I took a potential new tenant round to my flat for a viewing and when walking around, found the following, none of these damages were ever mentioned to me by my current tenants. They are leaving in 2 months time but…
Bathroom ceiling light broken over zone 1 splash zone.
kitchen ceiling light broken
Washing machine door not closing
Kitchen cupboard door and internal kitchen cupboard all warped and water damaged. looked like they had flooded the sink or some sort of leak which i wasnt told about.
bike tire track marks all over freshly painted walls.
One hob on the gas cooker not working
garden completely ruined by weeds and overgrown.
broken dish drainer.
Now i’m a fair person, and act on things as soon as i’m told but the tenants has failed to notify me of these damages and is expecting me to simply find them upon them leaving. If i didn’t poke around, i would have never found the damage. The contract clearly states that the tenants are to notify me, the landlord of any damages.
Does contract say the tenants have to maintain the garden.
I’d get quotes to repair or replace or (garden) return to state at start of tenancy or ask tenants if they plan to get fixed before they leave ?
Did you take photos and do you have evidence all was OK at move in from a signed inventory report. If so you can claim from deposit which is what tenants probably expecting - otherwise they would have raised with you.
Bathroom ceiling lights can break and aren’t always as simply as changing a light bulb. A mix of views on this on a recent thread. Who pays for broken items
Might be the hob will work again after a thorough clean. If it’s the bit which sparks no longer sparking that’s maybe just wean n tear ditto the dish drainer? I’d tend to see the washing machine door as wear n tear too. Hard to prove it’s not. The lights similarly.
I use crown extreme washable paint on walls, but expect something will need replacing or repaired between tenancies.
that is an indication that you’ve not done quarterly inspections. That’s the time when you need to “poke around”.
If you are truly a “fair person” then you should be happy to document all the issues that have now piled up and claim some or all of the deposit towards rectifying them. If the T disputes it, then you’ll have the burden of proof, but you do bear equal responsibility for the fact that they’ve not been picked up before now.
You haven’t mentioned any details of the Ts and their length of occupation nor quoted specific clauses from the contract for us to judge whether they’ve been negligent in informing you or maintaining the garden and/or white goods and furnishings such as a dish drainer.
FWIW, I do an inspection 1 month after check in and then quarterly after that. I check every room and particularly around areas where there’s water. Any issues are then rectified immediately and responsibility/cost is dealt with there and then. Once Ts give notice, I do a pre-checkout inspection in order to flag anything that may necessitate a deposit deduction. Ts then have the option to sort these issues themselves to avoid that… or not.
1 and 2 tenant. (do you have mention in inventory of condition?)
3 depends on age of the machine. If newish, use warranty.
4 That sounds like an expensive bit of damage. I had something similar (A leak from neighbour had soaked everything). If not your water, you may be insured or the neighbouring flat liable if you can prove it. I think you need to investigate further where the water came from. Are you quite sure that it is dry now? There could be mould behind the units or under flooring if still damp. It is a shame that you were unaware of this when the leak occurred as easier to prove liability.
5 Wear and tear. I usually repaint hallways / living areas between tenancies (washable paint)
6 Could be age/wear and tear. Maybe a good clean ? Any mention on the annual gas inspection ?
7 Depends on contract. Did it have a keep garden tidy section ?
8 Do you need to supply to next tenant ? (I supply as little as possible)
It looks like you or agent might not have inspected all that often. It keeps tenants aware of their responsibilities and every year I pick something up that tenants have not noticed/mentioned. Also, some things like fire alarm checks are mandatory.
I think you need a polite discussion with the tenants and give them the opportunity to remedy the problem with the garden. The other areas, I would fix myself, but I would be following up the kitchen leak as soon as I could. (should have been mentioned, but tenants are generally not too great at informing landlords of things that don’t directly bother them).