Tenancy Advice... Damage not caused by us!

haveaguiness · May 2, 2017

I was looking to see if any of my fellow Shrimpers were able to offer some advice in regards to our tenancy (more for peace of mind as I think we are completely in the right).

Part of our Tenancy Agreement is that we must maintain all white goods that have been supplied. Recently our washer dryer packed in so we alerted the landlord, as we were supposed to, who advised he had an extended parts warranty, so all we would need to pay for is the call out cost. The policy is in his name and address, so there was a bit of aggro in getting it sorted but we eventually, last week got it sorted.

As the engineer was completing the work, he damaged the wooden flooring - I will add here that this is fairly expensive wooden flooring! Whoever, installed the washing machine (on behalf of the landlord) decided to screw a 2 inch screw through the rubber foot. As the engineer pulled the machine out it has caused 3 deep scratches in the floor. He reported it to head office and left us with a report of the work completed stating we need to contact head-office about the damage and to take the matter further. Part of the report of work completed states that a new foot was put on.

We took pictures and informed our landlord immediately, who has simply come back saying that we are responsible for the repair of the damage and must deal with the service supplier. However, as we are not the policy holders they are refusing to speak to us or release the report due to the Data Protection Act.

Despite numerous contacts with the landlord (all in writing) stating this, he is still insisting we must "contact their managing director" to sort the issue ourselves (a little over the top to go to the MD). Looking at our Tenancy Agreement, we are responsible for the white-goods, which we have fulfilled, and all other work we are not allowed to get a contractor to repair, this is the responsibility of the landlord.

I was just wondering if anyone had any advice, as I know he is simply going to come back and say we must deal with it, despite me quoting parts of the Tenancy Agreement which back me up. Added to this, we are most likely moving out in 2 months, so any claim will be past our tenancy anyway.

Thanks in advance, and sorry for the long post.

Yorkshire Blue · May 2, 2017

haveaguiness said:
I was looking to see if any of my fellow Shrimpers were able to offer some advice in regards to our tenancy (more for peace of mind as I think we are completely in the right).

Part of our Tenancy Agreement is that we must maintain all white goods that have been supplied. Recently our washer dryer packed in so we alerted the landlord, as we were supposed to, who advised he had an extended parts warranty, so all we would need to pay for is the call out cost. The policy is in his name and address, so there was a bit of aggro in getting it sorted but we eventually, last week got it sorted.

As the engineer was completing the work, he damaged the wooden flooring - I will add here that this is fairly expensive wooden flooring! Whoever, installed the washing machine (on behalf of the landlord) decided to screw a 2 inch screw through the rubber foot. As the engineer pulled the machine out it has caused 3 deep scratches in the floor. He reported it to head office and left us with a report of the work completed stating we need to contact head-office about the damage and to take the matter further. Part of the report of work completed states that a new foot was put on.

We took pictures and informed our landlord immediately, who has simply come back saying that we are responsible for the repair of the damage and must deal with the service supplier. However, as we are not the policy holders they are refusing to speak to us or release the report due to the Data Protection Act.

Despite numerous contacts with the landlord (all in writing) stating this, he is still insisting we must "contact their managing director" to sort the issue ourselves (a little over the top to go to the MD). Looking at our Tenancy Agreement, we are responsible for the white-goods, which we have fulfilled, and all other work we are not allowed to get a contractor to repair, this is the responsibility of the landlord.

I was just wondering if anyone had any advice, as I know he is simply going to come back and say we must deal with it, despite me quoting parts of the Tenancy Agreement which back me up. Added to this, we are most likely moving out in 2 months, so any claim will be past our tenancy anyway.

Thanks in advance, and sorry for the long post.

Check that your tenancy deposit is stored in a recognised government scheme.

You could speak to whoever is refusing to deal with you and find out what they need from the landlord in order to deal with you instead. eg will a letter/e-mail from your landlord instructing them to deal with you suffice. Before any repair work is undertaken you could get the landlord to agree it in writing. If this doesn't work, it might be an idea to go on record as telling the landlord what he needs to do.

If the landlord is claiming a loss under your tenancy agreement, he will probably be under a duty to (reasonably) mitigate any loss. If he tries to withhold your deposit you could raise a dispute with the scheme provider on the basis that he has failed to mitigate the loss. A dispute will likely just mean your deposit takes longer to be returned to you....

Obviously if you need legal advice you should speak to a solicitor and you should not rely on the above.

rigsby · May 2, 2017

Sounds like the Landlord is being an arse. If you aren't allowed to have your own repair man then it s down to him/her. Make it clear you've done your bit and your now handing responsibility to them.

OldBlueLady · May 2, 2017

Will check this with our Lettings Manager at work tomorrow and see what he advises. As YB says, check your deposit is in a registered place, like the DPS.

colonelnutter · May 2, 2017

If none of the above works I suggest you and yours poo in a biscuit tin and hide it under the floorboards the day you leave.

haveaguiness · May 3, 2017

Thanks for the advice everyone (especially the biscuit tin advice which made me spit my water out my mouth I was drinking at the time!)

We have tried one last attempt to send all of the details we have off to the service supplier (including the work carried out report)... If they come back and say they are unable to speak to us and need to speak to the policyholder, then I believe we have fulfilled any obligations we have to reasonably attempt to get the matter resolved. If the landlord doesn't then want to deal with it, this is on his head, as the policyholder, and it should not be taken against us when we come to moving out.

My feeling is that the service supplier may come back and say the appliance was incorrectly fitted, therefore they are not liable. Our landlord probably knows this and is essentially trying to push the blame onto us so he doesn't have to foot the bill.

As anticipated in his last response, he is trying to claim that certain clauses in the tenancy agreement mean something slightly different to what they say and he is also trying to claim the Data Protection Act doesn't matter in this case... Not sure what he means by that.

I think I will wait to see what the service provider comes back with and then seek some legal advice prior to vacating the property.