Who pays for repair? Landlord/tenant?

[bluray]

Hi all,

At the end of tenancy when landlord & agent do final inspection (before new tenant coming in), they find out that few lights are dead & toilet seat is cracked. All must be repaired before the new tenant coming in. My question is who is responsible for repair? Is it landlord or previous tenant (deduct from bond)? They are all in good and working condition when previous tenant moving in. The agent told the landlord that it is their responsibility to repair them since they are wear and tear item. Can anyone confirm that this is true as I thought tenant must leave everything in the same working order when they leave the premises as they coming in?

Thank you.

 

[Ideo]

Depends.

The lights I tend to wear when it's one or two. The argument over it was fine when I was leaving blah blah blah tend to go on and on.

Toilet seat, if it was noted as fine on the original condition report, would be a bond deduction.

 

[lizzie]

Toilet seat, if it was noted as fine on the original condition report, would be a bond deduction.

But - for $8 from Bunnings for a toilet seat, and a box of light bulbs for $10 from Coles, would you really bother?

 

[Ideo]

But - for $8 from Bunnings for a toilet seat, and a box of light bulbs for $10 from Coles, would you really bother?

True.

I'd forgotten how cheap they had become - you can tell I don't often replace them

I'll put them in the lightbulb category then. Why bother?

Unless you are a few hours from the property of course.

 

[Rob Williams]

But - for $8 from Bunnings for a toilet seat, and a box of light bulbs for $10 from Coles, would you really bother?

Eaxactly. And when you factor in your time at $50 per hour, it costs more than it's worth to argue about it or even ask the question.

 

[bluray]

Thanks everyone for the feedback.

 

[bluray]

What happened if the property is located interstate? It might cost landlord few hundred dollars to include the tradesman cost.

 

[marg4000]

A lot depends on how long the tenant has been there. Things don't last forever, and the longer the tenancy the more that is written off to fair wear and tear.

Tenants who play hardball can insist that the landlord replaces light bulbs - with accompanying fitting costs !!

Unless you can establish that a tenant deliberately damaged an item the tribunal will often attribute it to wear and tear.
Marg

 

[fokas]

But - for $8 from Bunnings for a toilet seat, and a box of light bulbs for $10 from Coles, would you really bother?

Or save your time and get both from Bunnings.

 

[Pa1nter]

Unless you can establish that a tenant deliberately damaged an item the tribunal will often attribute it to wear and tear.
Marg

They sat on it on purpose

 

[Aaron_C]

In residential real estate always make the assumption that the landlord pays for it because if you don't you may get a rude shock at the tribunal.

 

[Jacque]

Just cough it up- these are minor costs and I'd consider a cracked seat possibly wear and tear- after all, think of the usage it gets
Good luck

 

[pinkboy]

I think if you have successfully extracted the full amount of rent out of a tenant over a peiod, and you cant pony up for a few light bulbs and a plastic toilet seat (with or without some labour if you are interstate), then you are in the wrong game!

Think of all the horror stories that 4 weeks bond money just does not cover, and your light bulb, toilet seat, skid marks problem seems insignificant.

pinkboy.....ok, ok - I threw in the skid marks for a giggle!

 

[DaveM]

If the worst outcome of a IP is a cracked toilet seat, you are doing pretty well!

 

[matto_]

On related note, what about stains on carpet. Scenario, tenant vacates after two years, prior to which carpet was new, only to find a number of big red stains on carpet

 

[Ed Barton]

Just cough it up- these are minor costs and I'd consider a cracked seat possibly wear and tear- after all, think of the usage it gets
Good luck

what if the tenant put on weight during the lease? i'm going to put clauses in my leases limiting weight gain by tenants.

 

[DEC]

Tenants who play hardball can insist that the landlord replaces light bulbs - with accompanying fitting costs !!

Can you point to that in the legislation?

 

[DaveM]

what if the tenant put on weight during the lease? i'm going to put clauses in my leases limiting weight gain by tenants.

Eating curry can make you use the toilet more, which contributes to wear and tear, since the toilet is used far more than anticipated.

I am going to ask my agent to add a special condition stating that tenants can not eat curry, and toilet use is limited to twice a day. Otherwise a hole must be dug in the yard and used instead. Tenant is responsible for the digging and maintenance of said hole.

 

[Rob Williams]

Just cough it up- these are minor costs and I'd consider a cracked seat possibly wear and tear- after all, think of the usage it gets
Good luck

Actually, can I NOT think about that, please? That's a mental image I could have gone the rest of my life without!

 

[Ideo]

Actually, can I NOT think about that, please? That's a mental image I could have gone the rest of my life without!

You haven't seen one of my tenants

Actually, no. That is still wrong