Rented property problem

[cris r]

My son rents his property. Over the christmas period the tennants went away. Although they left the heating low on a timer. they had a burst. my husband was called out and with the help of my other son they cleared all the mess dried the house checked on it everyday untill the tennants came back. at which time the insurers came out the repairs to the property carried out ie plumbing ect. But my sons insurers will not pay for the carpets, My Son feels that the tennants should help towards the carpets as it was their fault for not informing the landlord of the house being empty and also in the extreme weather they should have at least turned the water off any ideas on this befor we put the question to them. Because of the number of claims over christmas my son was told it could take a while to prosses his claim so he offered to go half for a carpet and they refused. Thanks

[muchlovex]

I would check the tenancy agreement. It should say that if they (tenant) are to leave property empty for a certain period of time, then they need to inform the landlord as this can affect the insurance. Check insurance documents also.

[bednobs]

when i lived in a rented flat and spilt a huge curry on the carpet, my contents insurance covered it - it was my responsibility

[Invictas]

It really boils down to whose the carpets are,regardless of insurance.
If they are your sons the insurance he has for the property should (really) cover them,and if they refuse he should replace them at his own cost.
Why did his insurers refuse to pay for the carpets?
If they are the tenants carpets,then their house insursnce should be contacted.
You cannot blame the tenants,just where do you draw the line at informing you when they go away.Your son is just trying to wangle his way out of this I feel.
This is (sadly) all part and parcel of being a Landlord.
I get the feeling that the former is the case?

[237SJ]

If I was a tenant I would certainly not be informing the landlord that I was going away unless it was for 30 days which is usually the period of time a place has to be empty for to invalidate the insurance. I wouldn`t expect to have to turn the water off either. It`s just bad luck that the pipes burst. The tenants could argue it is your son`s responsibility for make sure the pipes are suitable insulated. I have been a landlord myself until recently and I would put it down to one of the pitfalls of letting a property.

[bushbaby_de]

Check the tenancy agreement - I have rented places that states soft furnishings and carpets must be covered by the tenant's contents insurance.

[snorkerz]

Your son has a responsibility for the maintainenca nad prformance of the water supply and hot water system (section 11, Landlord & Tenant Act 1985). Unless you can 'prove' the tenants were responsible for this then your son will be liable for any loss to his property - or the tenants - caused by this. It is also woth noting that if the carpet was anything less han brand new, then a 50/50 split isn't 'going halves' because the carpet is worth a darn site less than a new one would be.

If the tenancy agreement said the tenants weren't to be away for more than (30?) days without notifying the landlord, and they were, then you may have a small chance of success, if it doesn't, you have no chance.

A tack I have used in the past is to say to the tenants, I will be recarpeting with this carpet (£2.99 carpetright). If you want anything different (better) then that is fine, but you pay the difference. If they say no, then you have got away at minimal cost. If they say yes, then you will have a better (longer lasting) carpet when they leave.