who should pay for this damage; landlord or tenant?

[BarrackerBarmer]

I wanted to canvass views on what is reasonable to expect in this circumstance. There is a good relationship between landlord and tenants.

A tenant is in a rented property shared with a friend as co-tenant. Tenant 1, who is in the Master bedroom with an ensuite bathroom, reports to the rental agency that manages the property on behalf of the landlord, that the hinge on the bathroom mirrored cabinet had become loose and one of the doors had fallen and smashed.

On a good faith understanding that this was just an accident, perhaps caused by a screw that had become loose over the year during the term of the tenancy so far, who should pay to replace the cabinet? Landlord or tenant?

Landlord.

Landlord

LL obviously.

Landlord.

Out of interest, how often does the agency managing the property make checks? And when they do, do they ensure they check for things like loose screws etc?

Landlord

Landlord.

I think landlord

Landlord.

I’m a landlord! I’d pay it, but I’d be really annoyed that the tenant hadn’t noticed it coming loose, given they presumably use it daily, or had and hadn’t bothered to either take the 30 seconds it would have needed to tighten it back up or let the agent know so we could sort a handy man to pop round and do a quick fix.

Also, small things like this do happen and as a one off isn’t a big deal. Multiple opps I didn’t mention this before when a cheap fix could have sorted it type incidents do make me judge tenants; both in terms of wondering how they generally treat the place (so I’ll want more frequent inspections and a really comprehensive check out report) and in terms of should I consider giving them notice.

thanks for the responses.
management checks are quarterly
I strongly suspect that the agency don't check every screw in every cabinet hinge on the property in case it's loose! However the agency action every report from tenants as issues arise, and no request has been ignored to date.

I'm conscious I may get different responses from landlords/tenants, so I wondered what people's expectations were in this scenario where a screw progressively works loose until eventually one day a door falls off.

As a tenant, if one noticed a hinge screw working loose each time a cabinet door was opened, what would you expect to do; report to agency and get them to come with a screwdriver to screw it back in? Or do that yourself? Or no action taken until the door falls off?

As a landlord, what would you expect of a tenant in that situation?

Absolutely not trying to dripfeed or troll here! It's a straightforward canvassing of ideas, promise.

I'm a tenant, I'd have just screwed it back tight. If it kept coming loose I would report it to agency as obviously there is a problem with it in that case.

As a landlord I'd be pissed off; as a tenant I'd have contacted the agency to get it fixed if I was so bloody stupid that I couldn't work out it was loose and that it needed tightening. If the latter, (the bloody stupid bit), then should the tenant be renting a house if they can't cope with tightening a screw?

I am both a landlord and a tenant.

As a tenant, if one noticed a hinge screw working loose each time a cabinet door was opened, what would you expect to do; report to agency and get them to come with a screwdriver to screw it back in? Or do that yourself? Or no action taken until the door falls off?

I'd screw it back in and tell the agency I'd done so.

As a landlord I say landlord. Why? Because it doesn't appear to be deliberate and proving negligence isn't likely to be easy or cheap. Things happen. I'd be grateful the tenant was trying to claim it struck them a glancing blow to the temple...

I’d have screwed it back in as a tenant, assuming that it was an obviously loose screw which caused the problem.

Still, how would the landlord be able to prove that? Landlord couldn’t require tenant to pay for damages without making quite a few assumptions: that loose screw caused problem, that tenants noticed loose screw, and that tenants then failed to act on it until door fell off.

Landlord - but if the tenant saw the screw coming loose they should have screwed it back in.

I am a landlord and would say landlord should pay. However, unless the door suddenly fell off with no warning I would be quite hacked off that the tenant hadn't noticed the door coming loose and either screwed it back in or reported it. In an ideal world, the tenant would be willing to undertake something very simple like that but we have had tenants who didn't seem to own a single screwdriver or possess an ounce of common sense so have at times either had to pay a contractor to do something very simple or go round ourselves with a screwdriver to tighten a loose for handle for example!

As a landlord I'd say that's my problem, although it would have been nice if the students had noticed and taken steps to fix it. I think it's in part the difference between older tenants (who send messages explaining exactly why the vacuum cleaner isn't working and suggesting a solution) and younger tenants (who accept a non working vacuum cleaner)

Landlord. Ive had tenants who didn't notice a leaking flat roof ( it happens, for those who don't know) so I wouldn't be surprised at this.

As others have said I'd be peeved that the tenants hadn't bothered to make an effort to let the agency know to fix it - and tbf the checks the agents do can't cover all eventualities so really the tenants are at fault for it reporting it or doing something about it

But suspect the LL would pay - but if I was the landlord I'd be writing a clause into my agreement that any damage caused by not reporting something sooner so something could have been done to fix it will need to be paid for by the tenant

Thank goodness it didn't smash and hurt someone

It depends on the tenancy agreement there are some that specify whether the landlord or the tenant is responsible. Sometimes the tenant is deemed responsible for minor repairs -this suggests the tenant england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/repairs/landlord_and_tenant_responsibilities_for_repairs.

The tenants should have noticed it was loose and tightened it. That's part of looking after your home.

If the door has been hanging off for ages and only just fell off, then tenant is responsible.

LL but I would remind the T that if they flag up things like loose hinges they can be fixed earlier and before other damage occurs.

It is quite annoying then Ts don't bother reporting minor maintenance issues and they grow into something much more serious.

My frined had a student not say anything about the (small at the start) damp patch on his wall. By the time she did the 6 month inspection the entire wall was soaked through and the plaster was falling off the wall!

If he had said something at the start she would have found the problem, and had it fixed with only the minor of damage inside. As it was there was lots of disruption for the student and lots more expense for her.

He was like "oh yes, it has been a bit wet but I didn't think it mattered"