Dead Fridge, Who Pays? A Renter's Field Guide to White Goods

Sunday, 9pm. You have got a wash on before work, the drum spins up, then stops with a thud that sounds expensive. The door will not open and your favourite jeans are sitting in a puddle. Welcome to the least glamorous part of renting: the white goods question.

The good news is that most of this is solvable with a bit of paperwork and a firm but polite email. The bad news is that the answer to who pays depends on what you agreed to, what is on the inventory, and whether the appliance was ever the landlord's in the first place.

Start with the inventory, not the panic

Before you picture a new fridge at someone else's expense, dig out your tenancy agreement and the inventory or check-in report. This is the document that decides whether the washing machine is a landlord asset or a mysterious orphan left by the last tenant.

If an appliance is listed on the inventory, it is part of what you are paying for. That means the landlord is generally expected to keep it in working order for the length of the tenancy. If it is not listed, do not assume it is yours to fix either — it might simply be something the previous occupier left behind and nobody has claimed.

Furnished, part-furnished and unfurnished are not tidy legal categories. They are marketing labels. A flat advertised as unfurnished can still include a fridge, oven and washing machine because those are fixed or built-in. A furnished flat might include a sofa and a bed but no washer. Read the inventory line by line, not the portal filter.

The move-in hour that saves you a fortune

The best time to deal with a dodgy appliance is before you have unpacked the kettle. On move-in day, test everything. Run the washing machine on a short cycle, open the fridge and check it actually gets cold, turn on the oven and every hob ring, run the hot tap, and look behind the washing machine for leaks or a hastily taped hose.

Then photograph and film it. Get the make, model and serial number in shot. Film the existing scratches, the dent in the freezer door, the crack in the oven handle. Email the letting agent the same day with a short list of anything that is broken or tired, even if you do not want it fixed immediately. That email is your evidence if the appliance dies in three months and the landlord claims you broke it.

Check that the inventory matches reality. If the check-in report says the dryer works and it does not, say so in writing within the first few days. Deposit disputes later often turn on whether a tenant reported a fault promptly, not on who is technically right.

The 9pm breakdown: first 24 hours

If water is pouring out, turn off the supply valve behind or under the machine, or the stopcock if you cannot find it. Do not start taking the appliance apart. A blown fuse or a tripped switch is fair game; dismantling a drum is not.

Report the fault in writing, with photos and a short video if it helps. Say what happened, when, and what you have already checked. Ask for a repair timeline. If the agent has a maintenance portal, use it and keep a screenshot. If you ring, follow up with an email that says, as discussed, the washing machine stopped mid-cycle on Sunday at 9pm.

If the fridge has failed and you have food in it, keep receipts for anything you have to replace that day. Do not go wild, but a bag of ice and a takeaway because you cannot cook is reasonable to mention. It is not automatic compensation, but it is part of the conversation.

Who actually pays?

Here is where it gets annoyingly grey. The Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 puts a duty on landlords to keep in repair the structure and exterior, and installations for the supply of water, gas, electricity, sanitation, space heating and hot water. A freestanding washing machine is not named in that list. An integrated oven or a boiler is much closer to the installations the law is talking about.

In practice, the tenancy agreement and the inventory do most of the work. If the landlord supplied the appliance, they should maintain it. If you bought it and brought it with you, it is yours to fix. If it was left by a previous tenant and the landlord has never claimed it, you need a written answer about who owns it before you spend money.

Ask the question directly: is this appliance the landlord's responsibility to repair or replace? Get the answer by email. If the answer is vague, reply with your understanding and ask them to correct you if you are wrong.

Repair, replace, or fob you off

Landlords are usually allowed to choose repair over replacement. You cannot demand a brand-new machine if the old one was a basic model that can be fixed for eighty quid. But they cannot leave you without a working fridge or washing machine for weeks and call it reasonable.

If the appliance is beyond economic repair, a like-for-like replacement is the normal expectation. If you want an upgrade, offer to pay the difference in writing.

If the landlord drags their feet, keep a dated record of every message. Ask for a rent adjustment or compensation for the period the appliance was unusable, and put the proposal in writing. If the flat has a serious hazard, such as exposed wiring or a water leak, contact your local council's environmental health team. At the end of the tenancy, if money is deducted for an appliance that was already broken, use the deposit scheme's dispute service and bring your move-in photos.

The second-hand trap

Beware the listing that says the appliances are included but the tenancy agreement is silent. Beware the landlord who says the washer came with the flat and then, when it breaks, says it was the last tenant's. Beware the previous tenant's tumble dryer that is technically still theirs and technically still in your kitchen.

If you are buying your own appliance, get permission for installation and keep the receipt. Take it with you when you leave unless you have agreed otherwise in writing. Make good any holes or connections.

The short version

Check the inventory before you sign. Photograph and test everything on day one. Report faults in writing, with dates and photos. Ask who owns each appliance and who repairs it. Keep receipts. Be reasonable, be persistent, and put everything in an email.

Then, hopefully, the next time the drum stops mid-spin, you will know exactly which button to press — and it will not be the one marked panic.