Renting issues

Jamesnashlaad · 30-01-2015 7:34pm #1

Hi, im a first year student in waterford and im having a bit of trouble with my landlord.

My room got trashed early december last year and it was inspected to which i recieved a fine of €270: €70 for a new bed, €75 to paint the bedroom as there was stuff written on the walls and €125 to repaint the kitchen ceiling.

My issue is first of all doesnt need to be painted and that my room is perfect after just abit of tlc and work to clean the walls. I have no issue in paying the bed fine even though i didnt do any of this but the paint fines are totally out of line.

I have asked my landlord to review the fines but all i have recieved is a threatening email about evicting me if i dont pay by next week.

Please help as what to do about this issue as i am worried and running out of time. Pm me for a copy of the email and the fines and also pictures of the room when it was inspected and the condition it is in now.

Lu Tze · 30-01-2015 8:03pm

Jamesnashlaad wrote: »

Hi, im a first year student in waterford and im having a bit of trouble with my landlord.

My room got trashed early december last year and it was inspected to which i recieved a fine of €270: €70 for a new bed, €75 to paint the bedroom as there was stuff written on the walls and €125 to repaint the kitchen ceiling.

My issue is first of all doesnt need to be painted and that my room is perfect after just abit of tlc and work to clean the walls. I have no issue in paying the bed fine even though i didnt do any of this but the paint fines are totally out of line.

I have asked my landlord to review the fines but all i have recieved is a threatening email about evicting me if i dont pay by next week.

Please help as what to do about this issue as i am worried and running out of time. Pm me for a copy of the email and the fines and also pictures of the room when it was inspected and the condition it is in now.

If thats all it takes to fix it to the way it was, then do it straight away and show the landlord that the walls and ceilings been restored to the way it was.

The_Conductor · 30-01-2015 8:21pm

At the risk of stating the obvious- a new bed and two rooms professionally painted- sounds like one hell of a thrashing....... Your landlord is actually being quite reasonable- the €270 you're being forfeit sounds like a token gesture. I would take it on the chin, learn from the experience and move on. Also- if you're the type of person who allowed their room be thrashed in this fashion- you'd only be adding insult to injury by doing a DIY paint job on it. Don't go there.......

Jamesnashlaad · 30-01-2015 8:21pm

Sorry for the confusion but she refuses to check...

Jamesnashlaad · 30-01-2015 8:24pm

The thing is i have repaired the damages to a good condition but she will not even attempt to look the repairs

The_Conductor · 30-01-2015 8:24pm

Jamesnashlaad wrote: »

Sorry for the confusion but she refuses to check...

Pay the €270, learn from the whole episode- and move on.........

The_Conductor · 30-01-2015 8:25pm

Jamesnashlaad wrote: »

The thing is i have repaired the damages to a good condition but she will not even attempt to look the repairs

Your idea of repaired- and hers- very probably do not correspond with one another.

Jamesnashlaad · 30-01-2015 8:58pm

The_Conductor wrote: »

Your idea of repaired- and hers- very probably do not correspond with one another.

I know its coming from a biased opinion but i have experiance of 2nd fixing and decorating houses

Plus i just cant afford to pay the fine at the moment

davo10 · 30-01-2015 9:10pm

Jamesnashlaad wrote: »

I know its coming from a biased opinion but i have experiance of 2nd fixing and decorating houses

Plus i just cant afford to pay the fine at the moment

OP, you partied hard and your abode suffered, the joys of student life. Unfortunately it's not your call on whether a repair/paint touch up will suffice, it's the property owner's. Like the poster above I agree that €270 is very reasonable for a bed/bedroom/kitchen repaint so I think you should count yourself lucky. I suspect you'll have to borrow the money or give up your deposit and move on.

Arbiter of Good Taste · 30-01-2015 10:46pm

Jamesnashlaad wrote: »

I know its coming from a biased opinion but i have experiance of 2nd fixing and decorating houses

Plus i just cant afford to pay the fine at the moment

Too bad. You allowed your room to be thrashed and this is how the landlord chooses to repair it. You are not a handyman, so why should she trust your work?

€270 is reasonable so move on and be thankful that it's not double that and that she's not evicting you.

