mattvortex

I have a flat that i let out and recently went around to carry out a 6 month inspection as the letting agent recommends. My tenant is keeping the flat tidy but happened to mention that there was a crack in the bedroom window and she didnt know how it happened?!

The crack runs from the top of the indoor pane (double glazing) to the bottom with no apparant impact mark

Is it possible that it could of somehow happened by itself ( the flat can get hot as its south facing and tenants away quite often so windows shut alot of the time)? The flat is about 3 years old.

I said that i would sort it but thinking about it, i dont want to pay to have it repaired if shes trying to pull a fast one!

Would go through insurance but excess is £250, so pointless.

Should she pay??

ScoobyWon't

Don't mention it to the letting agent and have the replacement taken out of her deposit when she leaves

Gregsti01

iTrader: (1)

My thoughts too

Simon C

Yes, glass can break for no apparent reason. With no impact mark you can't prove its her that has caused it. So I'd say stump up the excess.

Scoobywon't. I'm a tenant, and I'd give you hell if you tried that.

scoobynewbie72

iTrader: (1)

any signs of movement of the building at all? cracks etc on that wall outside.

mattvortex

Actually, i was thinking about taking out of her deposit money. Will talk to her about it and maybe we can go halves if nothing else!
Scoobynewbie- i will check to see if theres any movement cracks, could be a possibility.

Thanks for the replies.

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

With the amount of double glazing unit/frames I seen that are fitted so badly the glass is visually warping, it could have been due to that with some added hot/cold heat cycles and then "crack".

Glass is weird stuff, its not solid, nor is it liquid.

Is it the opening pane that broke or a fixed one? Obviously the one that opens is flexed and handled alot more than a fixed one, so prone to being damaged by someone being a bit heavy handed. Still, it shouldn't happen even if it was slammed repeatedly by a gorilla.

The Dogs B******s

As above really,but it can brake if the packers which are around the unit are to tight.

pinkypurkhardt

iTrader: (9)

had it happen to me when i lived in barrack block sat watching tv and the window about 4ft away from my grid went pop s**t myself outside pane was fine inside completly shatterd lucky it was safty glass still got billed £90 as no one beleived me

cookstar

iTrader: (6)

How big is the window that has cracked, you might be surprised at how cheap it is to just get the sealed units replaced by a local glazier.

If it were me, I would suggest that the tenant to go halves with the replacement, I doubt any decent tenant would refuse tbh.

jonny_693

iTrader: (5)

Typical Lanlord.

Bend over and wait for the dry bumming.

yellowvanman

Assuming the deposit is held is some form of Tenancy deposit protection (TDP) scheme (legal requirement for new lets after Apr 07), then you can only deduct funds if both parties agree, if not it will go to independent arbitration.

The cost of replacing a single glazed unit should be much less than your excess, so not worth troubling your insurers.

D1CCY

My local glass supplier charges only £15 for a sealed unit to customer dimensions for area up to one third of a square metre, increasing after that as size goes up. Hardly worth arguing about.

hodgy0_2

I would pay up, unless you can prove the tennant did it

Gordo

sounds harsh to be charging the tenant - you'd have to hit a double glazed window bloody hard, and with something very sharp, to crack it. Much more likely it was fitted badly - why take it out on your tenant?

jasey

Unless you can prove the tenant did it then the cost is surely down to you

Jamz3k

If you tried to pull a fly one like charge me for something I hadn't broken, I would go ballistic.

Spoon

Just sleep with her.

Scooby Dan

This happened to one of our windows a while back, it went off with an almighty bang in the middle of the night, inner pane cracked from top to bottom and outer pane was fine. Ours was replaced free as the windows were only a couple of months old but the glazer said it would usually cost about £30.

jods

Not down to tenant - tight ****!

Suck it up and pay for it yourself.

Xx-IAN-xX

If you charged me for something I hadn't broken Id smash every window in the building

M4RKG

iTrader: (22)

Sounds to me like shes a canny tenant, keeps the place tidy and isnt even there much... I'd try and keep her sweet, instead of p*ssing her off, her leaving and you being stuck with a property up for rent for a couple month before you can get a new tenant, loosing out on ££££'s in the meantime and the next one will wont be so tidy and problies burn the place to the ground.

Decent tenants are a canny rare thing these days.

Plus as said, the deposit will be tied up in a legally bound account that you cant touch without her say so.

zip106

The amount of people I tell this to who don't believe me....

hodgy0_2

and they would be right - glass is an "amorphous" solid


http://dwb4.unl.edu/Chem/CHEM869A/CH...en/florin.html

yellowvanman

Fully agree, good tenants are worth looking after.
If you pursue the claim and pee her off, so she leaves, how many weeks lost rental will it take to make it worth while. Easy answer - virtually None.

zip106

Well, I was taken in by the 'scientist' whose 16th C house I was painting at the time and fed me the old 'antique glass' myth.

The bastid.

hodgy0_2

the bastid indeed -- I too thought it was a liquid - sort of

i think it just displays some of the properties of a fluid i.e. it flows, as no doubt you saw at the house you were painting

zip106

Yes, all the windows with the original glass in them (small 'Georgian ' type panes) were much thicker at the bottom, as if the glass had slumped over the years.

hodgy0_2

back on topic

I treat my tenants very well -- as soon as they have a problem, no quibble it gets sorted

I have had the same tenants for the past 14 years (cumulative) -- mind you they have paid a small fortune in rent over that time

I suspect, in general, landords get the tenants they deserve!!