Bath cracked in rented property.

dal

dal

dal

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Joined
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909
Location
Lincolnshire
Hi all, I had a bath yesterday, stood up and a crack that had been previously repaired before I moved in cracked a bit further and is no longer waterproof, I phoned the letting agent up today to tell them about it she said it was down to me to get repaired, I argued that it was a previous repair and therefore a weak spot but she just said because I've just admitted I stood on it and it cracked its down to me, this doesnt sound right to me, has anyone had any experience of this ?
 
You should be able to stand up in a bath tub without it cracking. Unless you are monstrously large I would give some hassle to your landlord as they are clearly trying to avoid paying up.
 
desires said:
You should be able to stand up in a bath tub without it cracking. Unless you are monstrously large I would give some hassle to your landlord as they are clearly trying to avoid paying up.
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I'd say the same. I live in a rented property and our kitchen tap is faulty. Its been fixed once and is now faulty again. My landlord wouldn't dream of asking me to just sort it myself, as thats what we pay him for.
 
As per usual the letting agent is trying to shaft the tenant.

When I rented through a letting agent I found going down in person to their shopped had better results than phone/email.

Unless you were tap dancing in it (pun intended) I can't see how this is your fault
 
It's standard practice for letters/agents to instantly deny responsibility - fight your corner, you are in the right and they should pay up :)
 
The Landlord and Tenant Act under Section 11 states;

The Act states that where a short lease of less then seven years or periodic tenancy is in place then the landlord is responsible:

(a) to keep in repair the structure and exterior of the dwelling, including drains, gutters and external pipes,

(b) to keep in repair and proper working order the installations in the dwelling for the supply of water, gas, electricity and for sanitation (including basins, sinks, baths and sanitary conveniences) but not other fixtures, fittings and appliances for making use of the supply of water, gas or electricity, and

(c) to keep in repair and proper working order the installation in the dwelling for space heating and heating water.
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I would say you have an even stronger case if you can prove that it was a pre-existing fault. Learn from it though, if you know of a fault like this then make sure its documented and you specifically absolve responsibility for that item. Take pictures when you move in and I would recommend you take pictures now also
 
Cheers for the responses guys, I'll either pop down tomorrow or go to citizens advice, I'm fed up with this letting agent, she speaks to me like dirt as well.
On a seperate note my tennancy ends 26th next month my rent is £425 and the deposit I had to put down is £637, I'm wondering wheather it would be a idea to just not pay the last months rent and let them take it out of my deposit, that way the most they can screw me for is £212, not that I've done any damage to the property but I just can see them picking up on the slightest of things.
 
Burn it down!

My letting agent/landlord left me without downstairs electricity and even rewired the house over a month to fix it.. Let's just say they suffered in the long run. ;)

Cowboys the lot of 'em!
 
LOAM said:
The Landlord and Tenant Act under Section 11 states;



I would say you have an even stronger case if you can prove that it was a pre-existing fault. Learn from it though, if you know of a fault like this then make sure its documented and you specifically absolve responsibility for that item. Take pictures when you move in and I would recommend you take pictures now also
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Yes the repaired cracks were listed in the inventory at the start of the tennancy, thanks guys I will indeed fight my corner, I'll let you know of the outcome.
 
As far as I'm concerned this has to be the responisbility of the landlord / letting agent - you should be able to stand in a bath without it breaking.
 
dal said:
Cheers for the responses guys, I'll either pop down tomorrow or go to citizens advice, I'm fed up with this letting agent, she speaks to me like dirt as well.
On a seperate note my tennancy ends 26th next month my rent is £425 and the deposit I had to put down is £637, I'm wondering wheather it would be a idea to just not pay the last months rent and let them take it out of my deposit, that way the most they can screw me for is £212, not that I've done any damage to the property but I just can see them picking up on the slightest of things.
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Start keeping a bit of a log so you have some dates/times/words exchanged.

Whatever I decided to do long term I would write a letter of complaint to the agency that is as to the point as possible. They are testing the water to see what they can get out of you - make sure they know they are damaging their reputation and not going to be receiving anything in return.
 
tell them it sliced your foot open as it went and see if they still want to play funny beggars :P (they wont ask to see your foot)
 
Anyone know if it's possible for him to withhold rent until they fix it? I hope it is legal, but I expect that it is not. It gets my quite angry when consumers get the shaft on things like this. The most they can achieve is a remedy, late, without any compensation and after a great deal of effort.
 
The Halk said:
Anyone know if it's possible for him to withhold rent until they fix it? I hope it is legal, but I expect that it is not. It gets my quite angry when consumers get the shaft on things like this. The most they can achieve is a remedy, late, without any compensation and after a great deal of effort.
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You should hold up your end of a contract even if the other party does not. Then you have a leg to stand on. In this kind of situation the sane advice has to be to continue behaving professionally even if they are not.

Or you could just burn them all
 
I just phoned them quoting the housing act which stated baths must be kept in a state of repair, she then said does it say anything about tennants damaging the bath - gggrrrr, anyway after a bit more agueing she said she would phone the landlord... belvoir lettings - avoid if you can when renting.
 
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