SMJSF · 30-01-2015 10:55pm

welcome to the real world.
that is the reason I have not let anyone over to my apartment except family and the landlord. I like to keep the only roof over my head.

if you want a good tenancy reference, don't allow parties. or your friends over by the sound of it. But more than likely you won't be getting a good one now.....

Jamesnashlaad · 31-01-2015 8:33am

Thanks for the advice and even though i wasnt present when the incident happened i shall attemp to try pay these fines.

MouseTail · 31-01-2015 8:41am

Did you report the incident to the Gardai? How did they gain entry to the apartment?

eezipc · 31-01-2015 10:10am

Are you able to prove to the landlord that you didn't do it?

Arbiter of Good Taste · 31-01-2015 12:10pm

eezipc wrote: »

Are you able to prove to the landlord that you didn't do it?

Who cares. Either he let the people in who did the damage, or he left the room unsecured which allowed them to gain access. Either way, the room is his responsibility. The landlord doesn't care - nor should she have to - that he was not directly responsible for the damage. She rented the room to the OP and it is his responsibilty to keep it in order. The sooner he realises that and stops trying to deflect the responsibility, the better.

Arbiter of Good Taste · 31-01-2015 12:12pm

Jamesnashlaad wrote: »

Thanks for the advice and even though i wasnt present when the incident happened i shall attemp to try pay these fines.

Attempt???

Just find the money and pay it. That's how real life works.

31-01-2015 1:25pm

I would imagine people would be a hell of a lot more sympathic if the op wasn't a student. How can he be held responsible for something that happened when he wasn't there? Is everyone in a houseshare expected to keep their door locked at all times? What if his/her door was kicked in? Surely the very least the LL could do is inspect the room to see how the op has repaired it.

It's a student houseshare after all so hardly expected to be up to luxury standards.

h2005 · 31-01-2015 1:32pm

Ben Aggressive Moth wrote: »

I would imagine people would be a hell of a lot more sympathic if the op wasn't a student. How can he be held responsible for something that happened when he wasn't there? Is everyone in a houseshare expected to keep their door locked at all times? What if his/her door was kicked in? Surely the very least the LL could do is inspect the room to see how the op has repaired it.

It's a student houseshare after all so hardly expected to be up to luxury standards.

Well if the scenarios you described happened the op should either have contacted the guards or have made those responsible pay. The problem doesn't lie with the landlord here.

31-01-2015 1:39pm

It doesn't lie with the LL but it doesn't necessarily lie with the the op either and it appears he/she isn't even being given an opportunity to contest the fine or fix some of the problems him/her self.

h2005 · 31-01-2015 1:57pm

Ben Aggressive Moth wrote: »

It doesn't lie with the LL but it doesn't necessarily lie with the the op either and it appears he/she isn't even being given an opportunity to contest the fine or fix some of the problems him/her self.

Of course it lies with the tenant. If the op didn't cause the damage ring the guards and find out who did. I'm pretty sure it wasn't the landlord or the landlords buddies who caused the damage.

The_Conductor · 31-01-2015 2:03pm

If you're going to have an argument here- I'm warning you- don't go down that road.

bjork · 31-01-2015 5:36pm

If you weren't there, I presume your housemates threw the party and their friends did the damage, now the ll is looking for you to pay your portion to cover damages?

Have you approached your housemates and asked them to reimburse you if this is the case?

Tarzana2 · 31-01-2015 5:40pm

If the damage happened when you weren't there, you should ask your housemates who responsible for the party or whatever to contribute. Tell them exactly how much it's costing you.

Arbiter of Good Taste · 31-01-2015 11:05pm

Ben Aggressive Moth wrote: »

I would imagine people would be a hell of a lot more sympathic if the op wasn't a student. How can he be held responsible for something that happened when he wasn't there? Is everyone in a houseshare expected to keep their door locked at all times? What if his/her door was kicked in? Surely the very least the LL could do is inspect the room to see how the op has repaired it.

It's a student houseshare after all so hardly expected to be up to luxury standards.

And maybe that's why the LL is only charging €270 for repairs.

The fact of the matter is, even if it was the jolly green giant who came in while the OP was away, the LL's relationship is with the OP. It is not incumbent on the LL to find out who was responsible.

