Broken Washing Machine

wicklowwonder

Our washing machine broke last Saturday. Informed the landlord Monday, they got someone out Tuesday who said we need a new one, landlord said he ordered one it would arrive Thursday or Friday, arrived home this evening to a note from the landlord saying the delivery would be delayed until Monday or Tuesday. Obviously we have no access to a washing machine at the moment so the washing is piling up, at what stage would I be entitled to claim laundry expenses?

Thanks

wyndham

I wouldn't push it until next week anyway, the landlord seems to have acted in a very timely fashion. Wait until Monday or Tuesday. Not worth making an issue out of it.

Lyn256

I agree-landlord seems to be sorting in out quickly.
AFAIK, he has up to two weeks to get it sorted.

MagicMarker

I am aghast, what does the landlord expect you to do? I mean, we all know God created washing machines on the first day.

I simply cannot think of a way around this impossible situation.

wicklowwonder

Thanks for the responses just a bit of a pain in the arse as I don't have time midweek to do much washing and I am away next weekend ah well...

OMD

wicklowwonder wrote: »

Thanks for the responses just a bit of a pain in the arse as I don't have time midweek to do much washing and I am away next weekend ah well...

To be honest I think the landlord is now liable for your laundry costs. Yes I accept it is not his fault and he is doing his best but it is not your fault either. You rented a place with a washing machine. It now doesn't have one. You aren't going to hand wash a weeks clothes so someone has to pay. I can't see any rationale that the landlord shouldn't pay.

peter_dublin

OMD wrote: »

To be honest I think the landlord is now liable for your laundry costs. Yes I accept it is not his fault and he is doing his best but it is not your fault either. You rented a place with a washing machine. It now doesn't have one. You aren't going to hand wash a weeks clothes so someone has to pay. I can't see any rationale that the landlord shouldn't pay.

It's the same rationale as if your own washing maching broke, he has to resolve it in a timely fashion, not instantly... seems the landloard is doing everything to have it resolved. Not everything is a case of instantly looking for compensation, last night UPC went down in my area at midnight possibly due to works while I was in the middle of an online examination, did I call upc looking for a refund of the four hours the service was not available, no, because it is resonable to allow for the unexpected to occur and time for it to be resolved.

Now if the landlord was taking the mick I would say have it out with him but in this case he has acted in a very timely fashion and I cannot see how you could genuinely go looking for compensation. Seems the landlord can't win. Look at the time line, Landlord informed Monday, new washing machine will be there the following Monday, should have been Thursday but due to factors outside his control this has been pushed back. So the actual resolution by the landlord excluding 3rd party factors was four days.

djimi

OMD wrote: »

To be honest I think the landlord is now liable for your laundry costs. Yes I accept it is not his fault and he is doing his best but it is not your fault either. You rented a place with a washing machine. It now doesn't have one. You aren't going to hand wash a weeks clothes so someone has to pay. I can't see any rationale that the landlord shouldn't pay.

Dont be ridiculous. The washing machine broke; these things happen. He has sorted it in a timely fashion and seems to have dealt with everything in exactly the correct manner. No way is he liable for anything.

djimi

peter_dublin wrote: »

last night UPC went down in my area at midnight possibly due to works while I was in the middle of an online examination, did I call upc looking for a refund of the four hours the service was not available, no, because it is resonable to allow for the unexpected to occur and time for it to be resolved..

I actually did get onto UPC looking for compensation when my TV service went down for a few hours, but in fairness it was the third time in a few weeks they had caused me to miss all or part of a match I wanted to watch because of their service going down and I completely lost the rag with them

peter_dublin

djimi wrote: »

I actually did get onto UPC looking for compensation when my TV service went down for a few hours, but in fairness it was the third time in a few weeks they had caused me to miss all or part of a match I wanted to watch because of their service going down and I completely lost the rag with them

I hope you billed them for the pints you had to buy down the pub also when you had to go to catch the end of the match :-)

OMD

djimi wrote: »

I actually did get onto UPC looking for compensation when my TV service went down for a few hours, but in fairness it was the third time in a few weeks they had caused me to miss all or part of a match I wanted to watch because of their service going down and I completely lost the rag with them

So a few hours loss of TV, rant and rave. That's ok. 10 days without a washing machine, meaning you incur a cost through no fault of your own, ridiculous to complain. Right. That makes sense.

How about if your TV service was lost for 10 days? Would you complain then?
If your electricity went for 10 days, would you look for a refund of the standing charge for that period?
How about phone service?
If you stayed in a hotel and the TV was broken in the room. Would you complain?
All no ones fault but would you complain? I would complain and would be extraordinarily unhappy at not only having to pay for a service I was not getting but also now have an additional cost on top.

peter_dublin

OMD wrote: »

So a few hours loss of TV, rant and rave. That's ok. 10 days without a washing machine, meaning you incur a cost through no fault of your own, ridiculous to complain. Right. That makes sense.

