The repairs have been undertaken but the result is so poor that any tradesman should be embarresed by it. The landlord has been contacted and nothing has happened, it has been going on for at least a year. This is not a debate about liability, the tennant agrees that they are liable for the damage, it is a debate about paying for repairs wich are so poor no reasonable person would be willing to pay for it. Is the tennant allowed to hire a tradesman themselves and take to cost out of the rent because they have already been charged for a repair that is emparrisgly horrible?

curlcrown - 2021-03-03 17:54:00

No.
The tenant is not allowed to take any money from their rent, full stop.
To do so would make the tenant in arrears and put them at huge risk.

desi1969 - 2021-03-03 19:31:00

Take it to the disputes tribal. You (or the tenant) has paid for a service which has not been properly delivered. I would claim against whoever the money was paid to.

Take plenty of pictures.

tony9 - 2021-03-04 14:14:00

I take it that the tenant has caused some damage and said they will pick up the tab for it.. The LL has hired someone to do the work, then passed the invoice onto the tenant for payment. The tenant has inspected the work done and thinks it is sub-standard and has refused to pay for it !
Question... was the invoice from the "tradesman" just past to the tenant for payment, or did the LL pay the invoice and then "invoiced" the tenant.. So has the tradesman not been paid or is it the LL who has not been paid.
The tradesman was contracted by the LL, so if he has not been paid then his gripe is with the LL.
Has the LL inspected the work, is he/she happy with it ??
If it ever makes it to the DT it will be either the tradesman v LL or LL v tenant !!

onl_148 - 2021-03-04 16:01:00

onl_148 wrote:

I take it that the tenant has caused some damage and said they will pick up the tab for it.. The LL has hired someone to do the work, then passed the invoice onto the tenant for payment. The tenant has inspected the work done and thinks it is sub-standard and has refused to pay for it !
Question... was the invoice from the "tradesman" just past to the tenant for payment, or did the LL pay the invoice and then "invoiced" the tenant.. So has the tradesman not been paid or is it the LL who has not been paid.
The tradesman was contracted by the LL, so if he has not been paid then his gripe is with the LL.
Has the LL inspected the work, is he/she happy with it ??
If it ever makes it to the DT it will be either the tradesman v LL or LL v tenant !!

The tennent has paid the landlord and the landlord orgonised the work.

curlcrown - 2021-03-04 17:32:00

If you have not yet gone to the TT then remember that you can lodge claims no later than 12 months after the incident. This does not apply to bond issues which is 12 months after the tenancy ends.

keys - 2021-03-04 17:51:00

curlcrown wrote:

The tennent has paid the landlord and the landlord orgonised the work.

is the landlord happy with the work? Would he be prepared to sign off that the damage had been fixed to their satisfaction after a payment by the tenant.

I think if I was a tenant and work had not been done properly I would be worried at the possibility that the LL or property manager could have another go at me at either an inspection or at bond return time.

shanreagh - 2021-03-04 19:16:00

shanreagh wrote:

is the landlord happy with the work? Would he be prepared to sign off that the damage had been fixed to their satisfaction after a payment by the tenant.

I think if I was a tenant and work had not been done properly I would be worried at the possibility that the LL or property manager could have another go at me at either an inspection or at bond return time.

Take photos of the work that has been done, and keep any emails or txts that record your concern with the quality of the workmanship - if the landlord or property manager has chosen to accept it and pay the invoice, it's no longer your issue.

pasadena1 - 2021-03-04 20:18:00

pasadena1 wrote:

Take photos of the work that has been done, and keep any emails or txts that record your concern with the quality of the workmanship - if the landlord or property manager has chosen to accept it and pay the invoice, it's no longer your issue.

The issue is that the tennant has already paid for the damage. It was minor cosmetic damage to interor walls. but the repairs are so bad that it looks just as bad as it did before the tennat was charged any money and the tennant is left with an unsighlty walls to look at after paying to have them repaired.

curlcrown - 2021-03-04 21:46:00

Has the tenant seen the bill from the tradesperson to the landlord? (if the work is so bad then I doubt a proper tradesman has actually done the job).
If the tenant hasn't seen the bill, then they should ask to see it, as the tenant should only be charged for the work undertaken - the landlord can't charge more (and this may have happened). The tenant should put in writing to the landlord that the repairs are substandard, and include photos. If it requires remedial work to be done to bring it up to standard, and there is an extra charge for it, then the tenant should not be charged.

torrigreen - 2021-03-05 14:28:00