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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

AIBU To not pay for this charge in rental house

33 replies

alwaysfancywine · 02/06/2016 11:24

Am renting a house short term while our new one is being renovated. Dishwasher not been great since we moved in in Feb. Got fed up with it by April and asked the letting agent to arrange for an engineer to come and fix it. There were lots of emails back and forth - mainly me chasing and her saying she needed to check with the landlord and get the OK from him etc. Eventually and engineer comes and fixes it - works beautifully and very happy. I've just received an invoice from the letting agent saying that I have to pay for it! I never thought in a million years that it would be our responsibly for general wear and tear and also her 'checking with the landlord' very much suggests that he is covering the cost, no? I called her to explain that I don't think we should pay and she was very bolshy and said its our reponsibility. Even though the engineers report sites lime scale buildup as the main cause. We move out in a week so there's no way I'd have got it serviced if I was aware of have to pay. Am I BU? How shall I word a response to let her know that we are not paying? (That is if you think we are not BU!). Thanks all

OP posts:

nancy75 · 02/06/2016 11:26

Yanbu, landlords are responsible for white goods that are part of the kitchen unless you have actually done something to break it.

Nocabbageinmyeye · 02/06/2016 11:27

Absolutely not being unreasonable! Someone else will be along with a better reply than "Fuck off you chancer we move out next week" which is what I would say

WreckingBallsInsideMyHead · 02/06/2016 11:28

Yanbu

I've lived in rental properties for nearly 10 years, all repairs have been paid for by the landlord.

Socksey · 02/06/2016 11:28

What does your tenancy agreement say about who pays for these things?

Ratbagratty · 02/06/2016 11:31

Depends on tenecy agreement. But that being said I thought it should have been made clear in the contact emails who was to pay and I think if the tenant is expected to pay they should have got you 3 quotes and your approval before work goes ahead? Good luck fighting this, I don't think you should pay but you may have too.

Lurkedforever1 · 02/06/2016 11:32

Yanbu. But speak to the cab about how to refuse in a manner they will take note of, you don't want to end up in a situation where they steal the money from the deposit and you then have a long battle on your hands. I would be tempted to ask for evidence of the appliance being serviced and inspected immediately prior to your tenancy, in order to prove it's your negligence that caused it, rather than past tenants & general wear and tear. Because you just know they won't have it, and they will probably back down when they realise you aren't either gullible or desperate to remain there. But I'm not a legal expert so get better advice!

cozietoesie · 02/06/2016 11:33

Check your tenancy agreement.

MrsSparkles · 02/06/2016 11:34

General wear and tear - landlord (one of the joys of renting!). Some sort of negligence - tenant. My tenants have just paid to repair the new washing machine (3 months old) as they got underwiring trapped in it.

Check your tenancy agreement and just send a response back saying that you aren't responsible for servicing. Probably just trying it on.

leelu66 · 02/06/2016 11:46

Even though the engineers report sites lime scale buildup as the main cause.

It looks like previous tenants haven't been using dishwasher salt but they shouldn't penalise you for that.

Not sure why you bothered complaining when you are leaving the flat so soon

ApostrophesMatter · 02/06/2016 11:47

This is why as LLs we do not provide white goods.

Original poster

alwaysfancywine · 02/06/2016 11:47

Brilliant responses - thank you everyone! Putting a suitable response together now! Cheeky fuckers.

OP posts:

HelloHola · 02/06/2016 11:49

I would read through your tenanacy agreement just to make sure.

But YANBU - I wouldn't pay it either, especially if I hadn't broken it.

ThumbWitchesAbroad · 02/06/2016 12:03

Totally NBU. I am a LL and I expect to pay for stuff like that (via the managing agents sorting it out). I wouldn't expect the tenants to pay for it unless they'd actively done something to break it (and even then probably not, if it was accidental)

Hastalapasta · 02/06/2016 12:13

YANBU, I am a reluctant LL and pay for everything like that. Previous owner of my house did similar, caused a flooded kitchen on moving day, so I sent the plumbers invoice to my solicitor and the previous owners paid it.

whois · 02/06/2016 12:35

Absolutely not your responsibility. What a fucking cheek.

londonrach · 02/06/2016 12:39

In 10 years of renting ive never ever heard of this! Cheeky. Its the one benefit of renting.

Original poster

alwaysfancywine · 02/06/2016 12:39

LeeLu - I first logged the issue on 11th April - with our move out date on June 10th. It was only fixed 2 weeks ago. Very slow!

OP posts:

HereIAm20 · 02/06/2016 13:06

They can also claim (at the moment anyway) 10% of their rental income as wear and tear on their tax return. Cheeky LLs or chancer agents!

Original poster

alwaysfancywine · 02/06/2016 13:25

I've just sent this response;
I wanted to put in writing our response to the email you sent us this morning. Firstly, the dishwasher was not working primarily due to a build-up of lime scale in the rotary blade, as explained to me by the engineer. This is general wear and tear and is not our responsibility as tenants. In the email exchanges between us (which I’ve attached), which began 5 weeks before the repair was actually carried out, nowhere did you say, or even imply, that the engineer would be at our cost. You said that you needed to check with the landlord that this would be OK, very much suggesting that it would be a Landlord cost, as with all of the other repairs that have taken place.
Secondly, if you were expecting us to pay for this, we should have been given a choice of who to use and at what cost – we would have requested 3 quotes so that we knew the costs up front.
We have been good tenants in the past 4 months – we’ve extended our stay, treated the house respectfully and it will be left in as good condition as when we moved in. We’ve also been extremely accommodating with the numerous viewings over the past few weeks.
It’s really not reasonable to expect us to cover this cost.

(a few other things I am saving should another response be required - such as asking them to provide proof that it was serviced before we moved in).

OP posts:

Scarydinosaurs · 02/06/2016 13:40

And refer to the tenancy agreement?

Surely it states in there that you are not responsible for dishwasher?

Original poster

alwaysfancywine · 02/06/2016 13:57

To be honest, I can't be arsed to read it - it's sooooo long!! I will if she comes back with an unfavourable response... x

OP posts:

Pigeonpost · 02/06/2016 13:58

Have you sent that response? It's far too lengthy. Assuming you have checked the tenancy agreement and it does in fact state that white good are the LL's responsibility then you simply need to refer to that.

Pigeonpost · 02/06/2016 13:59

Cross-post. What do you mean you can't be arsed to read it? If it says it's your responsibility then you don't have a leg to stand on.

Scarydinosaurs · 02/06/2016 14:00

Read it- you'll look like a dick if you have signed something that says you're liable for services to white goods.

MovingOnUpMovingOnOut · 02/06/2016 14:02

Wow. I'm a joyful landlord (the monthly rent makes me very happy and grateful) and I'd stump up for the dishwasher repair.

Cheeky buggers.

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