Whose responsibilty is this?

[Tizzy]

I'm just hoping to gather some information for a friend who has been renting a property with a large below ground pool since Dec 05. Rent is 300pw in South Perth for 2 bed 70's style house. Lease till Dec 06. Owned by the PM who is also a REA.

A few days ago friend noticed that one of the pool hoses was sucking air through a crack. So he taped the hole and all seemed fine. When he next went by the pool a few hours later the pump had turned itself off and may very well have run dry. His responce to me was to say that he needs to go and buy a new pool pump. Surely not!! Wouldn't something like that be covered by the landlords insurance? Its not malicious damage, its the usual handyman attempt to temporarily fix a problem. What would you experienced property landlords say? Thanks in advance for your input.

 

[Rixter]

If the electric motor is burnt out the landlord may be able to claim it as fusion under buildings & contents insurance. If a complete replacement is required it will need to be depreciated as a capital expense. If just needs repairs the costs will be tax deductable.

Hope this helps.

 

[yadreamin]

With our ip in WA that has a pool it is our responsibitltiy to supply cleaning equipment ie hose , brush BUT not chemicals.It is also our resopnsibility to maintain or repair the pump. It will all depend on the type of insurance the landlord has as to weather its covered or not. We also ask that we are notified imediatley if there is concerns with any of the equipment so hopefully a burn out or the likes is avoided.
Good Luck
cheers yadreamin

 

[wylie]

Tenant would not need to buy a new pump in my opinion, but get him to check with tenancy association so he can argue with firm knowledge of his rights if the PM or owner get pushy or try to put one over him.

Wyliel

 

[Ricardo29]

tizzy...

this is a beauty!!

inground pools/pumps/accesories are 'buildings' as part of home or landlords insurance. all things being equal, should be a building claim therefore.

but....

neglect, dieing, attempted repair, death of pool pump is not an insurance peril, therefore would not expect it to be covered. owner could perhaps check with pool pump supplier/warranty, this would be best bet. as rixter says, fusion/electric motor burnout would be covered - dont know if this is the scenario though.

so....

i would suggest owner can not claim on building insurance.
might therefore be putting onto tenant. this is not a contents claim
(a, coz its building, not contents, and b, coz there's been no insured event for it to die) so tenant isnt covered under their tenants cover.

if the tenant is being pressured, failing any lease specifications, the tenant could say ""this is a building issue ("insurance says its a building issue so why wouldnt it be for real estate leases perhaps"") and therefore should be picked up by you as the owner. im sorry if youre insurance doesnt cover, i did my best to fix it (or dont tell them of attempts to fix/plead complete ignorance if need be), but its your concern and i as tenant shouldnt be responsible. it would be same if the house fell down due to no fault of mine...it wouldnt necessarily be my fault, its a building/owner issue"". or something similar!

 

[Tizzy]

Okay just found out the story gets a bit worse. Friend decided today he wouldn't tell landlord about pool hiccup and he decided to pull pump apart {gulp}.

After several hours work, pump is back together and working like a charm. Oh good grief. I think theres a moral to this. Don't rent out a house with a pool. Never know what the tenant might do. :-(

I have given him the link to the thread though.

 

[Rixter]

I think theres a moral to this. Don't rent out a house with a pool.

Tizzy, thats not a moral its a property investors commandment.

 

[itinerantotter]

Tizzy, thats not a moral its a property investors commandment.

I absolutely agree with that!

Cheers

 

[Pushka]

Also, just for info. Our pool pump had a fusion and it doesnt matter how it occurred, it is Contents not Building Insurance. However, a pump motor left to go dry doesn't fuse, it burns out which is not claimable and the repair person will write down the real cause on their repair sheet for the Insurance Company.

 

[Ricardo29]

who's your insurer pushka?

every single insurance policy ive ever seen has pools/pumps as part of buildings, for the very reason they are fixed. if they are not fixed then sure, can be contents eg. a movable above ground pool and its pump.

something along the lines of :

"the term “buildings” also includes all
structural domestic improvements which belong to
you including:
a. carports, patios, gazebos and other structures
which are not fully enclosed;
b. built-in furniture;
c. paved paths, paved driveways, terraces, walls,
gates, fences, masts, aerials, satellite dishes,
tennis courts, clothes lines and built-in
barbeques;
d. permanently fixed swimming pools, saunas and
spas (including their fixed accessories); and

 

[crest133]

Hate the grey areas like this but if you want an opinion, I'd say the tenant would not have to pay for this, because the tenant was vigilant enough to spot the problem which was a part breakdown or wearout, and the problem had already started, and the tenant made a reasonable attempt to remedy the situation, and the attempt appeared to be successful. The tenant thought that was an effective repair, ok so the tenant is not a pool expert.
The fact that the remedy later failed is no fault of the tenant. Bear in mind, the fault was already there, inestimable damage may have already occurred to the pump before the tenant noticed the problem, and the pump's demise may have been inevitable. Who can tell ?
You know the story, if liability for something is not specifically mentioned in the lease or the Act, and the tenant takes reasonable steps to mitigate the owner's losses, the owner nearly always pays.
not cheery but cheers anyway
crest133

 

[Tizzy]

Apparently pump looks older than ours and ours is six years old, so not sure how long they are meant to last anyway, perhaps it is on the way out. It appears to be working okay at the moment so no harm done...yet!!!.

I definately won't be buying IP's with pools. If I do weaken, I'm going to check my insurance cover very thoroughly

 

[Pushka]

SGIC (IAG) is the Insurer for our contents. I also posted a similar comment about issues with the airconditioner pump for our IP; our Contents Insurer said it was a building issue, and therefore a matter for our Body Corporate Insurer; our Body Corporate said it had nothing to do with them and it was our contents Insurer's issue. And that airconditioner was a ducted one installed when the building was built! I suspect it was our skanky Body Corporate passing the buck. But they wouldnt budge.