I have recently moved into a flat with my partner. On the 29th of May our washing machine broke and will not spin. The washing machine and all our white goods were supplied by the landlord and in our lease it says he has to replace or repair in reasonable time. We immediately notified the landlord/agency that the machine wasn’t working properly, we were told to report it through the maintenance website which we did. Wednesday came around and the maintenance guy came in, looked at the machine and said we need a whole new machine and that he would let the landlord know. A week had passed since this machine broke and we still hadn’t heard anything since the appointment. We messaged and said can you give us an update, he told us the work had been issued, meaning he had no idea the Maintenance man had been. We told him they told us we need a new machine. We were then told it had been ordered. A few days passed and yet again we heard nothing, he said he was awaiting an arrival date, another few days passed again and nothing has been said so we asked again, he said he was still waiting. It had now been two weeks since our machine broke and still no update on when it was arriving, etc. we then messaged on the Monday again and he said he will chase it up, we didn’t hear anything again. Then Thursday came and we sent a message saying we are spending an extortionate amount of money on getting to the only laundrette in the city, as well as the inconvenience of waiting for it and we still have no idea when the next is arriving. He never replied and it has now been three days since it was delivered.
We feel the agent/landlord is giving us no help and not understanding how much of an inconvenience it is for us to be without a machine, there has been no apology for the lack of communication. He has said nothing to us unless we are chasing him up, and even then he just makes up some excuse. The machine was ordered two weeks ago and he still has “no idea” when it’s arriving. It seems he is stalling and like the machine hasn’t even been ordered.
We are unsure of our rights here and can’t find anything about it. On the maintenance website it says it should be dealt with in 28 days but it has already been 21 days and we are no closer to a resolution.
Does anyone have any advice? Thanks and sorry for the long rant!
Does your tenancy agreement specifically say that white goods will be repaired/replaced or just a general statement about repairs being done in a reasonable time? White goods are not usually part of a landlords repairing obligations, so it will normally be down to the contract.
Hi, yes. It is in our inventory as well as our contract. He’s not said he’s not going to replace it but it doesn’t seem like he’s planning on it anytime soon
tellthe landlord you will keep a tally of the the trips to the laundry and charge him the appropiate amount until he replaces it. / or if you wish buy a new machine and threaten to sue him for it. sadly it seems only a strong response will do
It’s simply not practical. Evidence would need to be produced and “case proven”.
System would need to be implemented really well as could be very easy to abuse, just look at google reviews as an example where anyone can write anything which is unvetted.
As a landlord do you really want to be at the mercy of a tenant ruining your reputation because you decided to not pay back all of their deposit which you know was justified? You would end up being scared to do it!
You’ll soon be saying there needs to be a review system for tenants believe me!!
There is already one with landlord reference on tenant I think.
I am not even a landlord yet but I was a tenant for a very long time and I hate to see tenants being treated badly or unfairly by landlord or agent.
They’ve been attempted multiple times over the years, they always fizzle out as difficult to maintain impartiality and credibility., and they cost money to run so they need to generate revenue one way or another. Without high number of users they are pointless, and making people aware is where the pennies get spent.
I rented too and have family who do, fairness is what it should all be about. I’ve seen it from both ends.
Wait to you start to hear the stories of how landlords get shafted. Do some searches on this forum, no second thoughts don’t, it may be enough to change your mind on being one.
Not that this helps with your situation, but it is VERY likely that the carbon brushes in the motor of your washing machine have worn out or much less likely, the drive belt has worn out/slipped off/snapped. Both parts are cheap and relatively easy to swap out. Plenty of YouTube videos on how to do this. Would save you a lot of time, your LL a lot of money and save an otherwise perfectly good washing machine from going to dump.
I never knew that LL doesn’t have to repair/replace white goods, if not in Tenancy Agreement. We always took it as our responsibility. Are you sure it’s the case? I would have thought that if working white goods are in the inventory, they should be responsibilty of the LL.
What about window handle? If it’s worn out, who replaces it?
To be safe, it would be wise to have an opt out clause in your tenancy agreement or inventory making it clear that you wont repair or replace white goods and to let them know this when they view the property. That covers off both the consumer rights and inventory angle, but my understanding is that in most cases its possible for a landlord to decline to repair even without this clause.
Sounds to me as if your LL has a maintained or insurance type policy for his white goods. If it’s a’currys’ type arrangement they will come and look and if it cannot be economically fixed they will issue a voucher and then he will have to order a new one. It can take a while to get the voucher issued 72hrs minimum and then you have to order from curry’s and are hostage to their delivery schedule. As a tenant who is expected to attend when it’s delivered/fitted/old removed. If you the tenant are flexible enough and can be in it might speed it up. Once the dust has settled ask you LL why it took so long and how you might communicate better in future.