Who pays for furniture damage?

[huiledolives]

Earlier this year I let my spare room to a friend who was between places. The room was fully furnished with new Ikea furniture (not the cheapest range) - perfectly adequate but not famed for being good for dismantling!

I came home from work one day to find that he had taken it upon himself to rearrange the room and taken apart some of the furniture - I know this as it had all been put in my cellar. I was pretty annoyed as I didn't think it would go back together and also my cellar is dirty and damp and told him the room must be put back as he found it when he left.

Fast forward 8 months and said friend is now moving out. I asked him to put all furniture back together and guess what - it won't. This is mainly due to pieces being lost whilst it has been moved. My cellar is damp along one wall and where the furniture has been leant against the wall it is now dirty and discoloured.

Brought this up with my friend and he is of the opinion that he has done nothing wrong - but I now cannot use it and will need to shell out again for the next lodger.

I didn't take a deposit from him as when he moved in it was initially a short term let!

So who IBU? Can I ask him formally to pay towards the cost?

I think you need to chalk it up to experience. Next time dont let to a friend and take a deposit.
If they value your friendship they might offer you some money but it doesn't sound like they are going to.
Did you gave a proper agreement?

Letter before action and small claims court if your friendship is over. But did you not know some of the furniture was in the cellar?

If you knew it was being stored where damp could get to it I don't think you have much recourse now. You can often get spares for ikea furniture.

He’s a tosser. Of course it’s his responsibility to replace the furniture he’s caused to become unusable.

Show him this thread. I doubt anyone would think you were BU.

But you may have to chalk it up to experience. If it were me, he’d have lost a friend. If someone offers you a room, you don’t treat them this way. He’s BU

I think PP is right and chalk it up to experience.

Next time, get a deposit and a contract, even if it's short term. I'm a landlord and the number one rule is never let to friends or family.

I've had experience of the legal system and you'd be wasting your time to pursue anything via small claims.

Also, you should sort out the damp in your cellar...those bad boy problems only get worse..