My tenant has informed that the inside glass panel of a double glazed window on the patio French door has cracked and the cracks have spread all over the panel now. The tenants are saying that they do not know how it has happened. The house was built in 2016, so the widows, doors and everything else in the house is not very old. The glass company that originally fitted the windows and doors are saying it is not covered under the warranty.
Could you please advise as to who is responsible for the repairs and the cost?
The nidirect website says that replacement of glass is not landlord’s responsibility but then other online sources contradict that.
I will be surprised if the tenant says they caused it. I had a situation exactly same on a window just above a radiator during covid when No One came out to do it. Tenant claimed he did not know how it happened. Later when the guys came around to replace it, I was told that it can happen dye to air expansion, changes in temp on it’s own. it is certainly landlords responsibility to get it fixed to the current standards, not a blotch job
Usually windows come with a ten year guarantee…this should be covered by the warranty. Might be worth insisting as it shouldn’t happen with six yr old windows unless there was an impact.
Exactly that but the tenants are claiming that it just happened spontaneously and the glass company says broken glass is not covered under the warranty.
Your tenants broke the window and won’t admit to it because they don’t want to pay for it. Windows don’t just crack and break unless they are hit very hard. Do the tenants have children, were they or their friends playing or messing around?
I had to replace 2 microwaves in same flat, went round to talk to the tenant and watched her teenage son put a mug with a metal spoon in the microwave - she paid up!
Another tenant complained about the rubbish chairs from Ikea I’d put in the flat. Again went around, and watched his Father swing back on the chair rocking on the back legs, no wonder the last chair collapsed!
Tenants do not treat landlord’s property the same as their own. Hope you can find a way to prove what happed to the window
agree completely, I also wonder why bathrooms in own houses never mould up or come out broken unlike rented ones. yesterday went out to do a mid term inspection and gutted to c a new bathroom and badly treated. never is the tenant’s fault u c, it is always down to cheap material, bad workmanship etc but never ever due to bad maintenance
Glass can just spontaneously shatter. I’ve seen it happen with the most gentle touch. Even reinforced glass is still vulnerable.
Either way… it’s obvious to all that you can’t ‘prove’ anything else, so just have it replaced, not worth arguing about it & risking the relationship with your tenant.
A similar situation happened to me. Glass from a bedroom window just cracked/shattered. It was double glazing so only one of the panels shattered. The tenants were surprised but said it just happened and they have no idea how. The window company said it can happen in rare situations due to a sudden change in weather conditions and air expansion. My landlord/concents insurance covered this however so no issues.
I see that this is an old thread, but I would like to add that, many years ago, we had a solid glass dining-table top which spontaneously shattered into a thousand fragments, Frightened the life out of the wife. Vowed she would never have another one.