dh accidentally set our bathroom on fire!!

[mummysgoingmad]

what a bloody day!!

dh lite a few candels today as dh's parents were coming round to pick up ds and wanted to make the house smell nice, namely the bathroom.
anyway dh's parents get here we talking and chatting away fine, dh's sister arrives and dh asks if they like a cuppa, when i hear him yelling "oh god, oh fuck, oh jesus!" i honestly though maybe a bird flew into the kitchen or something. I walked into the hall and was greated with a thick cloud of black smoke.
The candle he had lit in the bathroom had been knocked over by what we think must have been a gust of wind and the window is now completely buggered.

We are private tenants so how do i tell my landlord? Do i offer to pay for all the damage (we will need a whole new window and window ledge) and would it be unreasonalbe to ask us to leave?

It was a genuine accident, we have alreadty painted the bathroom and fixed most of the smoke damage but the window is ruined.

please help me figure out what i will say to him when he come back from his holidays in malta in a couple of days.

[DioneTheDiabolist]

Do you have insurance?

[mummysgoingmad]

no we don't i thought the landlord may have insurance as its a rented property.

[DeadPoncy]

Oh, no! You poor things.

I'm sure if you replace the window and paint and generally put everything back the way it was, you are not going to be chucked out. Just think: what LL in his right mind would let go of tenants who were willing to do this for him?

Calm down and don't panic. It will be all right.

[fallen24]

You should have tenant insurance - that was a condition of my lease.

I would never dream of renting without it

[ForMashGetSmash]

Does DH know anyone who could fi it properly? We rent and when we have damaged stuff in the past we fix it ourselves...it saves your deposit!

[Heracles]

If it's a big job the bulding insurance will cover it. Accidents happen, I'm sure it'll be fine.

[EvilEyeButterPie]

Is there such a thing as tenant insurance? I have never heard of it. What does it cover?

[keepingupwiththejoneses]

Tenant insurance is the renters contents insurance. Landlords insurance wouldn't cover it unless he has accidental cover. I would explain and replace the window. I would highly recommend you get some tenants insurance, it doesn't cost a huge amount but is well worth it as LL insurance will only be for building and that doesn't cover things like kitchen and bathroom, carpets and alike.

[SouthernDad]

As I understand it, you (tenant) can only insure the contents and the Landlord has to insure the building (he's the owner).

Your standard household contents cover (what I believe fallen is referring to as tenants insurance) will cover your contents and soft furnishings. The window itself will be covered by the buildings insurance the landlord holds. Most policies will include accidental damage - and most landlords I know wouldn't consider one that didn't. It will cost him the excess, but that's all.

Things like this do happen. It sounds like it was a genuine accident, you've already done a lot to make good, you're treating the place as your home and looking after it, you're not hiding this from him - all things that make you a good tenant. A landlord won't want to kick you out just on the basis of this, good tenants are worth holding on to!

You offer to pay his insurance excess, and you reassure him that you've learned from this to take more care with candles. You definitely don't just get the window replaced without talking to him first - it's polite, and he may have something specific he wants to do with it.

[Skyrg]

People saying he must have insurance are right, he should have.

But... does your contract allow candles? Sounds like a silly thing, but in my experience most contracts say not to use them (presumably for this reason!) So I'd check that if I were you.

[LionOnTheFloorInAPoolOfBlood]

You poor thing, how frightening.

Candles really are a hazard. My brother once did exactly the same thing in my Mums house - left candles burning on the side of the bath. Somehow they fell over and set fire to a pile of clothes. The entire bathroom was destroyed - the bath actually melted completely, and my brothers room (was an ensuite) ruined by smoke. Fortunately my brother noticed the smoke and got the garden hose through the bathroom window to stop the fire spreading. When the fire brigade came they pulled down the ceiling too in case there were still burning embers. It took months and months to get the insurance sorted out and the repairs done. My brother was very shaken by it all - it could have been so much worse.

Hope you get it all sorted out OK. These things do happen, just be up front with your landlord and I'm sure you can work something out.

[umf]

Oh dear, you were very lucky, really. Baths etc can give out nasty toxic fumes. Fire service v upset by the fashion for bathroom candles, totally lethal. Hope landlord not too awful about it.