Repairs - Who pays ?

[Kayanos]

Hello,

I moved into my rented property about 2 years ago. It is the first time I have ever rented a private property so I wasn't sure of my rights or other things.

When I moved in it was an old house and a few things went wrong quickly, both sinks flooded I had to pay a plumber to fix them because it was an emergency. I also had to fix the back gate on the drive way because the weather damaged them.

At that time I told the landlord of the repairs I had to do, but I didn't ask for the money because I thought that I had to pay for all the repairs during the tenancy.

Last month I did some research into my rights as a private tenant and I realized that the landlord has to pay for repairs to his property and tenants are only responsible for minor repairs. I confronted the landlord when he last collected his rent I also shown him the tenancy agrement where it says the landlord must make repairs. But he said no you have to pay for all the repairs.

What should I do ? Am I entitled to claim back the money I spent on repairs ?

[MrShed]

The landlord is responsible for repairs, regardless of what the AST says. However, I think it has been too long now for a court to take any claim too seriously. I think you need to mark it down as a learning experience.

If you REALLY wanted to claim the money back, do you still have the receipts? You could utilise your right of offset. However, bear in mind this will most likely see you very quickly evicted under a Section 21 notice, which requires no reason for eviction.

[Kayanos]

Hi, thanks for the advice,

Yes I do still have the receipts, I am not to worried about being evicted because I will be moving soon anyway.

[MrShed]

How much are we talking about?

[Kayanos]

£59 kitchen sink repairs
£69 bathroom sink repairs
£200 to repair the back drive gates.

£328 in total

[MrShed]

The problem you have is that you did not give the landlord opportunity to get more than one quote for these repairs, or opportunity to fix them himself, and I am unsure whether in court such a claim would stand up. Did you get more than one estimate for each repair?

If you do want to use your right of offset, I would suggest the following. Write to the landlord, stating that you give him 7 days to reimburse you for the repairs. If he does not, deduct £228 from the next rent payment, and send the landlord COPIES of the bills. Be warned, that if the landlord decides to challenge this in court, you may well lose.

[roger56]

You should not deduct any money from the rental payment, you will then be in default of your tenancy contract and that will not look good if you do go to court.
You may also get charged late payment penalties - check your contract very carefully.

[roger56]

This may also be helpful for you, it has a paragraph on repairs and maintenance:

Information for Tenants

[MrShed]

Originally Posted by roger56

You should not deduct any money from the rental payment, you will then be in default of your tenancy contract and that will not look good if you do go to court.
You may also get charged late payment penalties - check your contract very carefully.

That is not true. The tenant has a "right of offset" which allows any money owed to him to be deducted from the rent, as long as he notifies the landlord of his intention in advance.