Our tenants have broken their bed

[TrickyD]

It is one of those ones which have a lot of slats each resting on a little ledge. The ledge came off so the slat fell.
Is this something that the tenants should normally pay to get fixed?
No doubt, despite it being a very small job, any handyman would charge around £60.
Unfortunately the property is 96 miles from our home, else DH would pop over equipped with hammer and nails.
They are nice tenants, so we will probably pay, but what normally happens when breakages like this happen?

The answer really depends on how it broke. If the tenants were using the bed for normal bed stuff (sleeping, reading, shagging) then it’s wear and tear and you should repair/replace. If they were jumping on it, standing on it or anything else the bed wasn’t designed for then they should pay to have it repaired or replaced.

How old is the bed frame? You could only really charge them for the rest of it’s usable life since they aren’t liable for wear and tear. So if it’s say 5 years old and you’d expect to get 10 years out of it, they should only be paying half the cost. You don’t get new for old.

Is it a furnished let, or unfurnished, but you said they could have the bed as it was already in the house? If you let it as furnished and you could argue it's wear and tear then you need to get it fixed.
There is little tax advantage to furnished lets and their a hassle. You would be better letting unfurnished.

My lovely tenants broke the bed so I bought them a new one. They were very happy and it wasn't very much money- little more than a repair.

Thanks everyone. They are reliable tenants who pay on time, so we will get the bed fixed. I have, I hope, found a handyman who has good references so will talk to him on Monday.
There is another double bed in the other bedroom, so they will not be sleeping on the floor.

Once it's broke I think a ( probably costly) repair is only going to be very temporary.
I'd go online, order a new bed and get it delivered.
Divan. No wooden slats.

^Once it's broke I think a ( probably costly) repair is only going to be very temporary.
I'd go online, order a new bed and get it delivered.^
Divan. No wooden slats.

Yep, this. You could probably pick one up cheaper than the repairs would cost.

a word to wise (after event) next time rent property unfurnished!
do online search on fixing slats (I kid you not!) there
forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3205948/mending-a-snapped-bed-slat
probably on you tube everything else is!
Or do what my dsil does with my ds - use zoom or phone camera! (he helped my ds to find & fix leak & ds has no skills with diy!)

"Somehow I imagined if tenants broke stuff which came with a furnished let, they sorted it."

Somehow I imagined this is something landlords establish when they are letting to tenants??

Just because something is broken it doesn't mean that they broke it. Things break if they are old, worn out, faulty or shoddily made. Not up to your tenants to keep replacing your fixtures and fittings.

1starwars2, we let it furnished because it was a base for DH when he worked in the area, and we wanted it to be a pleasant billet for him where I would enjoy staying too.

Since then it has appealed to people working on short contracts at the University who don’t want the hassle of finding their own furniture.

It is a very nice bed, in fact the whole house was featured in a magazine when DH was living there part time.

None of our other properties are let furnished.

Ooh. In a magazine. You should have said

Surely you claim tax relief for wear and tear. so you should repair or replace at your cost!

Yes, thank you Dontfuckingsaycheese, I’ve got the message, 🙄 we will fix or replace.

It’s not a slat that has broken it is the bit that the slats sit on.which became detached.

Well we told our tenants if they broke another front door look or another washing machine (had to replace both teice), they'd be paying. Funnily enough they didn't.

ooh in a magazine. You should have said

I just did.

Tax relief for wear and tear has gone....

If the bed is on the inventory, you fix it.

And quickly as they have a reasonable right to expect a bed in a furnished flat.

Vetinari Foxy tires 🤣

@TrickyD I've just sold my BTL but my agents were great, the tradesmen they used were usually cheaper than I could find myself. I suppose they put alot of work their way.

Those beds are awful - we have 2 and I’d never have another. Slays either popping off or snapping. They probably didn’t do it on purpose.

As I just said, there is another double bed they could use pending the arrival of the handyman.

Those slatted beds are useless, they always break. Buy something a bit more solid next time.

Anything you supply needs to be fixed by you if it’s broken.

People are being very harsh on this thread

If you provided the bed, and therefore charge more rent for a furnished property then you have to repair the bed if it is fair wear and tear.
Always better to let prorogued unfurnished for this reason.

If you think it's been mistreated, then it would be ducted off their deposit but if they're good tenant it's not worth the battle over this.

You could offer them a reduction of the cost of the new bed up to a certain amount from this months rent if you think it's a more even ground matter?

Thanks, ancientgran, agents do vary.
Suzi888, I am sure they did not do it on purpose.

@TrickyD

I don’t think it is a particularly bizarre post Plussizejumpsuit. We have several times had deductions made from tenants’ deposits for breakages when they left. I can’t see that breaking something mid-term makes them less responsible.

SBTLove, they are academics and don’t seem very practical.

GreenLeafTurnip, yes of course I will.

But THEY didn't break it. The bed broke. Beds do break. It's normal wear and tear. Get a sturdier one if you want to avoid this again.

@Needmoresleep

Tax relief for wear and tear has gone....

If the bed is on the inventory, you fix it.

And quickly as they have a reasonable right to expect a bed in a furnished flat.

Not exactly. The automatic percentage wear and tear tax relief has gone. There is still tax relief for actual items replaced due to wear and tear.