Tenants bugging me

[Brostafarian]

Hi a couple of things my AST (rolling contract) tenants are bugging me to fix the shower. In the tenancy agreement it clearly states :
4.3 (The Tenant will) Preserve the Fixtures, Furniture and Effects from being destroyed or damaged soI am assuming it the tenants who should fix the shower. BTW the shower worsk fine its just the thing that holds the shower head up on the wall that they have broken. Also they broke my glass shower door costing about £100 and in the tenancy agreement it states :
4.10 Where the tenant, his invited guest or visitors are responsible by any action for any cracked or broken window or door glass on the premises, to promptly repair or replace such glass to the required specification and be liable for the cost involved.
However they choose to ignore my request to have it replaced (I put up a shower rail and curatin for them in the meantime).
Also I keep receiving harassing and discourteous e-mails and phone calls from the son and daughter of the tenants (who are retired Iranian couple and dont speak very good English). Am I obliged to even deal with these people as they are not the tenants only the children of. I usually deal with anogther daughter who up until now has remained polite and respecful. Lastly theyare in arrears of about £480 and refuse to come to ay arrangement to pay this amount off so it kind of bugs me that they are threatening me with legal action if I dont fix the damn shower! Any advice please?

[Snorkerz]

You are responsible for replacing broken shower & enclosure*. That is a legal obligation under section 11(1)(b) of the 1985 Landlord & Tenant Act. Whether you can subsequently charge the tenant for those repairs depends on whether you can prove responsibility and what your contract says.

You should only deal with the tenants.

Their lack of rent does not affect your repairing responsibilities.

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*the actual legislation doesn't refer to showers specifically, probably beause they were less common 27 years ago. However, the act refers to including basins, sinks, baths and that is commonly held to include showers nowadays.

[Brostafarian]

Hi thanks but what about the door that they broke - the glass shower door?

[Snorkerz]

Hi thanks but what about the door that they broke - the glass shower door?

You are responsible for replacing broken shower & enclosure. . . Whether you can subsequently charge the tenant for those repairs depends on whether you can prove responsibility and what your contract says.

IMHO the shower door is part of the shower - so you fix it. If you can prove that it broke as a result of their actions (as opposed to wear & tear / stress etc) then you may be able to pursue the tenants for it.

[Brostafarian]

Thanks again. The glass shower door was only a few months old as I had recentlly had a whole new bathroom installed. They broke it as in pulled it off the hinges and it shattered after a couple of weeks of moving in. Not sure how I can prove that although my handy man friend who put the curtain rail up was witness.

[jta]

Thanks again. The glass shower door was only a few months old as I had recentlly had a whole new bathroom installed. They broke it as in pulled it off the hinges and it shattered after a couple of weeks of moving in. Not sure how I can prove that although my handy man friend who put the curtain rail up was witness.

Witness to what though? Was he standing in the bathroom when the screen was broken?

[Snorkerz]

In reality, if the tenants already owe you a packet in rent, what are the chances of them paying even if you can prove it? Would it be worth going to court over? I think the least stressful option is to pay up, get it fixed and claim it as maintainence on your tax bill.

Maybe check out the 'tenantproof house' thread before specifying the replacement? (no idea if there are any suggestions there)

[mind the gap]

I'm not so sure that a shower enclosure door is actually classed as an 'installation for the supply of water', is it? And if the Ts managed to break it by riving it off its hinges within a couple of weeks of moving in, I would be loath to replace it if I didn't have to. I would be minded to leave the shower curtain in place - at least they can't break that.

[Snorkerz]

I'm not so sure that a shower enclosure door is actually classed as an 'installation for the supply of water', is it? And if the Ts managed to break it by riving it off its hinges within a couple of weeks of moving in, I would be loath to replace it if I didn't have to. I would be minded to leave the shower curtain in place - at least they can't break that.

Well, irrespective of it's classification or not, I guess a shower curtain would indeed serve the same purpose and presumably be a lot cheaper - though I'd have slight concerns about the water leaking onto the floor(ing).

FWIW, a bath isn't an installation for the supply of water - but it's covered.

[Brostafarian]

IMHO the shower door is part of the shower - so you fix it. If you can prove that it broke as a result of their actions (as opposed to wear & tear / stress etc) then you may be able to pursue the tenants for it.

What is the worst that could happen if I just ignore them about the shower?

[Snorkerz]

Worst? EHO will give you an enforcement order (which they will charge you for - several hundred iirc) and if you still don't comply, they can organise the work and bill you. You can be sure that won't be done at 'mates rates'.

[westminster]

Not sure why you're not considering eviction when there is unpaid rent and T refuses to address the problem, but as the tenancy is periodic, you could serve a s.13 notice to increase the rent - even if they don't pay up, it's easier to pursue T for unpaid rent than prove liability for breaking the shower door.

[ladyluck]

what i'm wondering, is how a new door CAN be pulled off its hinges in the first few months, if it is installed correctly???

sounds like one of those annoying shower doors that isn't installed correctly and catches and is hard to open..we've lived places with showers like that before, where it takes a major effort to get the door open!

secondly, the thing that holds up the shower in the place we rent is broken in both bathrooms, neither of which was our fault ,but because they are old and brittle...
our landlords also refuse to fix our shower, which has been leaking into both bathrooms causing a terrible mould problem for over a year, because the shower tray was not installed correctly and the water gushes out of the waste pipe under the shower onto the floor! heavens knows why they won't do something about it when its ruining their place- but there you go...

are you sure the tenants have been negligent with your fixtures, and its not that there was some part to play on your end with poor installation or some other factor effecting their use of the shower?

[theartfullodger]

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are you sure the tenants have been negligent with your fixtures, and its not that there was some part to play on your end with poor installation or some other factor effecting their use of the shower?

Yup: There's often 3 sides to a LL/T story...
- Landlord's story...
- Tenant's story...
- the truth....