Furnished Letting

[the0ni0nking]

True - not been privy to the discussions between the tenant and the agent, it's impossible for me to say how those conversations went.

One point of note which I didn't clarify in all of this was that I didn't actually purchase the bed directly. The bed was purchased by the letting agent and then a deduction taken from the rent payment made to me. So I'm guessing that rules out any claim I could make against Argos etc as I didn't purchase it direct.

Previously, I have paid for stuff directly and advised the letting agent of the delivery date (who in turn has advised the tenants) - I actually think at least one of them works quite often from home so hasn't been an issue for them.

Perhaps therein lies another lesson that I've not thought about or encountered before - if I agree to replace/buy things for a property, always buy them myself rather than allow the letting agent to do it. I've always done that on the property local to me; it's just this one that operates slightly differently.

[servodude]

I'm not a landlord but because I've done a lot of work in social housing I know the value of tenant proofing as far as reasonably practical. Solid internal doors instead of light weight ones for example, plywood kitchen carcasses instead chipboard, contract grade carpets etc.
Strikes me this is all a lot of faff and wasteage compared to getting the agent to arrange a handyman repair. Presumably that's within their remit. Increase the section size of the central spine from 2"x1" to 3"×2" and fix it head and foot of the frame with some more substantial angle brackets and screw fixings.

That sounds like what I was going to post.
The photos of the bed make it look fragile and cheap - and I can easily see how it would break... and be easily improved

[Lootman]

The photos of the bed make it look fragile and cheap - and I can easily see how it would break.

Did you not see this from the OP:

"The indication I have from the letting agent is that the tenant acknowledges it is there fault that the bed broke rather than manufacturer defect or something else outwith of the tenants control - I've not enquired as to why or how as it's none of my business."

In 60-odd years I have had many different beds, some cheap, some not, and none of them ever broke. But as others have noted some people weigh a lot, or are clumsy or careless. Maybe this woman has a 20 stone boyfriend who stays over and has interesting nocturnal habits.

My inclination as the LL would be to repair or replace the bed but ding the tenant's deposit for some or all of the cost.

[servodude]

The photos of the bed make it look fragile and cheap - and I can easily see how it would break.

Did you not see this from the OP:

"The indication I have from the letting agent is that the tenant acknowledges it is there fault that the bed broke rather than manufacturer defect or something else outwith of the tenants control - I've not enquired as to why or how as it's none of my business."

In 60-odd years I have had many different beds, some cheap, some not, and none of them ever broke. But as others have noted some people weigh a lot, or are clumsy or careless. Maybe this woman has a 20 stone boyfriend who stays over and has interesting nocturnal habits.

My inclination as the LL would be to repair or replace the bed but ding the tenant's deposit for some or all of the cost.

Yes.
Still a fragile and cheap bed that could easily break and be easily improved.
I'd be having words with the agent regards standards

[UncleEbenezer]

There are some very dodgy beds out there. In the sense of, will fall apart without provocation. I bought a new bed a couple of years ago, only to find the instructions tell me to assemble it in situ because trying to move it is likely to break it! Assembling it just a couple of months after an IKEA wardrobe highlighted just how good the IKEA quality is by contrast with the flimsy bed. Maybe yours is something like that, and the poor tenant feels stuck in a difficult position?

Bear in mind that tenants are often vulnerable (may fear what a Landlord or Agent might do) and won't stand up for their rights. And agents can tend to bully them over matters like this.

[Lootman]

There are some very dodgy beds out there. In the sense of, will fall apart without provocation. I bought a new bed a couple of years ago, only to find the instructions tell me to assemble it in situ because trying to move it is likely to break it! Assembling it just a couple of months after an IKEA wardrobe highlighted just how good the IKEA quality is by contrast with the flimsy bed. Maybe yours is something like that, and the poor tenant feels stuck in a difficult position?

It is 45 years since I had to live in rental housing but one part of that I always hated was sleeping in a bed with an unknown history. More than once I dismantled the bed and slept on my own futon on the floor - at least I knew where that had been and who had done what on it.

In this case it was a new bed, which is better. As a landlord I did not do furnished lets but if I had then I might like to get a new bed for every new tenant. Although that might lead me to get a cheap bed of course.

[the0ni0nking]

I think my view is that replacing a bed every tenancy (obviously depending on how long the tenancy has been in place for) is probably a bit excessive.

As an example, I think one of the bedrooms got an entire suite of Oakfurnitureland furniture (so not cheap) and which you'd expect to last a long time. Conversely, replacing the mattress each tenancy is I think more than reasonable - and I generally always leave it in the plastic wrapping so they know it's new.