Folks…
I m new to the country and staying on rent.
Just as I was planning on vacating this house I accidentally ended up chipping away a corner of bath floor. I guess it's ceramic and I don't even have the chipped piece with me..
I have heard that upon vacating, the owners/agents inspect the house and deduct from the deposit amount..
What are my options now, can I apply some quick fix to camouflage this?
Edit: it's not a tile, it's the bath floor ( under the shower)
Chipped Owners Bath Floor - What to Do?
Newbie aussie on 10/09/2016 - 16:41
Last edited 13/09/2016 - 18:36
Last edited 13/09/2016 - 18:36
Comments
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The chip is the size of 5cent coin.
I am worried about the bond, rental history ans well as the cost to fix this. Hope the owner won't replace the entire bath floor at my cost :(
They can't charge you for a whole floor, just the reasonable damage repair cost less depreciation.
superglue.
Unfortunately Superglue would have helped if I had the chipped piece with me..
If you were the owner what would you do? Would you expect the tenant to pay for the damage he caused?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mb1g6RQf5Ws
Epoxy and paint. It worked for me. Clean and dry tile first, also tape around surround area to avoid getting epoxy on the good parts.
Don't suggest things like this.
It's not good idea - disguising the damage by suggesting to someone not skilled in this area could lead to a much worse overall appearance.
Just inform the owner and be reasonable with the resolution - maybe they will just ignore it, maybe they will get someone in to perform the repair fix, maybe they will just put a new tile.
did owners leave any spare tiles?
Tenants who deliberately disguise damage done to properties during their lease term are the scum of the earth. May you never find a suitable rental property ever again. Your landlord doesn't deserve to be screwed over by your cheap ways - hopefully their agent goes over everything with a magnifying glass and gets you for every little thing.
For every tenant that does that, there's 5 home owners that don't fix issues within a reasonable time, fix things with the cheapest possible option because they're not living there, and/or don't decrease rent to match market prices (yet will happily increase it to match the market).
Shit, a chip in a tile is barely gonna be noticed unless the house was a new build. It's borderline under the 'fair wear and tear' heading.
What are my options now, can I apply some quick fix to camouflage this?
This clearly shows the OP is trying to cover up stuff instead of letting it be assessed as wear and tear.
Yep, because his honesty could cost him with a shit REA, who likely wouldn't even realise unless it was pointed out
@Spackbace: I'll make sure to check high and low when I inspect my parents' rental properties just in case the tenants get any ideas from this thread then.
i would do the same too, judging from various encounter with REA. You could almost bet that the agent would want the whole bathroom tiles to be replaced. Lol
@Spackbace: What do you mean by honesty? Honesty would fix the tile properly or just be transparent with landlord.
BTW, as a landlord, I wouldn't dock the bond for a 5c chip…
@FittyFitty: Come on. I have rented in the past and most of, mind you most of landlords and REA are biggest pile of poo.
So Landlord bought the property by paying 5-20% deposit or just previous assets and try to en-cash complete EMI of the house/unit from the rent. Putting fake repairs to gain negative gearing every FY. Try to increase rent every 6 months ignoring small repairs saying deal with it.
When renter move in, they are rushed to move in quickly. Filthy and greasy kitchen, backyard filled with cig butts and all weed. When you leave, every brick of the house is checked and want kitchen pristine clean. 30 years old property professionally cleaned and in better shape compared to previous owners. REA or landlords still not happy and thinks too many marks on the carpet. Your house wasn't painted when you move in and you stayed their for 4 years. They feel like to many marks on the walls.
Had a cracked plastic laundry cabinet once while we were renting, which was already like that when we moved in as we discussed with REA doing initial inspection. Our mistake, we forgot to put it in report as house had so many other things to write. When leaving REA wanted whole cabinet to be changed. Luckily I had a pic which I found on my mobile of the taps and it was visible in it.
One of the kitchen burner wont work, they never replaced it and we lived with it. Other repairs, I did myself, wet cleaned carpet every 6 months, cleaned all backyard and its all forgotten when you leave.So if some landlord here is crying for fair play, there is none and renters might have to hide things sometimes as there are many which REA will catch while leaving.
