it, but even if you can sand down the mark, there's no way we could re-create the same paint finish.
IF the damage can easily be repaired then £350 sounds OTT.
Using the Car/wing/dent analogy earlier you'd offer to have the dent pulled out and damage made good if possible, sort a new wing and spray if not.
From having done the self same stupid thing to my own property 30 minutes with some sandpaper, a vacuum, a brush and some stain/varnish no one would have any idea once it had dried.
If it can't be repaired then you will have to stump up for a new one.
Given that it is family my advice would be to do whatever is going to avoid fallout that will cost you far more than £350 over the next 50 years. If that means sucking up £250 worth of lost deposit more than you think is fair then you have learnt the lesson that you don’t do business with family on something like this.
Using the Car/wing/dent analogy earlier you'd offer to have the dent pulled out and damage made good if possible, sort a new wing and spray if not.
From having done the self same stupid thing to my own property 30 minutes with some sandpaper, a vacuum, a brush and some stain/varnish no one would have any idea once it had dried.
If it can't be repaired then you will have to stump up for a new one.
Given that it is family my advice would be to do whatever is going to avoid fallout that will cost you far more than £350 over the next 50 years. If that means sucking up £250 worth of lost deposit more than you think is fair then you have learnt the lesson that you don’t do business with family on something like this.
Liszt said:
mnkiboy said:
Yes you're rght it's damage rather than wear and tear.
I'm still unhappy about paying full price for a fire surround that wasn't even new when we moved in. We are in effect replacing their old (but admittedly in good condition) fire surround for a new one.
We have looked at repairing it, but even if you can sand down the mark, there's no way we could re-create the same paint finish.
Why not just repaint it?I'm still unhappy about paying full price for a fire surround that wasn't even new when we moved in. We are in effect replacing their old (but admittedly in good condition) fire surround for a new one.
We have looked at repairing it, but even if you can sand down the mark, there's no way we could re-create the same paint finish.
As above. Sanding and repainting is surely the way forward.
sinizter said:
The Restorer said:
Deposit not protected under a scheme. If it should have been, surely you can recover all of that back plus some...
Only a matter of time before this was brought up.Obviously wasn't a problem for either party until this disagreement, and then it could be 'let's do whatever possible to screw the other party'
It wasn't the tenants responsibility to register into the scheme. It was the landlords.
Having been a landlord, will probably be one again soon and renting a property myself I'm not really one to be taking sides.
Liszt said:
Why not just repaint it?
It's a marble effect fire surround, we'd never get it to the original standard. I'm sure painting the whole thing wouldn't go down too well either.If it were up to me, i'd just put something on top of the mark. It's a small mark, which doesn't effect the function of the fire surround, and certainly doesn't look like £350 worth of damage.
mnkiboy said:
Any suggestions? Also our deposit isn't protected under any scheme, as the house was rented from family (which makes the whole situation twice as stressfull!)
How do you mean 'family' - what is the relationship ?If I rented it from my close family, I would have just fixed it up rather than let them discover the damage.
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