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AIBU?

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Original poster

to ask landlord to pay for freezer food after he failed to repair freezer?

65 replies

cestlavielife · 15/05/2014 12:40

I advised LL 10 days ago that frost free fridge freezer was icing up constantly and I had thrown away one lot of food; I asked for new FF he said no - will repair.... I had tried to blow dry/defrost thoroughly, still icing up...advised LL, he sent freezer man who blow dried the ice away as I had done and said it was fixed...within hours it was icing up, I called them back, they came and freezer man said no "it fixed it fine". [went out bought expensive haagen daz ice cream and meat!]

continued to ice up but ignored as freezer man had said it was normal and fine...four days later opened door to check and ice cream etc all melted.. meat ruined.

LL sending freezer man back today... my insurance cover does cover food in freezer but has excess of £100 - it's probably £40 or £50 worth...

who pays?? as LL failed to repair or replace it's their liability?

(new rental but full of old appliances and multiple problems ...)

OP posts:
SueDnym · 15/05/2014 16:57

My point is that actually, it doesn't have to be working, because it's not a legal essential. Your landlord can fix it, or he can remove it IF HE WANTS, but because it's not an essential appliance like a cooker or a boiler, he's actually not under any obligation to replace it because it doesn't work. It's his freezer so you can't dispose of it, but you've reported it broken so he can't take anything from your deposit for it. Not fair, perhaps, but legal. There are a bunch of leaflets about landlords responsibilities you can get from your council which are very interesting reading for a tenant.

SueDnym · 15/05/2014 16:58

I said the landlord can remove it, not the tenant.

AgaPanthers · 15/05/2014 17:06

That depends on the tenancy agreement. The one I signed states that the landlord will maintain all electrical appliances. That's a contractual obligation separate from the obligation under the Landlord and Tenant Act.

Mrsdoasyouwouldbedoneby · 15/05/2014 17:09

Am assuming the fridge is also not working? Therefore what the above poster said about a freezer not being a legal requirement, but a fridge is, is a moot point since it is a FF that had failed, and therefore NEEDS to be replace. So ok, the ll can offer just a fridge, but this is unlikely. Unless it's a mate (likely), then those call outs/repairs would cost more than a new but cheap and cheerful FF.

LIZS · 15/05/2014 17:11

Surely ti is down to the botched repair rather than the ll .

SueDnym · 15/05/2014 17:16

He's had it fixed several times, that IS maintenance. He's under no obligation to replace, or even have a freezer there at all, that's my point.

TinyDiamond · 15/05/2014 17:23

Have you asked if he/she will come and remove it so you can buy your own?

AgaPanthers · 15/05/2014 17:26

If something is in the inventory it will be a part of the contract (tenancy agreement). He must have it there in that case. You don't need to buy your own.

WooWooOwl · 15/05/2014 17:32

YABU.

The landlord has tried to do their job and get the thing fixed, so they have met their obligation. It is not up to you to demand that you are provided with a new fridge freezer, the ll is being completely reasonable to try and get it fixed first.

If it definitely can't be fixed, then of course a new one should be provided, but you don't just get to phone your ll and expect a new freezer without it even being looked at.

Your insurance should cover your food, it is not the landlords responsibility, because apart from cowering to your unreasonable demand, there was nothing they could do to prevent your wasted food.

AgaPanthers · 15/05/2014 17:49

They haven't met their obligation until they fix the bloody thing.

NotYouNaanBread · 15/05/2014 18:11

I don't think you applied common sense. You knew that the repair man was unreliable, yet you went out and and bought and FROZE over £45 worth of meat the same day? THAT much meat? Without checking that the 2nd repair job had been effective?

Wibblypiglikesbananas · 15/05/2014 18:20

Woowoo - it's not an unnecessary demand! Presumably she has a contract which states that appliances are fully functioning and this one isn't. It also sounds as though the LL got someone who didn't know what they were doing to 'fix' the FF - in which case, that hardly constitutes fulfilling their obligations.

OP - I'd go back to the contract you signed and take it from there. There's lots of misinformation on this thread so don't believe everything you read here.