REA and landlord do whatever they can do stop the bond payment. For a new renting property I can understand, but for over 30 year old houses or units where repairs are not upto the marks, I dont get it.So it is not about what is right or wrong or tell the landlord or REA, it is to make them ignore small things. If it is not major, other renters will move in.
It's the realestate agent's job to ensure that a comprehensive property report is produced, and signed off by the landlord and the tenant, before each time a property is let or vacated; this was the case when I used to rent and it's the case now that I rent out.
If you deal with monkeys (whether tenant, landlord or agent), you get banana peel…
@FittyFitty: Looks like you rented over 15 years ago. Times have changed now.
Another problem is monkeys dont think they are monkeys. Comprehensive property report is done extensively only when tenant leaves followed by landlord inspection. when tenant moves in, it is down by least experienced person in the office.Another example is when you receive the property you are told, its an old property and normal wear and tear. But when you leave, you don't deal with same person or they don't know what you are talking about. REA might have blocked previous bond and done no repairs.
Most of the REA these days try to make money these days by creating problems for Bond. If you are not, then you are extinct species.
I agree. Our owner took months to replace the clothes dryer and the range-hood. Both items were the cheapest you could buy hence the delay. When we moved in, the kitchen was filthy and greasy. The agent said 'that's the way it is these days' so we are going to leave the kitchen in the same state upon vacating. We had other problems and got them solved at the Tribunal after 3 hearings! We were threatened with eviction by a young, self-important agent who lost his job over it. Anyway, it sounds like a wear&tear issue especially as you say it's an old bathroom. It's best to be honest and declare the chip saying you are only prepared to pay a small amount to fix it, say $50. There is no way they can replace the entire floor at your expense. If they try, don't negotiate with them, apply for a hearing immediately as it can take a few weeks to get one. This problem won't reflect on your renting credentials. We have fought quite a few battles with other rented apartments from different owners and always won, matey. Tenants have more rights these days as the Strata Management agreements and policies have been updated. We are no longer second-class citizens subjected to unscrupulous agents and owners.
Go to Fair Trading nsw gov au for major changes to strata law.
"Tenant participation:
Tenants will have a right to attend owners corporation meetings, no matter how many of the lots are tenanted in their scheme. Tenants may vote only if they hold a proxy (giving them voting rights on a lot owner’s behalf). The owners corporation may vote to allow a tenant to speak on a particular matter. Tenants can be excluded from a meeting when financial matters are discussed.
If at least half the lots are tenanted, a tenant representative can be nominated as a non-voting member of the strata committee. The representative may still be excluded from meetings when financial issues are discussed, such as the collective sale or renewal process."
don't fix issues within a reasonable time
True that. It took me 11 months to get a faulty oven replaced only after I threatened them with legal case. 1 week after they replaced it and gave me 2 weeks rent as compensations.
So what is the right thing to do from your perspective?
Try to repair it yourself as REA will try to make maximum money after getting the most expensive tradie friend to do it.
@niggard - so you mean I should replace the entire bathroom shower floor for the owner , is it?
@niggard - so you mean I should replace the entire bathroom shower floor for the owner , is it?
that would be unreasonable. you should at least replace the broken tile with a new one at your cost.
I would have been more happy to do that… but it's not a tile…probably I didn't make myself very clear before….. it's the shower floor …it is very old and probably made out of ceramic.
Would I even have any say when the estate agent scrutinizes the house at the end of my contract?They likely wont even notice it.
it is very old
even better. offer to pay for the broken parts at the depreciated value. if they say no, then tell them you would be more than happy to let the tribunal decide.
but leave it to re to find the it first.
@Slippery Fish:
The reason they might notice it is because the ceramic floor is all white and this chipped piece results in a black spot :(so I should not highlight it before leaving?
that's up to you. the re job is to look after their's and their landlord's best interest. if they can't do their job then it's not your problem.
So what did you do to the shower floor that created a chip the size of a 5 cent piece? If it is an old property it is likely that the product is not ceramic but terrazo - is is like crushed up stone in a cement and then polished so that it is smooth. That was a product that lasted forever unless you took a jack hammer or acid to it.
