Ex-landlord claiming I owe for repair

dl87

Hi,
Myself and my partner Moved out of a rented houseshare (landlord sharing with us) 5 weeks ago. There had been a problem with the washing machine about a month before we moved out (we were only there 2-3 months) but it was a small problem and fixed easy enough. There was nothing said to us about how it broke or any blame put on us etc for the remainder of the time we lived there.

Last weekend ( a month after we moved out) she text us saying we owe her money for a new machine, that the problem was caused by us overloading it and that she had told us numerous times not to overload. (Never overloaded it.)

We have been gone over a month now and it has obviously broke completely since then.. But we weren't actually living there to break it soooo...I am confused as to how she is actually expecting us to pay for this!

She is slightly unhinged and gets aggressive (putting it mildly). I would ignore her otherwise. But that will aggravate her more. She is not the sort to let this go.

Is there anything she can do to prove we owe money? 5 weeks later!

Also, We never signed a lease. We're pretty certain she wasn't registered as a landlord and that's why we never got a lease.

Barely Hedged

dl87 wrote: »

Hi,
Myself and my partner Moved out of a rented houseshare (landlord sharing with us) 5 weeks ago. There had been a problem with the washing machine about a month before we moved out (we were only there 2-3 months) but it was a small problem and fixed easy enough. There was nothing said to us about how it broke or any blame put on us etc for the remainder of the time we lived there.

Last weekend ( a month after we moved out) she text us saying we owe her money for a new machine, that the problem was caused by us overloading it and that she had told us numerous times not to overload. (Never overloaded it.)

We have been gone over a month now and it has obviously broke completely since then.. But we weren't actually living there to break it soooo...I am confused as to how she is actually expecting us to pay for this!

She is slightly unhinged and gets aggressive (putting it mildly). I would ignore her otherwise. But that will aggravate her more. She is not the sort to let this go.

Is there anything she can do to prove we owe money? 5 weeks later!

Also, We never signed a lease. We're pretty certain she wasn't registered as a landlord and that's why we never got a lease.

You owe her absolutely nothing if your side of the story, that you state above, is correct and complete.

Youre being too polite. The only way people like her listen is a firm refusal outlining the reasons. Tell her firmly that you did not overload the washing machine while you were there and that you would have an expectation that you did not cause it to break 4 weeks after you left. Tell her that this is the last response youll give and that you will ignore all further communication from her.

As you were residing with the owner of the property the "traditional" tenant landlord relationship doesnt exist:

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/housing/renting_a_home/sharing_accommodation_with_your_landlord.html

bobbyj946

dl87 wrote: »

She is slightly unhinged and gets aggressive (putting it mildly). I would ignore her otherwise. But that will aggravate her more. She is not the sort to let this go.

Do as mentioned above then just block her calls/texts/emails. She can as abusive as she likes to your spam folder.

Greenmachine

Give her nothing.

Brianderunner

The 2 most important questions here;


Do you have your full deposit back?
Has she given you a reference for a new place?


If the answer is yes on both fronts she can jog on imo.

dl87

Brianderunner wrote: »

The 2 most important questions here;


Do you have your full deposit back?
Has she given you a reference for a new place?


If the answer is yes on both fronts she can jog on imo.

We have no referance as we have moved back home with parents for the foreseeable future so it will be a while till we rent again.
We got deposit back the day we moved out but she owed us extra from bills
that she was hanging onto until the final bills came in. We got this money back last week after a few texts asking her nicely to hurry up as we needed the money (she had told us 3 weeks ago that we would have it Asap). The last text we got off her she was getting smart and said she had just put the money in my account,had to leave work early to do so (not my problem at all) and that she shouldn't have as the washing machine needed replacement (this was the first we heard about it).That's when the texts started about the washing machine... AFTER we get our final lot of money back!

El_Duderino 09

Sounds like a crazy bint and a crappy landlord.

You only lived there for a short while so no need to mention her for your next reference.

I'd send her a message saying you have no liability for any of her property since she gave your deposit back which indicates she was satisfied that there was no damage. Therefore you can't take responsibility for any damage caused since and consider the matter closed. It was a pleasure to live with her and wish her luck with the future.

hadook

For what it's worth OP, my mother has killed several washing machines through overloading and it takes waaaay longer than 2-3 months. She'd be doing 3 washes a week of stuff rammed in til the door barely shut and it still takes a good couple of years before the poor washing machine repairman was dragged out.

dl87

El_Duderino 09 wrote: »

Sounds like a crazy bint and a crappy landlord.

You only lived there for a short while so no need to mention her for your next reference.

I'd send her a message saying you have no liability for any of her property since she gave your deposit back which indicates she was satisfied that there was no damage. Therefore you can't take responsibility for any damage caused since and consider the matter closed. It was a pleasure to live with her and wish her luck with the future.

Thank you! great response. She would and should not have given us deposit back if there were damages caused by us.

In the last text she sent she linked us to a new washing machine that she's buying and says 'legally' we should be paying for the whole thing... I don't even know how to respond to her she's nuts.
Going into my local citizens info before I respond to that.

ct5amr2ig1nfhp

Ignore her, sounds like she's chancing her arm. Just block her number and forget about it.

Rew

If she's saying it was damage due to overloading id say its the bearings on the drum that are gone. You would wan't to to have been washing bricks for them to be destroyed in 2-3 months. Most people overload their washing machines and it takes a few years to destroy bearings.

_Kaiser_

dl87 wrote: »

Thank you! great response. She would and should not have given us deposit back if there were damages caused by us.

In the last text she sent she linked us to a new washing machine that she's buying and says 'legally' we should be paying for the whole thing... I don't even know how to respond to her she's nuts.
Going into my local citizens info before I respond to that.

No need to be doing that..

Some great advice here. As already stated just say that you are not liable for damage caused after you moved out, and that by her returning your deposit and money for bills she was also confirming that she was satisfied with this.

Then say you wish her all the best for the future but you now consider this matter closed and will not be reading or responding to further emails/texts.

runawaybishop

dl87 wrote: »

I don't even know how to respond to her

Don't respond to her. Its that simple.

jon1981

And she can prove it was you and not the other tenants prior to you that overloaded it? not a hope she can! :pac::pac:

Sounds like a chancer!

groovyg

Op ignore her you owe her nothing. The fact you got your deposit and monies from bills back is good. Its people like her that give landlords a bad rep, she should probably sell up and invest the money in stocks or a well earned holiday as she really hasn't a clue about being a landlord.

dl87

Thanks for all the responses
Citizens advice said the same thing, she can't and won't get a cent off us!

Oral Surgeon

Ignore her and don't break your parents washing machine now!!