Forum Spotlight: Replacing a broken bath plug
Our members-only forum is a great place to share experience and advice with fellow NRLA members.
A member posted on our forum looking for clarification as to who would be responsible for repairing a plug in the bathroom at their rental property.
The situation
Our landlord had been contacted by a tenant who has been with them for eight months, about the bath plug at their property that was broken, in that it was no longer retracting into the plughole.
This was the first property our landlord had ever let out, so they explained they were still learning the ropes.
The plug was working at the start of the tenancy, and they wanted to know whether they as the landlord are responsible for resolving this issue, or whether it was the tenants’ responsibility to repair.
They took to our forum to ask fellow landlords for their opinion.
The responses on our forum
One of the first landlords to reply said that in their opinion, our landlord should ask the tenant how it had broken. One option could be to request they pay for the repair if they caused the damage.
However, in practice this landlord suggested in cases like this they’d always pay for a replacement plug. In their view, it is part of the fixtures and fittings which the landlord is responsible for.
Another user who commented on the thread agreed, and said they to would also pay for a replacement plug themselves rather than ask the tenant to do this.
They advised that these things do happen from time to time, and recommended our landlord buy an old-style bath plug and use that instead, keeping it simple but also effective.
Then, a member of our advice team joined in on the thread. They said it’d be best for our landlord to repair the bath plug themselves (rather than ask the tenant to pay), but pointed out if the tenant admitted to causing the damage they could be held liable for the cost to repair it.
As our landlord was new to the industry, our advisor also pointed them towards a number of NRLA guides they might be find useful on the topic of repair responsibilities, Landlord liability for repairs, and also the NRLA guide on Acting in a tenant-like manner - the tenant's responsibilities around repairs.