@goodcopbadcop: honestly I have no clue how n when the chip came off…I saw it while cleaning it over the weekend…
There is one another point on the floor which had already flaked before I came in.I had some tenants that completely destroyed a rental property, ended up taking them to tenancy tribunal (outstanding rent + damage was about $4k).
Anyway, the only part relevant to your story: They had put a hot put on a kitchen bench, ruining the bench. I had a quote to replace the bench for around $500 (I think), which I added to the claim. The Tribunal said that because the bench was 4 years old, and expected life is 20 years, the tenants only had to pay 80% of the cost of replacing the bench. Never saw any of the owed money, ended up gluing a tile over the damage.
They probably wont notice, but if they do then you can repair it: https://www.google.com.au/#q=repair+ceramic+shower+tray
No, that would be unreasonable. A reasonable landlord would understand and replace that particular tile, a small section or just leave it. But it's wrong to disguise it for your own gain. If it was your property I bet you would think differently if a tenant did that to you.
Edit: Didn't see your post above before replying. If it really is like that, you could leave it without marking it and be prepared to cough up for repairs when the REA sees it. If they want the whole floor replaced, you can take it to whatever tribunal and argue it isn't fair. I'm sure the REA isn't that unreasonable.
@newbie aussie re: "is it" - Are you Indian? :)
"Please do the needful"
This is also common in Indian English. Apparently it is correct grammatically, just completely archaic.
How interestful; I shall make note, Sahib.
What does OP's race have to do with anything?
@Drifta
Nothing sinister; just a note re linguistic semantics…
It's an old shower floor and it could well be normal wear and tear should it be inspected. You are new in Australia yet the fact that you participate on this online forum and raise this concern shows you are a responsible individual. I assume you'd be hesitant to do anything to a rental property that might be considered "damages", like nailing/ drilling walls etc.
If I were you, I would assess if that damage is conspicuous (a 5-cent coin size chip is not a biggie), and if so, I would either try to find a fix (Bunnings - should have a product that could fill the gap), or if I had dealt with the landlord/ agent and they are nice, I'd see if I could raise this in one of the "friendly" chats.
You could also come clean if you feel "bad" about it and offer to chip in to fix the damage, OR perhaps, just don't worry at all and see how it goes at inspection/ the last minute. Don't let these things affect you and your new life experience. Melbourne is a great place to live in. Australia is great and we even have a forum for tight***es like us to get together. And we don't forget to check in on each other on RUOK just 3 days ago.
I rmb when I was 16 living with my bros in a 2-bedroom rent unit. There was no kitchen range hood and the bathroom ceiling was peeling off (no exhaust fan). One day in the shower I went to grab the soap and the whole "soap holder" tile just fell off lol. I think we silicone a new one to replace. Also there was an argument one day and I punched a hole in the plaster wall in the hall. I don't remember how it all turned out now and if we had it taken out of our bond, all I rmb is the memories of the 2 years living in a rent house, where I made a hole in the wall.
Responsible? Hardly.
By stating "can I apply some quick fix to camouflage this?", shows that he/she wants to purely 'hide' this issue, not attempt to fix it.
A valid point you made, but I think that if the OP has put the question up and asked for opinions it's not their ultimate intention to try and "camouflage" the inadvertent damage. I'm sure he/she would have attempted to fix had it been an easy task, like replacing with a new tile or silicone etc.
Tenax Stone Glue in the corresponding colour can often solve a problem like this and be barely noticeable if applied correctly.
Couple of points that have not been mentioned above:
Most of the problems attributed to landlords are actually issues with real estate agents. Those who manage rental properties are in general useless and create more problems than they solve.
If this is a strata property, then based on the description of the damage, it is very likely that the repairs are not the responsibility of the landlord, but instead of the owner's corporation. If this is the case, then neither you, nor the landlord should attempt repairs to the shower recess without the owner's corporation's approval. However, it would be better to get the owner's corporation to inspect the damage and organise the repair if required. That way there is no scope for future arguments about the choice of repairer or quality of workmanship. As a tenant, you don't deal with the owner's corporation, the landlord does. Landlords can appoint and agent to act on their behalf.
That's very informative… thanks…
It is indeed a strata property…not sure what it means though.