Bookaboosue · 15/05/2014 18:21

You knew that the repair man was unreliable, yet you went out and and bought and FROZE over £45 worth of meat the same day?
^^ This

Yes, you are a tenant but you have to take some responsibility. You've asked for the instruction manual from the ll but why not just download it from online? You were worried the freezer wasn't working yet instead of making sure it was working you filled it with expensive food. If it had been your own freezer and you were unsure if it was fixed, would you not have waited to check before filling it with expensive food? It's an expensive lesson to learn but probably a worthwhile one.

londonrach · 15/05/2014 18:37

I rented somewhere where fridge and freezer not included. Sorry as someone who rented over last 10 years i wouldn't expect the landlord to pay. Why you fill the freezer so much. My ll freezer broke beginning of this let and my next door let us use his until our new one arrived.

ChelsyHandy · 15/05/2014 18:46

Most leases state that the landlord takes no responsibility for loss of or damage to the tenant's personal possessions, and state that it is the tenant's decision to take out insurance.

I don't see how the landlord would be liable in contract for an item that is not necessary for keeping the property wind and watertight and which he has attempted to repair.

I've known tenants damage fridgefreezers by pulling them over when moving them - not at all saying that's what happened here, but if the OP were making a case for it, she would need to prove that she didn't damage the previously item.

Things break. Where would it end? Landlords giving tenants money for every little thing that happens or goes wrong? So that in some months they would end up paying for the tenant to live there? Just isn't workable.

WooWooOwl · 15/05/2014 19:18

Wibblypig

It is unnecessary to demand a new freezer.

It is not unnecessary to expect a working freezer within a reasonable time frame of reporting a problem.

There is a big difference.

AElfgifu · 15/05/2014 19:43

I don't see how a freezer can be considered essential, or that anyone has a right to one? If you don't want that one there then ask the landlord to remove it, and buy your own. I was never provided with a fridge or freezer when I rented.

ThatBloodyWoman · 15/05/2014 19:50

I think if a freezer is there when you signed the tenancy agreement,and it was working, it would be a reasonable expectation to enjoy a functioning freezer for the duration of your tenancy, unless there is a clause in the contract to the contrary.

Original poster
cestlavielife · 15/05/2014 19:59

i just added up every item i just threw away - most was in there before i bought meat! obviously i dint go out and buy 45 £ of meat...adding in ice cream waffles peas fish fingers gluten free frozen stuff for coeliac daughter etc - it comes to £46.70. as per sainsburys website - go to your freezer and add up all the bits and pieces it soon adds up!

the appliance was provided - and I cant just chuck it out because it belongs to the landlord! i dont mind buying my own but dont have space to store this one - if i put it outside it wont meet inventory standards at end of lease...

fridge is essential to modern life isnt it?
how many people have no fridge.???

..and frankly a freezer is essential to me as working parent...

it was provided and if provided then it should work...

OP posts:
Original poster
cestlavielife · 15/05/2014 20:02

landlords do repair major things - i dont expect him to change light bulbs for me.
I have already done minor repairs, mended door knobs etc. but anything in inventory eg appliance is landlord responsibility.

OP posts:
Joysmum · 15/05/2014 20:06

If this had been my freezer in my own house I'd have tried to get it fixed first too. I'd certainly not have topped it up with expensive food until I was assured the problem was solved.

SaucyJack · 15/05/2014 20:12

YANBU. It doesn't matter that he tried to fix it if it still doesn't work. He isn't a mate doing you a favour. You are paying him a lot of money to live there with the listed facilities.

AElfgifu · 15/05/2014 20:21

I would consider a freezer a luxury, and although I have had a fridge for many years, I certainly didn't 10 years ago when my children were babies. These things may make life as a working parent easier, but they can't in all fairness be classed as essential. Most working parents in the world don't have them.

Wibblypiglikesbananas · 15/05/2014 20:28

Oh my life. This place is crazy. A working freezer, which is part of the rental contract the OP signed, is now considered a luxury??!! I'm glad some of the posters here aren't my landlord.

And as before, I say this is as a landlord myself. It really doesn't take much to treat tenants with respect and courtesy.

OP - maybe get this thread moved to property as AIBU is always going to attract people who'd say you were in the wrong if your LL came into your house and shat in your bed.

AElfgifu · 15/05/2014 20:30

well, in my life, as I suspect in the lives of many working parents, a fridge and a freezer have certainly been luxuries I often couldn't afford. I think you expect the if you are on benefits, or if you are rich, but the group in between can't always afford them.