Tenant vs. Landlord... who pays?

**placidfemme** · 21st December 2006, 08:13

Bit of a serious question here:

This morning I found that someone had broken our bedroom window.

We are not 100% sure when this happened. Yesterday the lawn-mowing guy came over... so there is a possibility that a stone or something was thrown up into the window (although, when cleaning the glass up this morning I found no stones or anything that could have been used as a projectile... even though all the broken glass is on the inside of the window).

Another possibility is that is was broken last night as a possible break in attempt. Due to where we live the person could have thought the house was an empty business and when they pulled the curtain up and saw the bed (with us in it) they ran away <-- just a theory. However if that was the case, its pretty scary that neither Sam or I heard a single thing... I really think we would have heard a window breaking less than 2m away from our bed...

The third and final possibility is that the window was smashed this morning when I was in the shower (even scarier... for me anyway). Sam leaves home about an hour or so before I even wake up, when I found the broken window the glass had fallen on the inside of the window on top of a pile of clothes we were too lazy to put away after picking them up from the laundry, I phoned Sam to tell her about the window and told her there was glass all over that pile of clothes and she said she had dug through that pile this morning to find a pair of jeans... there was no glass when she looked...

So the logical thing is that is was broken inbetween Sam leaving for work and me getting out the shower.

Now I havn't notified our landlord yet cause he only starts work on Thursdays at 1pm and I don't have a home/mobile number for him...

My landlords a bit of a prune and might try to turn this on us...

Who is liable for paying for the repairs? Me or the landlord?

Thanks in advance!

**sunhuntin** · 21st December 2006, 08:17

im no expert, pf, but similar threads on the trademe usually run like this: if it is the fault of the tenent, or tenents child etc, then you pay. if it is a possible break in etc, then the landlord should have insurance.
basically, if he can find a way to pin the break on you and sam....itll be coming out of you. if you can prove that it wasnt either of you, then insurance.

maybe have a play on google...should be more info there than i can give. lol.

**ManDownUnder** · 21st December 2006, 08:26

Not sure (and I should know... DOH!).

Try here http://www.dbh.govt.nz/tenancy-index - they're pretty good
MDU

**Fub@r** · 21st December 2006, 08:28

In the past I've had some right bastards as landlords.

Had one landlord try to get costs off of me for a broken tap and oven door. The tap handle was just old and fell off and the oven door was accidental.

Anyway these came up in a tenancy hearing. The verdict of it all a tenant was only responsible for intentional damage. If its accidental or the landlord can't prove intent then the tenant doesn't pay.

**Cibby** · 21st December 2006, 08:29

It is the responsiblity of the Landlord and will be covered under their insurance.

The window is part of the building and therefore covered under building insurance.

The landlord may try and ping you for the excess...

Do you have a rental agreement? does that mention anything?

If it isnt your fault, there is little she can do.

**bistard** · 21st December 2006, 08:30

Yes,I agree,as I am a landlord,as well as a Biker,if you had broken it,own up & pay,but if you know damn well you didnt do it,it should be covered by his insurance,my places we have free glass cover,so might not cost him anything??
So just tell him staright you did not do it!!

**placidfemme** · 21st December 2006, 08:40

Thanks all.

Reason why I'm asking is cause when we moved into the place a while back... after being there for only 2 months the bedroom curtain started getting black mould on it, we told him and he said it was our responsibility to have it cleaned at our own expense. Another time we called him to tell him that the kitchen tap leaks... he never came over... next time we called to tell him that black ash was dripping into the stove (the stove is in the fireplace... looks rather kewl... but stupid none the less...) so when it rains black ash drips out the chimney through the extractor fan (which goes up the chinmey) and onto the stove... and its a right bitch to get off... we told him... and he's never even come over to check it out... so now we have a plastic bag taped across the fan to stop the shit falling on the stove... which of course is a pain in the ass when we cook... THEN we had friends over for hallowean last year and one friend fell through the deck cause one beam broke... (ok she was large-ish but still those who have been to our place can confirm the deck is a safety issue), we notified him and it took 6 weeks for him to replace ONE strip of wood... and he tried to charge us for it.

Other than the above we have a good relationship with our landlord, he never bugs us, not once in 2 years has he even come to inspect the property or anything...

**Hitcher** · 21st December 2006, 08:45

Check your tenancy agreement and ring your landlord immediately. It's 21 December and getting glazier in to fix a broken window could be problematic. Your landlord should want to keep the weather out of their investment. You will want to make sure your possessions are safe and secure. Getting the window fixed should be your priority. You can always haggle with your landlord later as to who is going to pay.

**The Stranger:Me** · 21st December 2006, 08:45

Both Mom and Mrs Busa Pete have a LOT of experience in this area. I am sure you could PM either of them, they are both horny alcoholics, sorry I meant lovely people.

**jrandom** · 21st December 2006, 08:50

Originally Posted by placidfemme

not once in 2 years has he even come to inspect the property or anything...

That's a bad sign, not a good sign.

Good landlords maintain close relationships with tenants and try to protect their investment. If he doesn't GAF about inspections, he won't be likely to live up to his obligations when it comes to looking after the place properly.

Check the rental agreement and call the Tenancy Tribunal (or whatever they're called these days) for advice. And do what Hitcher says, call a glazier immediately, pay the bill yourself and keep the receipt for later.

**Fatjim** · 21st December 2006, 08:59

Stuff the window/landlord. Tell us about the bed!

**cowpoos** · 21st December 2006, 09:04

was the broken glass inside the house [pos breakin] or was the glass lying outside the house [most like you guys did it from inside]

**placidfemme** · 21st December 2006, 09:05

I'm at work now... and the tenancy agreement is at home... by memory it was just a standard tenancy agreement form... the thing I remember most about the tenancy agreement was that he stressed the point of including the light shades on the form (and they are just paper ones... sheesh).

Fish: I never thought of that as a bad thing before... but then again this is the first place I've rented and not just gone flatting with someone else on the lease... so all of this is new to me...

FatJim: No worrys the bed is safe... I've handcuffed it to itself so they can't strip it and steal it lol (lol there are seriously handcuffs cuffed to the bed)