So do I raise it with the agent? I have never ever met the owner.Up to you whether you want to attract attention to the problem or just chalk it up to wear and tear. If there is any chance that the damage is more than cosmetic and could lead to leaks and further property damage, then you should definitely report it.
I'd imagine that the normal course of action would be to raise any issue with the managing agent and let them deal with it. Mind you, if the agent is as useless as most are, then it is a good idea to steer them in the right direction and mention that they should take it up with the owner's corporation.
I'd be inclined not to even approach the issue of repair costs. In most likelihood, you won't be asked to pay and the last thing you want to do is somehow get into their head that you think you should be paying. If they do ask for payments, then ask them about why they think you should be liable. Unless they have a very good reason, such as malicious damage, they will be hard pressed to come up with anything.
As an example, in a previous place where I used to live, one of the residents managed to smash his toilet bowl. The owner's corporation paid for the replacement. There was not even a mention of the resident paying any amount of money towards the cost. The strata manager just said that the toilet is a fixed item that falls under the owner's corporation responsibility and needs replacement. Bang! Done. Strata insurance paid for the work under accidental breakage, minus some excess that was divided between 22 units.
Thanks so much for the information…
Ozbargainers rock!
Owner's corporation deals with common property (gardens, lifts if applicable etc), they are not going to fix your bathroom.
I suggest you do your homework. Bathroom tiles and waterproofing on common walls are the responsibility of owner's corp. That includes a shower recess floor, unless you happen to be living in a multi-level unit and the floor of the shower is on an upper level and the property directly under the shower is also yours.
If you (or previous owner) have replaced or altered these without owner's corp approval, then it becomes your responsibility.
We are not talking about waterproofing here, this is a cosmetic chip - definitely not a body corporate issue
The facade of your apartment building is a common wall, and hence the responsibility of the owner's corp.
Your bathroom's waterproofing and tiles are not a common wall that other lot owners can avail of (one would hope) and are therefore your own responsibility.
The only exception is if the apartment is relatively new and the builder offers insurance on their waterproofing / tiling work. However strata certainly will not insure or cover non-common property if the original builder doesn't.
I certainly have not heard of strata (and other lot owners, through payment of excess) having to cover 'accidental' toilet bowl smashes. I'd certainly hate it if the neighbour went mental on his apartment and I had to help cough up the excess for the 'accidental' damage.
Food for thought young padawan!
I suggest you do your homework.
The responsibility lies wherever the owner's corp says it does and surprise, surprise, not all owner's corps are the same.
Landlords choose and pay the REA.
Because this divide between common property issues and owner issues sometimes defies logic, a lot of owners corporations pass special resolutions which exclude the things that make no sense from being the responsibility of the owners corp.
Such things like, bathroom and kitchen tiles, being able to put hooks in walls, balcony tiles etc, all would normally be the responsibility of the owners corp and all have been specifically excluded from responsibility in the building where I live by special resolution. I understand this is quite a common thing too, so you'd need to check if it is indeed a common property issue or not. It may not be.
If the property is owned privately, and is in a strata complex - the Body Corporate is not usually responsible for maintenance and repairs unless the landlord (0wner) passes this authority onto their maintenance team.
Tell the owner and unless the damage is huge they will probably let it slide, worst case scenario is you lose some of your deposit for doing the right thing.
I m new to the country
Probably not a great start to a new life by deceiving your landlord; especially since you know it was you that caused the damage. Why should they have to pay for your accident?
Options are :
Fix it
Deny it
Buy a new bath
Pay them to fix it
Ignore it
Google itSimples🤔
By the way, I'm on the toilet, what should I do?
Deny it
Just own up, let the repair come out of your bond and move on. No need to potentially ruin your reference by deceiving the landlord.
I once scratched a wood-look vinyl flooring shifting a couch when moving out, 15cm long, 5mm wide. Agent suggested to the Owner $50 compensation would be reasonable. Owner wouldn't have a bar of it and only wanted it fixed. She lodged a claim with VCAT against me the day after I said I will pay compensation or have it repaired. I found someone to do it and cost me $220, then I received my whole bond back.
Last time my tenant chipped the granite bench in the kitchen and I think my agent took $100 from their bond.
