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?

you say they broke it, how did they break it in such a way that the ledge for the slats slipped off? thats quite a specific way for them to have broken it, rather than the bed just not being properly assembled and coming loose.

Not a relief though. You can deduct for the cost of a new bed, or for the cost of the repair.

We bought one of those beds and it broke in a matter of weeks. The retailer duly sent an 'engineer' out to inspect the damage and he agreed it was faulty, but that took us no further forward in the matter and in the end DH did the repair with better quality materials. It happens. No trampolining or other mistreatment required.

I've got a solid, wooden bed with slats which is 30 years old and is in perfect condition. Obviously I haven't shagged much over the years.

Get them a new bed and stop splashing their private lives all over Mumsnet!

You need to fix the fucking bed OP.

Beds in decent condition don't just randomly snap.

You know this.

Thanks, nancyjuice7,

I have acknowledged that we are responsible for the bed, and as they are nice tenants we are not going to make a fuss about it, but this does not seem to have sunk in to certain posters.

Smallsteps88,I have no idea how they broke it but I will not be investigating their nocturnal activities,

*You need to fix the fucking bed OP.

Beds in decent condition don't just randomly snap.

You know this.*

This!

Your job to fix it, just as it would be your job to fix the shower or oven if they broke. Don't be such a tightarse.

I think I do know this, MandosHatHair but feel free to keep telling me.

I have no idea how they broke it but I will not be investigating their nocturnal activities

actually, you have no idea that they broke it. it just suits you to blame them.

I'm a landlord and very surprised you'd expect them to pay. It broke during presumably normal use, whereas breaking a glass table usually implies they did not use it correctly. I would in both cases pay myself though, tenants get a shit enough deal.

SionnachRua where I have said I will not be dong this? Not so much of a tightarse, please.

We rent (Although unfurnished) and I would probably let the LL know after we had fixed it. I would only send the bill on if it was the boiler etc. If we broke it we fix it.
We have lovely LLs.

You sound like a good LL op.

The replies on this post are crazy!

None of our other properties are let furnished.

I cannot quote believe that you have an actual number of properties and don’t understand basic things like who’s responsible for repairs to a Slatted bed.

Beds with slats do break in that way, at least mine did so I doubt it's the tenants' fault.

Also a slatted bed in a tenanted property is a disaster waiting to happen. It’s why all furniture packs always have a divan.

FFS!

Tootletum if you read my OP, you will see that I simply asked what normally happened when tenants broke something and said we would probably pay whoever is responsible.

I was told several times that I should pay. I have said an equal number of times that we would do exactly that.

Nor have I said I blame them, these things happen.

RTFT

Can’t think how to put it politely but was it a fairly cheap bed?
After years of going through those slat ones (with the plastic bits on the end that pin into the base?) with our son, the penny dropped and we invested in a really good, solid one. Pricey but will save us in the long run.
Suspect would be a wise investment with tenants too.

As PPs have said, it is your responsibility to fix furniture/appliances in a furnished flat if it breaks unless the damage is due to the tenant's negligence. If they were jumping on the bed, they pay for the repair. If they drop a bottle on a glass table and it smashes, they pay to fix or replace it, although not necessarily the full cost of replacement, usually a percentage to allow for wear and tear.

Yankathebear, thanks for the sane posts!

@TroysMammy

I've got a solid, wooden bed with slats which is 30 years old and is in perfect condition. Obviously I haven't shagged much over the years.

I'm celibate and mine broke! But the slats of mine were never screwed in.

LouiseNW, it was a fairly expensive bed, albeit with slats. As I explained upthread, the house was furnished to be a very pleasant place for DH to live while working and for me to enjoy visiting.,

At that price I would invest in a new bed, not a slatted one and have it delivered directly to their home.