Hi there. Could I get some opinions? I am a tenant and my landlord won’t replace the toilet seat because they say we’ve damaged it and it was recorded as good condition when we moved in. We’ve lived there 15 months. I know this is petty but it’s fairly obviously old and the hinges have cracked over time. Is there a clear right or wrong here? (Pls note the seat is clean in the pic)
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Is your landlord called Linda?
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That doesn’t look designer to me😂
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Lol no. I did see the other topic. I assure you I’m not connected to it 
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We get a lot of posts about toilet seats . If I have a new tenant I replace the seat anyway. Just for tenants peace of mind over being clean. Loo seats are not too dear I am surprised at all the comments about it . Is it a sign of Loo er standards?
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Ha. Who knew it was such a sensitive issue? Yes that seems sensible to me. Do you have an opinion based on my pic? Can they fairly say we broke it without proof?
No one can say you broke it as usually no one is there with you… . Plastic seats degrade with age and usually the hinges are the first to go. I have had tenants replace the seat and I have done so myself.
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The landlord is in breach of their repairing obligations by not replacing it. Who pays is a separate matter.
Any decent landlord would replace it free of charge, it looks pretty worn in the photo, have you got a photo of what it looked like when you moved in.
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That loo seat needs incinerating by the looks of it!
I just don’t get why a landlord would avoid swapping this out. It just loo-dicrous they would try such a thing.
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As a landlord, I would simply replace it,
Or as a tenant, I would replace with one of my choice, costing about £20, and email landlord or agent to say if I replace with this one,( send a pic) to save landlord the hassle can I deduct £20 from next rent payment? And do you want old seat keeping?
Problem solved, either way. No one needs hassle on either position.
Tenant here. I’m not “flush” with money but I’d just replace and let LL know.
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OK this is a sort of an “it depends” thing.
What does your tenancy agreement say about tis if anything? Is there an entry in the inventory pertaining to the toilet & seat etc.
Most landlords will assume a tenant has responsibility for small replaceable items (such as light bulbs/loo paper/ rugs/towels etc )
But that the landlord will replace or reair fixtures like the toilet , maintain, tap washers, toilet cistern ballcoks etc unless their are reasons to believe it has been damaged by the tenant abuse or neglect rather than by wear and tear
.
Loo seats are a sort of grey in between area - not quite a plumbing fixture and not quite a regularly replaced item .
To be honest I’d probably just replace it if a tenant asked to keep things simple - but I don’t think there is necessarily a legal obligation for me to do so.
So have a chat with your landlord and most will be OK but I think it would be pretty difficult to compel them by law on this one!
It looks old. If you were our tenant and it was old, we would replace it for you
Landlord can’t be arsed
Probably it costs more to talk and argue about it. Surely it is not a damage. Even it is a damage (e.g. broken hinge) I consider normal wear and tear as a landlord. Cheapest seat cover is £11.99 at Screwfix.
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Nina, it’s not petty at all. I think your landlord is being ridiculous. He/ she should just replace it and get over it.
I as a Landlady I would not think twice about replacing this for free for you. It looks well overdue for being replaced.
Landlords like this give us a bad name and cause so much unnecessary stress for tenants worrying that anything they do will endanger them getting their deposits back.
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I always change the toilet seats when a new tenant moves in, £20 a time but much appreciated by tenants. Would you want to sit on a stranger’s bog seat?
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Not at all. Which is why the wife and I always take our own toilet seat with us when we have to fly on a plane, eat in a restaurant, etc.
Neither of us have ever got boils on our bums so we know it works.
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That is more information than we need to know
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