Who is responsible tenant or landlord?

[sparklins]

Not my situation but a friend that would like some advice.

They live in a terraced property they rent from a private landlord through an estate agent. They have lived there about a year now. No issues apart from the place being a bit filthy when they moved in and bits of mold here and there.
My friend looks after their space and keeps the home really clean.

They ended up having a bad leak in the kitchen ceiling, they notified the landlord who said someone will be around in a few days. No one came and a couple of weeks later a very large chunk ceiling/plasterboard disconnected from the floorboards above and collapsed into the kitchen.
They finally got someone around who has found the cause apparently the gutters are rotten and need replacing and there pointing issues down the supply and fit - my friend (tenant) has been presented with a quote for repairs and asked if they want to go ahead.

AIBU to think this repair is the responsibility of the landlord?
Or is it down to my friend to fix a property they already pay premium rent for and don't own?

YABU - it's your friends responsibility
YANBU - it's the landlords job

[quote BurntOrangeSky]@hotmeatymilk laugh all you like. If you don’t like how much somewhere costs to live but someone else is willing to pay the same price then it’s not a premium and adds nothing to the conversation other than to imply that the tenant is getting ripped off by the landlord, and if that’s the case the tenant has the choice not to agree to the terms. Hth.[/quote]
I think the point is if you are for example paying rent that Is higher than other comparable properties in the area, you would expect the state of repair / decor to reflect that. I don't know if this is the case with OPs friend, but I think it's extremely shoddy of landlords to hugely increase rents on properties in a bad state of repair just because people are in desperate need if housing and so will pay and put up with it. It's obviously not against the law to do this, but it's a case of choosing wether or not to be a shitty person. Far too many landlords seem happy to charge a huge amount for houses they would never dream of living in themselves

@DahliaMacNamara it was at the other poster’s comments. @Crisispoint21 there’s nothing to suggest at all that she’s paying a premium and should expect more, in fact even if she is paying a premium she shouldn’t expect anymore than is in the contract. It’s an outright question of responsibility and has nothing to do with how much she’s paying.

and if that’s the case the tenant has the choice not to agree to the terms.
Everyone has to live somewhere so it’s not really a “choice” and often - especially in the current market - rents ARE a premium simply because the landlord fancies some more money, without the material fabric of the house changing. You always have the choice not to be a landlord; tenants do not always have the choice not to rent. HTH

It is absolutely the landlords responsibilty to repair this and make good the damage.

We rented out my mum's bungalow when she went into a care home. We were responsible for absolutely everything. We replaced carpets, cooker, hob, washing machine, employed a window cleaner and gardener, maintained all the structure of the property. Even the things the tenants broke, flooded, burned, we fixed or replaced. That is the LL's responsibility.

Mumsnets first landslide vote!!!

It is the landlord's responsibility.

Your friend should look in their tenancy agreement, that will confirm the situation.

I hope they have proof that the initial leak was reported…otherwise if EA or LL want to play silly buggers they could say wider damage caused by tenant negligence for not informing them.

@BurntOrangeSky

I’m a landlord and I would not expect a tenant to fix that.

However, just an aside… every tenant thinks they pay a “premium”. It’s a goady and completely irrelevant adjective in your sentence that undermines what was a perfectly reasonable question.

If your friend thinks the rent is too expensive then she can move somewhere else. If she doesn’t think that, then it’s a straightforward question of responsibility and has nothing to do with whether it’s “premium” or not.

I think we have found the 1%

Are you sure the EA didn't just send it to your friend in error? As the wording sounds exactly like the emails the EA who manages my property sends me when something needs doing (I'm the landlord).

Landlord’s property so their issue. If your friend had done something to damage the property then it would be hers, but leaks and subsequent damage from those are very much the landlord’s responsibility.

@endofagain

We rented out my mum's bungalow when she went into a care home. We were responsible for absolutely everything. We replaced carpets, cooker, hob, washing machine, employed a window cleaner and gardener, maintained all the structure of the property. Even the things the tenants broke, flooded, burned, we fixed or replaced. That is the LL's responsibility.