Just shrug your shoulders if they see it….
It's a freakin tile! Listening to this crowd makes it sound like you played Jenga with a load bearing wall. Sand off the jagged edge so noone hurts themselves, and move on.
Newbie Aussie, you have stated that you do not know when the chip happened - for all you know it may have happened years ago and a previous tenant "camouflaged it".
If its small, not noticeable, parts of it were already flaking before you got there (should be on entry condition report), then its worn out and tired, I'd say it is fair wear and tear, and therefore not your problem.
My vote is don't point it out, wait to see if they raise it, and cross that bridge when you come to it.
If you do actually have no idea how it got there, tell them so, suggest it is old and fair wear and tear, but if necessary offer a small sum in compensation regardless as a feel good exercise (<$100).
People are giving you an unfair wrap on here. If you dropped something that very noticeably broke it, and it was less than 10 years old and not likely to be easily damaged, then that's a different story.
PS all - sounds like its not a tile, but rather a shower base made of a ceramic like an old bath material - is that right OP?
Take some photos and go to Bunnings and see if they have a product which can help
Haven't read the other posts…. it's wear and tear and not your responsibility financially speaking unless the damage is claimed to be reckless on your behalf. If you damage the carpet though you will be charged.
This.
I don't see what's so difficult about this. Put yourself in the owner's shoes - what do you think would be reasonable?
Do you have a picture? I chipped the corner of a quartz marble worktop. Depending on the Material a clear epoxy can mask the damage and provide a smooth finish. The benchtop i chipped looked reasonable when i used epoxy, however there was a yellowing of it over time amd so I paid a specialist to repair it. I was amazed at how well he make it look, 180 bucks though.
Depends on the material and colour of the tiles mainly Inwould say
Buy quality stuff and fix it.
Dude Post up a pic. You can paint the bastard with liquid paper
All these posts, tldr apologies if someone said that already but here is my 2c.
Firstly a lot depends on the state of the bathroom, if it's a shitty old one due for renewal he may not care. Also, if it's under a wall hung vanity and not in the middle of the floor, or if then e tiles were porcelain and the chip was the safe colour as the surface, he may not care so much.
If it's a new bathroom he probably will care. If he has spare tiles then I wouldn't expect it to be more than a few hundred for a Tiler to remove the tile and put a new one in.
Finally you should also mention how you broke it and why it actually broke. Well laid tiles are not easy to break, if there was an edge that chipped you could ask why there wasn't any binding, or if it was hollow underneath it broke due to being poorly laid. Also if the owner used the cheapest tiles (and any Tiler would usually recommend porcelain on the floor due to its hardiness) why was he putting glazed ceramic on the floor?
Jackson you obviously don't read all of the threads…..OP has stated - that it is a ceramic shower base that has chipped a small round piece which results in a black spot. It's not a tile or even the edge of a tile and definitely not under the vanity unit or in the middle of the floor/room. It's in the Shower!
No to be honest I don't, the buy said 'bath floor' a bath isn't tiled, my point is that the OP should put the entire necessary details in the original post and we shouldn't have to read the entire thread to find out. Anyway, he still didn't say how he broke it did he?
Do the right thing and own up.
I am a landlord and have paid hundreds in accidental repair for tenants. It depends on your relationship with your agent. Sometimes honesty does more good than harm.
If it's cosmetic, then most likely agent will let it slide. If it's something more serious, then expect a bill; either independent or body corp, there is still money involved. Body corp usually don't cover anything inside the proprty unless it's structural. Don't forget the excess fee.
Ask yourself, would you let someone else pay for your mistakes?
Really think we need a photo!
Comment section full of SJW who demonize the OP over a small trivia thing. First World Problem
Folks, similar issue been troubling me.
Managed to put a iron burn on lounge carpet. Very standard sort of grey carpet. Damage is deep could not be cleaned,but limited to the one spot, around 20x20cm patch. Keen to get it resolved asap rather than vacate time, should I let my agents know?
Concern I have is previous tenant had left a burn mark on kitchen top and the agent told him his full deposit would be taken (around $1800) to replace entire kitchen top. The previous tenant then had to make a couple of interstate trips to come back while I had already moved in, to bring people in and provide a much lesser quote to the agent /landlord for replacing just the burnt section (it's "Formica" I believe). So agents are clearly keen on maximising usage of bond money for landlord as part of "repairs".
