00ec25
03-03-2010, 12:45 PM
I have a friend who has never rented before (it is a family relocation and he has yet to sell his own place) and he is paying around 2,500pcm. His LL is an accidental LL who wants to sell the house when the tenancy agreeement expires and therefore has little knowledge of what being a LL means (and no committment to finding out either!).
The tenancy agreeement requires my friend to “maintain the gutters and pipes”. Recently the sewer under the driveway was blocked and the LL refused to pay for this to be cleaned saying it was a tenant responsibility as stated in the agreement under pipework. I think you can argue it either way in that if the T had poured something down which caused the blockage they should pay or it is a LL responsiblity as it is a fixture and fitting?
However, the problem in this case is that the plumber confirmed it is a shared drain which also links to the next door property so should my friend insist that the LL obtain 50% of the cost from the neighbour, on the basis that it is impossible to clearly establish blame as to who caused the blockage, ie could be my friend or the freeholder next door?
The tenancy agreeement requires my friend to “maintain the gutters and pipes”. Recently the sewer under the driveway was blocked and the LL refused to pay for this to be cleaned saying it was a tenant responsibility as stated in the agreement under pipework. I think you can argue it either way in that if the T had poured something down which caused the blockage they should pay or it is a LL responsiblity as it is a fixture and fitting?
However, the problem in this case is that the plumber confirmed it is a shared drain which also links to the next door property so should my friend insist that the LL obtain 50% of the cost from the neighbour, on the basis that it is impossible to clearly establish blame as to who caused the blockage, ie could be my friend or the freeholder next door?