You sound like a good landlord. But some of this is your choice and is beyond your legal obligations.

I've rented a place where the gardening was included as the landlords wanted to keep the garden a certain way perhaps support a certain gardener, but I presume they accounted for that in the rent either way I was happy to have it.

I wonder if the LL has told the EA this was down to you leaving a tap running or the bath overflowing and therefore would be your responsibility?

Obviously not saying that’s correct! It’s not your responsibility to sort this. Just wondering if that’s where it’s gone wrong

As a pp said, is it possible they got you mixed up with the landlord? Or it’s a very junior estate agent who doesn’t realise yet who gets billed?

LL....we had a similar issue with water coming down the lounge wall due to a blocked gutter...I phoned then drove and dropped photos on the estate agent s desk daily for a week... estate agent tried and tried to get LL to sort. Three weeks later we gave notice and estate agent said I hope the LL will listen now. Full deposit back. Your friend doesn't pay a penny. Get LL via estate agent to fix. Ask for estate agent to visit

Landlord. I feel your mates pain. Our landlord is also a rich useless twat.

Ofc it's the landlord's job! It's his house, and the OP didn't cause the problem! Cheeky bugger.

It's definitely the.landlords role to.pay. I have a feeling that the agency sent the tenant the quote instead.of the landlord. I think she should give them a call.

To the PP who keeps going on about being goady.
The rent prices are currently high in our area that is all I was trying to point out. The letting prices have increased due to demand - the properties haven't improved in terms of repairs/decor they've just put the prices up a lot and there are very hard to rent as there are lots of people in for each one that comes up.
My friend would probably move if they could but there are scarcely any options.

The funny thing is if they were able to buy this property at it's current market value (they have extremely good credit rating) they would be saving £XXX a month (and obviously maintaining it themselves) but as things stand they just about get by each month paying their bills, rent and other outgoings with very little left to save for any type of deposit so they are stuck in a cycle of renting whilst constantly quibbling with not so great landlords and incompetent EAs who don't really give a shit as long as they get their rent money every month.

Its the landlords responsibility the EA should know that but may need reminding, perhaps they expect the tenant to contact the landlord with the quote?.

you cant do it yourself without permission from the home owner that could be used as a reason to evict or refuse to return the deposit when you leave, unauthorized repair.

It might be the tenants responsibility to keep the gutters free of leaves but my parent's house is surrounded by trees and leaves in the gutter are a blinking nightmare. We never empty them until the leaves have all fallen or we'd be living on top of a ladder 24/7. They cause the guttering to overflow whenever it rains but they have never caused the ceilings to collapse nor the guttering to rit. That's ridiculous. There's a bigger issue somewhere than just leaves in the gutter. There's,a problem with the fabric of the house and it's definitely down to the landlord to sort it out.

@Jarstastic

Landlords jobs!

Guttering sounds not fit for purpose.

Gutter cleaning is usually tenants responsibility though. I’m not sure whose responsibility it is if they don’t do it and there is a leak into the property.

However this sounds like the guttering is not fit for purpose and repointing issues as well.

I have lived in my current flat for 11 years, I have always lived in rentals, never have I been told that the gutters are my responsibility.

@sparklins I genuinely don't think that person knows what goady means

It's the landlord's responsibility, as is cleaning the gutters.

However, given that they have shown their CF hand, I would put money on the landlord trying to justify charging the tenant on the grounds that the inventory doesn't say anything about there being signs of rotting so the issue must have arisen during the tenancy so the tenant should have noticed that the gutters were blocked/damaged and reported it, and that the tenant's negligence in not reporting immediately is responsible for the damage being much worse than it could have been...

I've also seen CF landlords put a clause in the AST that tenants are responsible for cleaning the gutters.

I suppose it could be a genuine mistake by the EA.