How about if your TV service was lost for 10 days? Would you complain then?
If your electricity went for 10 days, would you look for a refund of the standing charge for that period?
How about phone service?
If you stayed in a hotel and the TV was broken in the room. Would you complain?
All no ones fault but would you complain? I would complain and would be extraordinarily unhappy at not only having to pay for a service I was not getting but also now have an additional cost on top.

Actually you have completly taken it out of context what he said. He stated that is was the "THIRD" time in several weeks it happened. But you continue to be selective in what you quote. Fact is if the OP was on here saying the landlord is getting it fixed again for the third time in as many weeks it would be a completly different story but it's not and a one week turn around is acceptable.

By your logic is the ESB goes I should also be onto them looking to pay my costs as without ESB I could not cook, heat the property etc, sure even throw in the rent.

OMD

peter_dublin wrote: »

Actually you have completly taken it out of context what he said. He stated that is was the "THIRD" time in several weeks it happened. But you continue to be selective in what you quote. Fact is if the OP was on here saying the landlord is getting it fixed again for the third time in as many weeks it would be a completly different story but it's not and a one week turn around is acceptable.

I am not being selective (not sure why you say "continue to be selective") It may have been three times but it only totalled a few hours. I was comparing a time measured in hours (say even 10 hours) with being without something for 10 days.

peter_dublin wrote: »

By your logic is the ESB goes I should also be onto them looking to pay my costs as without ESB I could not cook, heat the property etc, sure even throw in the rent.

The op now has a cost to pay. Why should he have to pay this cost, through no fault of his own?

djimi

OMD wrote: »

So a few hours loss of TV, rant and rave. That's ok. 10 days without a washing machine, meaning you incur a cost through no fault of your own, ridiculous to complain. Right. That makes sense.

How about if your TV service was lost for 10 days? Would you complain then?
If your electricity went for 10 days, would you look for a refund of the standing charge for that period?
How about phone service?
If you stayed in a hotel and the TV was broken in the room. Would you complain?
All no ones fault but would you complain? I would complain and would be extraordinarily unhappy at not only having to pay for a service I was not getting but also now have an additional cost on top.

Its hardly the same thing though, is it? You are not paying to rent the washing machine; you are renting the house/apartment and the washing machine is a small part of it. Compared to UPC which I pay solely for TV service and that TV service was denied to me when I needed it on three seperate occasions in a short time frame. I called them more out of frustration than anything else. If it happened once Id have said nothing.

The bottom line is that a tenant would have absolutely no legal reason to persue their landlord for compensation in this case. If they tried to take a case with the PRTB Id imagine it would take all of about five minutes for them to toss it out. The landlord has done nothing wrong here. Something outside of their control has gone wrong and by the sounds of it they have done everything in their power to resolve the issue as quickly as they could have. Its not life or death; if they were left without electricity or running water for a week it would be different, but as far as I see it there is no way the landlord is liable.

djimi

OMD wrote: »

The op now has a cost to pay. Why should he have to pay this cost, through no fault of his own?

Why should the landlord have to pay it, through no fault of their own?

OMD

djimi wrote: »

Why should the landlord have to pay it, through no fault of their own?

Because the landlord owns the washing machine.

The landlord is charging the OP for the use of the washing machine via rent. A place with a washing machine is always substantially more than one without. Certainly more than a UPC subscription.

The landlord is getting tax relief on the rent by having the washing machine by way of depreciation.

I accept the landlord is doing his best but none the less the tenant is now out of pocket as well as being seriously inconvenienced, again way more inconvenience than missing some TV. The OP is not looking for compensation for all this inconvenience but rightly should not be out of pocket as well as suffer the inconvenience

borderlinemeath

OMD wrote: »

I am not being selective (not sure why you say "continue to be selective") It may have been three times but it only totalled a few hours. I was comparing a time measured in hours (say even 10 hours) with being without something for 10 days.


The op now has a cost to pay. Why should he have to pay this cost, through no fault of his own?

Not exactly. The OP is choosing to perhaps use a laundry service as:

I don't have time midweek to do much washing and I am away next weekend ah well...

They still have 'some' time and can prioritise what they need for their weekend away. It's not an emergency situation such as ESB gone and it appears the landlord has acted in a very timely manner in this situation.

borderlinemeath

OMD wrote: »

The landlord is charging the OP for the use of the washing machine via rent. A place with a washing machine is always substantially more than one without..

All accomodation should have washing facilities...;)


From 1 February 2009, a landlord must:

Ensure that the house is in a proper state of structural repair. This means that it must be essentially sound with roof, floors, ceilings, walls and stairs in good repair and not subject to serious dampness or rotting. The new Regulations strengthen this requirement with effect from 1 December 2009 (see below)
Provide a sink with hot and cold water
Provide a separate ventilated room with a bath or shower and toilet
Provide heating appliances for every room lived in
Provide facilities for cooking and for the hygienic storage of food, for example, a 4 ring hob with oven and grill, fridge-freezer and microwave oven
Provide clothes washing facilities
Provide clothes drying facilities if there isn’t a garden or a yard
Ensure that electricity or gas supplies are in good repair and safe
Ensure that every room has adequate ventilation and both natural and artificial lighting
Provide a fire blanket and fire alarms
Provide access to vermin-proof and pest-proof refuse storage facilities.

