Oh dear. New flat, broken something already :(

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Soldato
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Aaaargh!

So I moved into a really nice flat with my girlfriend last weekend. Everything is great, landlords seemed nice, everything worked as it should etc.

Now we have a bit of a problem. Last Sunday (the day after we moved in) we decided to check out the loft. It's a 'proper' loft - as in there's a hatch you unlock and swing down, and there's fixed ladders you pull down.

So I did this, no problem. But as I went to put the hatch back in place I noticed the hinges holding it seemed loose. We thought it'd be safest to leave it locked in place, and let the landlords know immediately. They came round in a couple of days, tightened the screws and pointed out that the right hinge/screws had worked themselves into a bigger hole and as such weren't very tight. They showed me and we agreed that they'd come round to fix bigger screws in a few days. We agreed that the hatch wasn't going to fall off or anything, both hinges were holding it properly, just one set of screws were loose in the screw holes.

So fast-forward to this Sunday and I go to put our empty boxes in the loft. I pull the ladders down but they slip and slam against the hatch, knocking it of quite spectacularly. Because the loose hinge gave way first it swung the hatch sideways against the wall, into the carpet and then bounced it into the stairs bannister - knocking two spindles out! Argh! It's an old style house with high ceilings so it gathered quite a lot of force on it's way down. Very glad I wasn't under it!

Anyway, I've just phoned the landlord and he was due to come round tomorrow to fix the original problem of loose screws. Eek. When I told him what had happened almost his first response was that we may be liable. Sigh.

I'm going to do some investigation but surely his buildings insurance would cover something like this? Or maybe ours? We have contents insurance. Are we really likely to be liable? :confused:

Any advice would be appreciated, thanks!
 
You *are* liable - but it is likely his insurance will pay for it, maybe you paying the excess.

You shouldn't've touched it, you could've waited "a few days" to put the empty boxes away (I sense a woman's nagging....).
 
Without being a legal expert in any way I would consider it to be the Landlords responsibility. Loft hatch which is meant to be used, [Stairs fixed] would be classed as fixtures and fittings, and it was pointed out to him that it was damaged and needed repair. I should think he's very lucky that you were not hurt and suing him for personal injury.
 
Why would he agree to make a claim on his insurance and lose a no-claims bonus (potentially at least)?

He's paying commercial rates for the insurance and you (unfortunately) chose to try to use the ladder even though you knew it needed maintenance.

As such you are liable and may have to pay the entire cost of repair. Unless the landlord is one hell of a good dude, you will have to pay (unless you have liability insurance in some form or other yourself) such as by insuring the ocntents of the house (the things you own) which normally also includes liability insurance for unintentional damage caused by you.

Although you may have a similar difficulty if you admit you used the ladder knowing the issues about its secreness (or lack thereof) so would probably be out of luck with insurer too.

Either way, hopefully it gets sorted out for you.
 
djohn said:
Without being a legal expert in any way I would consider it to be the Landlords responsibility. Loft hatch which is meant to be used, [Stairs fixed] would be classed as fixtures and fittings, and it was pointed out to him that it was damaged and needed repair. I should think he's very lucky that you were not hurt and suing him for personal injury.
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Did you read the op? It was temporarily secured (to the satisfaction of the tenant) and was awaiting full repair. Liability is waived here.
 
Not quite...

djohn said:
Without being a legal expert in any way I would consider it to be the Landlords responsibility. Loft hatch which is meant to be used, [Stairs fixed] would be classed as fixtures and fittings, and it was pointed out to him that it was damaged and needed repair. I should think he's very lucky that you were not hurt and suing him for personal injury.
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The loft ladder needed work and OP used it knowing that, BEFORE it was fixed. As such, it is definitely not the landlord's responsibility - it may have been if the accident occured before the defect was known of by the ladder-user.
 
You've damaged 2 bits of wood and the stairs need reattaching. No offence but it's hardly a big deal. It's your fault, simple.

However, it's not a big job and personally I'd just pay cash to get it sorted. You could probably do it yourself, replacing spindles isn't that big a job.
 
meghatronic said:
You shouldn't've touched it, you could've waited "a few days" to put the empty boxes away (I sense a woman's nagging....).
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Indeed :(

When he checked it and tightened the screws we both agreed that it was unlikely to fall off. Unfortunately we didn't really agree whether or not that we should use it in the meantime. We probably should have waited, but it was the weekend and we simply wanted to get things done.

He also said on the phone that the agency had recommended to him that we didn't have access to the loft at all. It's all well and good saying that now, isn't it!

djohn said:
I should think he's very lucky that you were not hurt and suing him for personal injury.
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Indeed. There's a very deep (though fortunately not very wide) dent in the carpet. That could have been my head :(

AHarvey said:
You've damaged 2 bits of wood and the stairs need reattaching. No offence but it's hardly a big deal. It's your fault, simple.

However, it's not a big job and personally I'd just pay cash to get it sorted. You could probably do it yourself, replacing spindles isn't that big a job.
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It's no big deal but not a good way to start a relationship with your landlord. He actually said that they replaced a spindle before we moved in and it was expensive and a big job. You need to take the whole bannister off. I dunno.
 
Seems we have a bunch of armchair lawyers talking out of their rectums on this one.



meghatronic said:
Did you read the op? It was temporarily secured (to the satisfaction of the tenant) and was awaiting full repair. Liability is waived here.
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With the exception of Megatronic above... which is correct, except it was to the satisfaction of both tenant and landlord.
 
Surely the landlord's liable. He should have made sure everything was in good working order before you moved in. And considering he actually said nothing would fall off, in my eyes, you are not at fault. Any attribution of fault to you is probably him trying to "Scam" you. :p
 
anticonscience said:
Pictures of damage?

For pure curiosity?
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I'll take some tonight, but no net at home yet so will try to upload them at work tomorrow if you really want :p I should probably take some pics anyway. Essentially the damage is a gouge to the door frame about 1" long and 1cm wide, and the spindles were just plain knocked out, pretty cleanly!
 
Scam said:
Aaaargh!

They showed me and we agreed that they'd come round to fix bigger screws in a few days. We agreed that the hatch wasn't going to fall off or anything, both hinges were holding it properly, just one set of screws were loose in the screw holes.

:confused:

Any advice would be appreciated, thanks!
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Sorry, Don't agree. A repair was done that was not satisfactory even though the person doing the repair stated it was and would be fine until larger screws were fitted.

Both the hatch and spindles are fixtures & fittings and therefore landlords responsibility. OP's insurer is for 'Contents' only and neither will be classed as this.
 
Test out your diy skills tbh, go to b&q buy some wood glue, a clamp, sand paper and some bigger screws. Spend a few hours fixing it up and bobs your uncle.

Ohh you might need some filler for that hole as well. I really Don't get why you wouldn't just bust out the tools in the first place.
 
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