Jamesnashlaad · 01-02-2015 1:32am

The door is akeycard entry system which fails to lock the odd time and was unforunate to happen during this incident.

I was confused and too afraid to do anything until now thats why i havent contacted anyone.

I have four friends that can verify that i was out of my apartment and the surveillance footage should show that if the tapes are still there

timetogo · 01-02-2015 5:43am

Jamesnashlaad wrote: »

The door is akeycard entry system which fails to lock the odd time and was unforunate to happen during this incident.

I was confused and too afraid to do anything until now thats why i havent contacted anyone.

I have four friends that can verify that i was out of my apartment and the surveillance footage should show that if the tapes are still there

Did you report this to the guards?
Were your friends out of the apartment too?

davo10 · 01-02-2015 8:39am

OP I do not think you are grasping the main facts of your situation with the accomadation and LL.

• when you rent a property, you are responsible for maintaining it in the condition it was in before you rented it. This includes making sure the front door is locked when you leave.
• if damage is caused during the rental, it is not the responcilbility of the LL to find out who caused it, the damage occurred while you had responcilbility for the property.
• if repairs are necessary, you cannot dictate who they are done by. The LL is entitled to repair the property to its condition before you rented it, at your expense.

And again, €270 seems very reasonable for a new bed and painting 2 rooms.

bjork · 01-02-2015 12:31pm

Jamesnashlaad wrote: »

The door is akeycard entry system which fails to lock the odd time and was unforunate to happen during this incident.

I was confused and too afraid to do anything until now thats why i havent contacted anyone.

I have four friends that can verify that i was out of my apartment and the surveillance footage should show that if the tapes are still there

So your house was robbed by persons unknown, who broke in and painted your kitchen ceilling while you were out? Have you reported it to the Gardai? I can understand the LL's disbelief if you haven't.

Jamesnashlaad · 03-04-2015 9:09pm

Just a quick update on this thread; I went to my students union which contacted my landlord. They organised a meeting to review the fines. The kitchen one for €125 was totally scrapped because there was nothing wrong but they refused to review the bedroom. In the end all I have to pay is €145 and still dont know who trashed the the place.

Any students reading this, i would highly recommend going to your SU as they are happy to help!!

conorhal · 04-04-2015 11:58am

Ben Aggressive Moth wrote: »

I would imagine people would be a hell of a lot more sympathic if the op wasn't a student. How can he be held responsible for something that happened when he wasn't there? Is everyone in a houseshare expected to keep their door locked at all times? What if his/her door was kicked in? Surely the very least the LL could do is inspect the room to see how the op has repaired it.

It's a student houseshare after all so hardly expected to be up to luxury standards.

It has nothing to do with the OP being a student and everything to do with the lack of responsibility he is taking towards the property he rents.
When I shared a house with other people and went away for the weekend I'd always lock my room, other housemate did so routinely even just going out for the day. If he was living with some party animals, common sense would suggest that it would be prudent, so the OP has had a failure of both common sense and responsibility.
What I would suggest is that he try to recoup some of the cash from the responsible party. I know that if a flat mate of mine trashed my room, they would be the one compensating me for the cost. That's where he needs to look for his money, not the landlord, who seems to have found a quite reasonably priced person to do the job. remember, it's not the landlord that's burdened him with the cost of these repairs, yet it's the landlord that's somehow to blame? The OP claims he doesn't know who trashed the place, but what he really means is that he can't be bothered naming them or finding out.
This kind of thing is why students find it difficult to find good accommodation and why landlords are reluctant to rent to them.

.

Arbiter of Good Taste · 04-04-2015 3:57pm

Jamesnashlaad wrote: »

Just a quick update on this thread; I went to my students union which contacted my landlord. They organised a meeting to review the fines. The kitchen one for €125 was totally scrapped because there was nothing wrong but they refused to review the bedroom. In the end all I have to pay is €145 and still dont know who trashed the the place.

Any students reading this, i would highly recommend going to your SU as they are happy to help!!

To be honest OP I don't think you have grasped how lucky you are. I suspect that the landlord just agreed for an easy life.

I would very much doubt this landlord will be giving you a good reference

Renting issues

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