How to charge damages to tenants

Landlord Discussion
1

Hi. All,

Could I ask how landlord have dealt with awkward situations where the tenant was generally nice but you found out something damaged during your inspection?

for my case it was the fridge’s milk holding part on the door broken (the bits holding it broke off and it would be beyond repair) and the bottom plastic transparent vegetable drawer cracked too.

How to and how much to charge them those things? i mean i guess it would cost quite a bit to fix it but don’t want to put them off too much?

Regards,

2

You can ask or tell them to replace the broken parts but normally I would wait until they move out and claim against the deposit.

I am not sure you can force a repair prior to that moving out unless it is more serious and likely to result in further damage

3

You can buy parts from espares or the company that manufactured it.
You can claim money during the let if you have a clause in your contract stipulating such.

4

That does not sound like it would cost a lot to fix. I would fix it myself assuming normal wear and tear and think nothing of it if they are generally good tenants. I don’t provide white goods anyway for just this reason.

2 Likes
5

well how to fix the inner door part that broke off? e.g. the plastic milk compartment was holding by some plastic thing sticking out from the door, so if that breaks we need to get a new door as that is the part that broke and it is from one piece on the door.

6

ask them to get it fixed

7

I would imagine it depends on how old the fridge is. They are not the strongest holders. I put new fridges and freezers in mine but do not expect the plastic holders to last forever. I have broken a couple of mine. I can get a 2nd hand fridge for around £80 probably cheaper privately so I myself wouldn’t bother about it even a new one is less than£200. We all get a good return on the rent so we should expect to replace every so often shouldnt we? If it is relatively new then replacement cost if you cant find any holders to fit less wear and tear.

1 Like
8

Thanks Christine, could I ask if you get a second hand and it is a replacement how do we get tax relief on this if it is exchange with cash or ebay?

9

I did use 2nd hand in 1 property but the others are new. These were put in before the change i n the rules so they all went through my books as normal. If 2nd hand obviously you need to get a receipt off the seller. Now you can claim for anything that is replacement but if it it didnt have a fridge on the property when you purchased it you cannot claim for it. You can claim after that should it break down and have to be repaired or replaced.

10

Just keep ebay receipts or make a note of it, maybe with a print out of a gumtree listing if something like that