Could someone please advise who is liable for changing lightbulbs in a rented property.
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Originally posted by oscar1 View Post
The tenant as a rule. Unless there is a particular problem with the light that prevents them from being able to do so.
If you tell us more info we may be able to be more specific. -
Are you asking this question as a landlord or a tenant?Originally posted by oscar1 View Post
One can buy bulbs at the rate of 6-10 for £1. Therefore it is amazing to see L/L& T arguing over such trivial things.KikuyuComment
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You may have missed the point here.Originally posted by kikuyu View Post
OP was not necessarily asking who is responsible for the cost of replacement, so much as the act of replacement.
If your tenant is unable safely to climb a ladder to replace bulbs in a light fitting 10' above floor level, then it is an issue and not a 'trivial' one.
Oscar1 : if tenants are able-bodied and the light fittings are easily accessed, then it is reasonable to expect them to do it.
If tenants may struggle to replace the bulbs to the point of it being a H & S issue, then it is in the LL's interests to show a bit of goodwill and replace them him/herself (or get handyman to). Wherever possible use energy-saving bulbs, which have a longer life anyway.'Pause you who read this, and think for a moment of the long chain of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation fo the first link on one memorable day'. Charles Dickens, Great ExpectationsComment
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Originally posted by mind the gap View Post
Yep and also I've experienced issues when taking on properties where the casing won't unscrew etc etc. Obviously I have picked this up and addressed it, had a periodic inspection cert done to ensure all is safe and well but not every landlord may do so.
You can't expect tenants to start meddling with lights where the "straightforward" task of changing a lightbulb has ceased to be the case
I also have two HMOs where the ceilings are ridiculously high. I have had as many lights as possible dropped to a manageable height but it has been difficult in some places especially with bathrooms where you need specific types of lights. I am being accommodating with a tenant who can't change a bulb in one of the lights due to the height issue.Comment
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Exactly.
(On the other hand, I have also had six students, with a combined IQ of about a million, who claimed that the downstairs cloakroom was unusable because the light bulb needed replacing and none of them had managed to do it because...it was too dark in there
I have to admit, in their case, I wasn't my ususal sympathetic self ).'Pause you who read this, and think for a moment of the long chain of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation fo the first link on one memorable day'. Charles Dickens, Great ExpectationsComment
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To quote you MTG, EXACTLY!Originally posted by mind the gap View Post
You have to take a sensible view don't you. A simple question about lightbulbs might seem like it should have a simple answer but that is not always the case!Comment
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Hey now! Not all students are like that. Must have been studying Arts, and not Engineering!Originally posted by mind the gap View PostExactly.
(On the other hand, I have also had six students, with a combined IQ of about a million, who claimed that the downstairs cloakroom was unusable because the light bulb needed replacing and none of them had managed to do it because...it was too dark in there
I have to admit, in their case, I wasn't my ususal sympathetic self ).Comment
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Don't you believe it.Originally posted by bikemad View Post
For the record :
1. Medicine
2. Business Studies
3 & 4 Applied Biology
5. Law
6. Physics!'Pause you who read this, and think for a moment of the long chain of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation fo the first link on one memorable day'. Charles Dickens, Great ExpectationsComment
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I recall an oft repeated story in which a number of learned academics were attending a dinner party. The food was magnificent, the wine and other drinks were the finest available and the conversation - it was on an incredibly high academic plane. Then, while the port was being taken the lights went out and nobody at the table knew how to re-set a circuit breaker!
P.P.Any information given in this post is based on my personal experience as a landlord, what I have learned from this and other boards and elsewhere. It is not to be relied on. Definitive advice is only available from a Solicitor or other appropriately qualified person.Comment
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This would seem to confirm Oscar Wilde's opinion that nothing useful can be taught.Originally posted by mind the gap View Post
Changing lightbulbs has to come within a tenant's responsibility and the tenant's ability to do the job should not come into it. The little old lady who cannot do it is in the same postion as a little old lady in her own house.Comment
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Lightbulbs, you mean your T have electricity ?
Mine all use candles.
A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.W.ChurchillComment
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Well, you are in Wales.Originally posted by Rodent1 View PostLightbulbs, you mean your T have electricity ?
Mine all use candles.'Pause you who read this, and think for a moment of the long chain of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation fo the first link on one memorable day'. Charles Dickens, Great ExpectationsComment
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I was going to say something similar to this.Originally posted by Lawcruncher View Post
Obviously MTG and Bunny are very nice LL's.
If the T can't do it themselves, they can always get someone who can to do it for them and pay if necessary.
Suggest MTG that you have a tarrif saying £5 per light bulb change and see how many you need to do then.
In HMO's with individual room lets, the communal area would be the LL's responsibility.All posts in good faith, but do not rely on them
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I thought you banned them in your tenancy agreement?Originally posted by Rodent1 View PostLightbulbs, you mean your T have electricity ?
Mine all use candles.
They must live in the dark.All posts in good faith, but do not rely on them
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