Rented house burgled. Tenant looking for landlord to reimburse loss

A number of companies offer insurance for contents to students staying in college campus apartments and private rented accomodation. I'm sure this would extend to your situation.

JoeBallantin said:

That doesn't sound reasonable or right to me... if a tenant rents a house he or she should be free to lock internal doors... the burgalars would have damaged the door, not the tenants... Don't forget that one tenant has a right to security from the other tenants.. so internally locked doors are essential in a shared house.

Also I don't think a tenant needs permission to make a small change like installing a lock...

I'm not trying to be argumentative and I could be wrong but I feel strongly that a tenant should be allowed to fit (a lock) and lock internal doors in a house they are renting.

Cheers
Joe

Click to expand...

Why should they be allowed to make modifications to the house? If they do it wrong they could ruin a door.

Yes they could... but replacing a lockset in an existing door is very simple... and cheap. Door locksets typically come in two sizes.. 2.5 inches and 3.5 inches... I'd expect every door to already have a lockset mortised into it.. all they have to do is take off one handle, take off the lockset, replace the lockset with a new one valued at 10 to 15 euro, re attach the handle.. door is now lockable and all keys are accounted for. Shouldn't be too hard, easier than changing a plug really, less physical dexterity required.

It could be that no-one is allowed make any modifications to a house but that seems unreasonable to me... I would refuse to live in a shared house if the doors weren't lockable but I suppose you could vote with your feet and refuse to rent such a room.

I don't think the landlord is liable for tenants property (for reasons outlined already)... so the only hope for the tenants is to have locked doors.

Considering you can't get some tradesmen to do stuff properly, I think your expecting a lot from the average tenant IMO.

I know one tenant who immediately after moving in changed all the locks on the house without telling the landlord. Not a move to inspire goodwill in a landlord.

Hi Joe

I wasn't thinking of the other tenants. I was thinking of the burglars.

Our offices have been broken into on a few occasions over the years and there really is very little to rob. But they kick in doors which are locked and they damage the door and the frame. It costs a lot to get them rebuilt.

I suppose I would not like to live in a house with people whom I did not choose to live with. But if I did, I would want to lock the door while I was out.

And then who is responsible for fixing up the house after a burglary? I suppose the landlady would be.

Brendan

aircobra19 said:

Considering you can't get some tradesmen to do stuff properly.

Click to expand...

Any tradesman who can't put a lock into a new door isn't a tradesman.

I have found that putting new locks onto old doors isn't as easy as onto a new door. Likewise repairing old doors can be a curse.