To only pay to repair part of the driveway we damaged

[WillSingForCake]

We've recently moved out of a rental property which had a tarmac driveway, big enough to park one car on. In the last month we lived there our car had a major oil leak, which stained an area approximately one metre square. We tried cleaning it off, but found the oil had softened that area of tarmac so bits of it were coming away.

We showed this to our landlord when we left and said we would of course pay to get it repaired, so we got some builders round to give us a quote. It would cost £150 to dig up that area and put down new tarmac.

The landlord isn't happy with this as the repaired bit will look a different colour than the rest (new black tarmac against older gray tarmac) and wants us to pay to resurface the lot, which will cost £475.

AIBU to only pay to repair the bit we damaged? If it was only a little bit more I'd think sod it and pay up, but an extra few hundred? I can see his point, as it will look a bit weird to have one darker patch, but it's only a driveway & his car (he's moved back into the house) will be on it for most of the time. I also wonder if he's not that bothered about the colour difference, and just sees this as a good way to get a new driveway.

I suspect we won't be able to reach an agreement, and it'll go to the Deposit Holding Company (or whatever they're called) to decide, but was interested to see what you all thought?

[BettySwollocksandaCrustyRack]

£25K!!!

[mamamibbo]

25k :o you can buy a house here for that!

[cheekybarsteward]

Who would pay £25k for a tarmac drive? Surely that much would have bought one of those 'crunchy' driveways in something like semi-precious stones?

[mamamibbo]

www.vebra.com/property/0/23693830

£25,000 house anyone?

[BonaDea]

YANBU.

FFS, it's a driveway, so it's hardly the same as a carpet! And frankly, I would think that an oil leak on a driveway practically falls into the 'wear and tear' category!!

[LRDtheFeministDragon]

Yes, I don't see how it's not 'wear and tear' either.

People spill cups of tea on carpets.

Cars occasionally leak oil.

Neither of these is deliberate and it's fair for the LL to ask for some money back. But what your LL is asking for is betterment - replacing the whole thing with brand new tarmac - and that is AFAIK illegal.

[MummyBarrow]

havent read the whole thread ....

But this is my area of work (landlords and tenants, not tarmac).

The landlord needs to take into account the amount of time the tarmac has been down, that is the "amount of use he has had out of it" and then deduct that from the amount of time you can reasonably expect a drive to be there. That gives the portion you should be liable for.

He cannot expect you to pay to retarmac the whole drive if he has owned the place for say five years. He has had five years out of it and to get you to pay to do all of it is betterment and that is illegal.

That is a good word to use in any correspondence.

Offer him £100 and tell him to see you in court for the rest.

He will lose.

[bouncycastleparty]

gas company unnecessarily dug a hole on a friends tarmac drive to try to find pipes as they had no record of locations. After complaining the gas company eventually paid for the whole drive to be resurfaced purely for aesthetic reason of different colour repair. It loooked awful with a patched repair and would certainly affect first impressions for selling the property.

[ReallyTired]

I think the landlord is unreasonable to expect new for old.

[LRDtheFeministDragon]

bouncy - not the same situation, though. Tenants don't have to keep a property in spotless, show-home condition in case the LL wants to sell.

[BonaDea]

bouncy - not the same. What they OP did was an accident, what the gas company did sounds like sheer fvckwittery.

[FruitSaladIsNotPudding]

Repairing it sounds entirely reasonable to me. But I would let it go to the deposit company to decide, no point arguing about it really.

[FutureNannyOgg]

As a LL I expect my property back as it was, less reasonable wear and tear, a major oil spill doesn't fit that IMO - it's not something you expect to happen from normal use. It also sounds like it wasn't thoroughly cleaned straight away for it to do that kind of damage. A patch that looks odd, and eventually crumbles or sinks as they seem to do wouldn't be acceptable. It's not a stain like a tea spill on a carpet, it's damaged the structure.
Ultimately though, if you want a fair resolution, then get the deposit people to decide.

[SomeoneThatYouUsedToKnow]

Repair and [[http://www.advancedsealingsolutions.co.uk/adseal-tarmac-for-refurbishing-red-or-black-tarmac-or-asphalt.html reseal] Easy. The sealant would not cost much and would restore the look of the driveway. There is no need to completely redo the drive for aesthetic reasons.

[LRDtheFeministDragon]

Nope, not true smalltown.

If you cause predictable, but accidental damage, like spilling the occasional liquid on a carpet, that counts as wear and tear.

This spill sounds like much more than that, but it still doens't allow the LL to 'better' the property by asking for a brand new replacement, as you say.

[WillSingForCake]

Some really useful advice here, thanks. Especially Someone with the link to the sealant, which looks like it could be a good compromise. The driveway condition wasn't on the inventory, and we went through a letting agency (who are sitting on the fence when it comes to deciding who should pay what, but to be fair its now up to the Deposit Holding people I suppose).

[Megan74]

YANBU. I am a LL and suspect that if this were to go to court it would go in your favour as it is unlikey to affect his/her ability to rent the property. How much can oil show on tarmac anyway? A repair is more than reasonable. Peronsally, I would have told you to forget about it. Your LL gets an alowance against his tax bill to cover wear and tear and although this is strictly speaking not wear and tear it's hardly a great shock to have oil on a drive. If it was newly laid beautiful stone that may have been differemt. Hopefully you have your despoit held in a protection scheme so you can take it up with them.

[LRDtheFeministDragon]

small - I did say that this was not usual.

But you're wrong that small spills eg. tea on a carpet are damage. They can be wear and tear.

Similarly, while the OP has obviously caused some damage, there's only so much she can be expected to do for the LL. She doesn't have to pay to provide something better than what was already there (ie., brand new tarmac).

[SoupDragon]

So, if you spill something on a carpet and it doesn't come out, you'd be happy with them cutting the damaged patch out and putting a new bit in?

[SoupDragon]

We tried cleaning it off, but found the oil had softened that area of tarmac so bits of it were coming away.

This is more damage then just a spill.

[LRDtheFeministDragon]

Me, soup, or in general?

If I spilt something on a carpet, I would expect them to treat it according to the law about wear and tear. That means, if I rent a flat with a ten-year-old carpet, and I spill something and make a stain, sorry, no, I do not owe them for a brand new carpet.

That is just how it works. Tenants are not a discretionary piggy-bank for LL.

[SoupDragon]

In general :)

No, you may not have to pay the whole replacement amount but it would be based on the cost of replacing the whole carpet. Which is what should happen here. Although £475 for a new drive seems a bargain.

[SoupDragon]

"A properly installed asphalt driveway with regularly scheduled maintenance can last up to 20 or even 30 years!"