MistyCheese

borderlinemeath wrote: »

All accomodation should have washing facilities...;)

Should have? Yes.
Does have? No.

borderlinemeath wrote: »

A fire blanket and fire alarms

Also not provided by my LL.

On the washing machine issue, I guess think of this way: if it were your house and your machine and it broke down you would need to send it for repairs yourself. So you inform the repair people on Monday, someone comes out Tuesday and informs you that you need a new machine. You order one and it's expected to arrive Thursday/Friday but then they tell you it's delayed and will be with you Monday/Tuesday.

Who would pay for your clothes to be cleaned if you needed this to be done before the new machine arrives? You would, because shît happens sometimes. Okay so instead here the landlord owns the house and the machine but that is the reason you are not paying for a new washing machine. It doesn't mean you can send your LL the laundry bill.

Goodne

Perhaps the landlord will take the point of view that you broke the machine & take the price out of the deposit.

Lantus

the cost of a one off laundry service is peanuts. Get it sorted if needed. The time spent on this forum is more of a waste than what it would of taken to do a bit of washing and get on with life....

sort it man...

StillWaters

This is a non issue. The law is not so prescriptive as to repairs, other than they must be done in a reasonable time. Do you think in this case PRTB would agree the LL has been reasonable in this case?

I would think of course he has. Of course OP is fully entitled to lodge a complaint, and waste time and money pursuing it. But he hasn't a hope in hell of winning it.

Solair

Eh, to be honest, I think the OP's being a little bit unreasonable. Having ordered appliances myself, they can be out-of-stock and retailers can let you down.

They're clearly doing their best to get it delivered a.s.a.p.

We were left waiting a couple of weeks for a dishwasher that was supposed to be next-day-delivery.

borderlinemeath

MistyCheese wrote: »

Should have? Yes.
Does have? No.

It's been 3.5 years since the legislation came in, so if somebody is in the middle of a long tenancy in a dwelling that doesn't have a washing machine then they are probably afraid that by asking the landlord they'll end up with a rent increase. It's the dodgiest of landlords that wouldn't have them for a new tenancy.

*My sister was in a long tenancy from 2003-2011, her landlord asked her did she want a washing machine and she declined. She didn't want the hassle of getting it fitted (into an already cramped kitchen) and was happy enough to without as she was only down the road from a launderette, she also didn't want to give the landlord an opportunity to increase the rent as he hadn't increased it in a few years.

Also not provided by my LL.

Also something like a fire blanket is money well spent. Most tenants will never have to use them and they sit nailed to the wall gathering dust. But invaluable if they're needed. I can see the mentality of some landlords though. "Sure I don't need one in my own house, it'll be grand"
I am flabbergasted that there's no smoke alarms though. That's just really really stupid.

On the washing machine issue, I guess think of this way: if it were your house and your machine and it broke down you would need to send it for repairs yourself. So you inform the repair people on Monday, someone comes out Tuesday and informs you that you need a new machine. You order one and it's expected to arrive Thursday/Friday but then they tell you it's delayed and will be with you Monday/Tuesday.

Who would pay for your clothes to be cleaned if you needed this to be done before the new machine arrives? You would, because shît happens sometimes. Okay so instead here the landlord owns the house and the machine but that is the reason you are not paying for a new washing machine. It doesn't mean you can send your LL the laundry bill.

Pkiernan

OMD wrote: »

To be honest I think the landlord is now liable for your laundry costs. Yes I accept it is not his fault and he is doing his best but it is not your fault either. You rented a place with a washing machine. It now doesn't have one. You aren't going to hand wash a weeks clothes so someone has to pay. I can't see any rationale that the landlord shouldn't pay.

The Landlord is under no obligation to pay for the tenants laundry bill, unless specifically stated in their lease agreement.

belcampprisoner

Go commando

handlemaster

As long as the machine is repaired or replaced in a reasonable period time then the landlord should not pay. I think some people think they should jump on the landlord as soon as somthing happens , I wonder do they also be so prompt with their rental at the start of the month.

handlemaster

OMD wrote: »

Because the landlord owns the washing machine.

The landlord is charging the OP for the use of the washing machine via rent. A place with a washing machine is always substantially more than one without. Certainly more than a UPC subscription.

The landlord is getting tax relief on the rent by having the washing machine by way of depreciation.

I accept the landlord is doing his best but none the less the tenant is now out of pocket as well as being seriously inconvenienced, again way more inconvenience than missing some TV. The OP is not looking for compensation for all this inconvenience but rightly should not be out of pocket as well as suffer the inconvenience

I don't think the tenant is been charged for the use of the machine its just on the premises and can be used if they want. I think it will say on the lease that the tenant is renting the house/apartment and on the property are the following...