Would it cost a lot to replace the 20x20cm carpet patch?
You can't just replace a patch; you have to replace the carpet in the whole house.
Just kidding; if you can find the same carpet, it can be done dyi; basically cut out burnt area, cut same shape from new and join with carpet tape (from underneath). Same thing the pros do when joining carpet pieces.
You can probably get a sample patch for free…
There are skillful carpet layers who can do this. Might cost you $100 - $125 though. They cut out the burnt carpet and glue in a patch piece. If it is in the middle of the room though the patch is probably going to be noticable. Then you are going to have to replace the carpet.Speak to a carpet layer who advertises that they do repair jobs. They will be able to tel you if you should patch it or replace it.
A kitchen top is a little different though. Can't imagine being able to patch Formica so that it doesn't look patched or tacked on. Formica or Laminex ages with cleaning products, light and sun directly on it. You'd never get a match - even pure whites will look different once they have been in use.
All depends on how agressive your agent is and how reasonable your landlord is. I had a tenant leave a burn mark, job got quoted at roughly $80 although still slightly visible because carpet wasnt identical however good enough for me and the tenant. I'm no carpet expert however your carpets actually look reaaaaallly old. Like over 10 years old however it could be the style but it looks really worn. Id be replacing that junk as a landlord. Carpets imo are pretty cheap compared to the other types of floor coverings.
This rental is at $370 per week in Adelaide so its not super cheap but it aint shit either.
Good luck and i hope you dont get reemed.
Another battlefield between owners and renters in Ozbargain!
Renting = Life Style
Owner = Slave to the banks
I love being a slave <3
What have you got to lose by attempting to mask the damage? I am telling you now it wont be cheap to fix, because they most likely don't have spare tiles, the tiles are probably old and cant be sourced. They will bleed your bond dry.
I masked damage when I left my rental, and i'm most proud of it. Chipped and cracked a tile, I used coloured grout to make it look like nothing was wrong.
There was also small spots on the curtains which they wanted me to dry clean, stuff that!… I painted the spots on the curtains with off white paint to disguise random stains and then switched the curtains from another room! Not only that I returned the sampler pot after I was finished to Bunnings for a refund!
When the property manager comes and inspects, just keep talking to them the whole time to distract them.
Boo hoo for the owner. It was an accident, its nothing major. Try your best and move on.
Just fess up. There's no way in hell the owner could get away with replacing the whole floor due to one tile being chipped. That would fall outside the definition of repair and bring it into the realm of capital improvement. If they try it on, just threaten them with NCAT, VCAT, etc. No tribunal is gonna agree with a whole floor replacement when it can be fixed with a single replacement tile.
What colour is the chip? If grey or white, you can buy some epoxy putty from Bunnings, you knead it, stick it on and sand it smooth. Dries as hard as the tile and you won't be able to tell.
Bikies
To make it clear: it's not a tile, it's the bath floor ( under the shower)
So it's white yeh? And shiny? http://www.selleys.com.au/putty/epoxy/knead-it-aqua/ get that white epoxy putty
Do you mean a shower tray? or an actual bath? IF a bath just do what the previous idiot tennants did at a place we rented - put tipex on it. i'm not joking. At least it came off real quick for us, so we were able to tell the RE within a few days of moving in so we didn't get blamed for it. We've also had a neatly trimmed piece of white paper covering a massive hole in a wall. The RE didn't pick it up in their inspection. Luckily for us we found it early.
5 cent piece size is a bit big but for smaller chips I have used appropriately coloured nail varnish.
Remember peoples eyes are at least 6 feet away from the repair and just dont notice it
Oh no OP, this is not good, not good at all. There are two things you don't do in Australia, Number 1: stay sober and number 2: chip a bathroom floor. My suggestion is to run, find a friend or families house and lay low for ahwile….. because your probably wanted for murder !.
Ok
Just say it was like that when you got there.
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How big is the chip? A small chip may be put as wear and tear and you won't be charged for it. If your worried about your bond and rental references you can always offer to pay for it seperately