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?

Yes, thank you CoronaBollox, . Let’s err on the side of overkill.

Flip I would expect a tenant to pay. Never had a tenant who has come to me for stuff like that and I keep my tenants for years.

We do not put the rent up much over the years and fix stuff like damp and utilities, fences- basically stuff around the structures but that bed- no way. They should fix that.
Look on local Facebook groups to find a local handyman if you really want to.

To those who say slats break easily- I have a slatted king size bed which has lasted for 33 years. It was a 21st present from my Grandma.

But yes, I’d pay for it.

You pay for the repair, get a receipt, and list it under wear and tear expenses (offset against rent income)

"Jeez that would take about ten minutes to fix, I can’t believe they bothered you
About it"

What difference does it make how long it takes to fix? If it's the LL's responsibility, it's the LL's responsibility. The tenants could get into trouble if they made things worse by trying to fix it thenselves.

Saturday night, wine and spirits freely available, and MN just sitting there waiting for one’s words of wisdom…

Blimey @TrickyD you’re obviously a brilliant LL remaining polite in the face of this shower.

Lol @ being polite on MN = brilliant LL

I rented a place with a bed with the sprung wooden slats. I couldn't even sit up to read without risking the thing collapsing under me. (They could be reseated with some brute force).

So it wouldn't remotely surprise me if the tenants have done nothing wrong and it just broke. You can't really prove it's been caused by abuse so you can't reasonably charge them.

Personally I think I'd tell the tenant that if they fix it themselves it'll get done quicker. If they're happy to do so it saves you the money. If not, you'll have to get it sorted though.

Try thinking about it...

@swimlyn

Try thinking about it...

Me? Oh no, go on, spell it out to me. Do the mental gymnastics necessary to make your statement make sense.

Speak to your estate agent because it would be set out in the contract.

I think the problem is that you've approached it in a fashion of they've broken it. Implying if they were more careful it wouldn't have happened. But seeing as you didn't say how old the bed was (despite being asked a couple of times), and it's clearly been used by multiple people, it looks like you were trying to wriggle out of something that is obviously your responsibility. That's not nice or fair and why everyone has been keen to put you right.

OP. You would probably find it useful to post on the Landlord Zone forums with any questions you have in future . Many on there are experienced landlords and are very helpful with questions such as yours. It is a perfectly reasonable question, despite the hysterical reaction of many MN posters.
It is hopeless asking any questions on Mumsnet about landlord responsibilities as there is an automatic assumption you are trying to do the tenant over. Clearly not the case in your instance. Also, another sin in MN eyes is the apparent audacity as a landlord to want to check the facts prior to making a decision. MNetters don't tolerate this! Landlords must know everything and never seek advice.
Frankly, many responses on MN about landlord issues are frequently uninformed hysterical bollocks.

Thanks, XOxo and swimlyn for your kind words.

Bed about 6 years old BlueBirdGreenFence
Now tell me AIBU to expect an expensive bed to last that long, I am sure you are longing to.

I rented for years so have loads of experience with this.

The tenant breaks anything - THEY pay
Wear and tear - LL pays

Those insisting that the tenants haven't broken the bed, how do you know that! Beds can break from being jumped on

Blimey, OP - some people want to take the bed and beat you with the slats 😱
You forgot the standard code that many on MN hate landlords by default -good or bad.

I understand your dilemma - is is damage by the tenants, or wear and tear?

For example, if they'd knocked a lamp off and smashed it, I'd say they are responsible for replacement (in principle - I'm sure you'd just let it go).

The bed is a different one, and as you've said, something you will get sorted.

@TrickyD

Even if you didn’t know, they are your items. Why, even for a brief moment, would you think they should pay for your items?

Because I am a grasping cow grinding the faces of those unfortunate to have to rent my shitty house with its fragile unsuitable beds and determined to extract the last penny from them.

Well, yeah, you are. I know you're trying to be amusing but that's the reality.

This thread is hilarious. So much drama about a bed and projection that op is some kind of Rachmanesque supervillain landlord became she asked about fixing a bed.

Replacement slats are on Ebay & Amazon.

Assuming the mattress is OK then you might be better off buying a new bed base.

Maybe offer the tenants an amount top spend and allow them to top up if they want a different bed.

@TrickyD your agents are supposed to deal with things like this - that's what the fee is for - they don't charge you extra to deal with it, they will have a pool of good local handymen who can do these jobs. I have a property and the agents wouldn't even bother to contact me about something so minor, they would just get it sorted. I've authorised them to just get on and deal with repairs up to an agreed amount. I trust them.

Why on Earth are the tenants contacting you?

What a thread.

OP, who would have thought you would get quite so many bonkers and unpleasant replies for a straightforward question.

I think some posters get a kick out of trying to be as snide as possible. It's weird and pathetic.
Don't suppose you could post the picture the the tenants sent you? It might be something that's really easy to fix?

I'm still interested as to what constitutes a "nice" tenant meaning OP would not make a fuss and pay.

Is it what I would class as being a "good" tenant - paying rent on time, looking after the property and not being a nuisance neighbour?

Or do you have to be actively pally with OP to get the repairs done?

Yes, you are the landlord. I sat on my bed once in a rented flat and it collapsed and went through a week long interrogation to figure out exactly how I had broken the bed and only when the landlord was satisfied that I hadn’t been jumping up and down on it did he come over and do a terrible DIY job to ‘fix’ it. These things happen.

You can ask them to find someone to fix it and provide your details for the invoice.