Responsibilities for white goods

[Samuel]

Hi All,

As a landlord who owns a flat and has bought and placed in it white goods (fridge, cooker etc), who is financially responsible for their upkeep / maintenance ? LL or T ?

Cheers,

Samuel.

[Preston]

Hi

The law implies into a contract various repairing obligations whether or not they are specifically included in the tenancy agreement. The main such implied term is section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, which makes the landlord responsible for repairs to the structure and exterior (amongst other things) of the dwelling for most tenancies (other than long leases).

However, there are no such implied terms in relation to white goods, so you really are falling back on your tenancy agreement for the answer to your question. The agreement will contain whatever is included in your written agreement, but may also "contain" other information which you have agreed between you. So, for example, if you advertised the property as including white goods, it may be difficult for you to avoid any repairing obligations even if your written agreement is silent on the matter.

The other key issue to bear in mind is that as a landlord you are obliged to ensure that any portable electrical appliances you have provided are safe. This doesnt necessarily mean that you have to repair them - if they become unsafe you could just take them away for example - but it does mean that you have to regularly inspect as a minimum.

So, all in all, my advice would be that unless you have specifically said in your tenancy agreement that you will not repair these items then it very probably is down to you.

Hope this helps

Preston

[Melboy]

I left a washing machine in place but I stated on the contract that the w/m was left by the previous tenant and was in full working order but any repairs required would be down to the new tenant and not me and the tenant accepted this condition of contract as they didn't have a w/m to go in.

Moral is put everything down in writing on the contract and also verbally with the tenant before they take the tenancy on and you won't go far wrong.

Mel.

[SPEEDTWIN]

But who would have been responsible if the tenant was then killed by a electrical fault in the washing machine.

[Selkirk]

For what it's worth and to eliminate any grey areas.

If the white goods are the T they are responsible, if they've been left, introduced or otherwise by the LL then they are the LL responibility.

Therefore in this instance I would say the LL is responsible.

cheers

Selkirk