Do I need to pay for a new kitchen tap?

[slug]

Hello expaters. I just had a few things repaired around my flat which included a new kitchen tap. The landlord paid for the other things but is saying I need to pay for the new tap as it isn't included under the list of "inventory furniture provided by the landlord" in the contract. This tap is not cheap, over HK$1,000.

I'm quite surprised by this. I would have expected the tap to maybe fall under the "main drains, pipes and cables" part of the contract, which stipulates that the landlord keep them in a proper state of repair, although taps are not listed. I was also not given a choice in the new tap and was told it had to be that expensive because of the size and it having to connect to a water heater.

Is the landlord in the right? To be honest I have a good relationship with them and over the few years I've rented from them they have been quick to repair and pay for things that have come up (and they also just gave me a rent reduction). Am I being too fussy over it? Opinions are most welcome. Thanks.

[RMDNC]

I assume by tap you mean faucet (more commonly used in US which I understand better). Thats ridiculous for a tenant to pay for a plumbing fixture. If you took the faucet away the place would not be habitable so its the landlord's responsibility. If you insisted on something customized and the landlord provided something basic but functional, then I would lean toward you paying.

BTW if you don't resolve it but stay, when you do move out, just remove it. If you don't need it, remove it but fill it with cement and leave it in the kitchen uninstalled to teach him a lesson.

[Natfixit]

1000hkd for a tap is ridiculous. I remember paying 250 HKD for a tap that was faulty but with a landlord who was living in Sydney and an inept agent who refused to allow us to contact him but did nothing to help us. Shop around SSP and look for a tap that is similar, buy it and replace and present landlord with the bill to refund you. You are NOT responsible for a fitting if you did not intentionally damage it. A Tap DOES fall under wear and tear of what you say are main drains, pipes and cables. It is a part of the pipe. How on earth is a tap your responsibility and what is wrong with it? Say no way, this is normal wear and tear. I wouldn't be surprised if the landlord had installed a cheaper quality tap in the first place knowing that it would not last. I call bluff on this one.

[chuckster007]

they had a TAP installed and bought one that was 1K and told you that you have to pay for it. Tell them to Foxtrot Oscar / Go Forth and Multiply or bluntly FUCK OFF!!!!

[RMDNC]

If the courts are reasonable in HK, then IMO you could actually get out of your lease based on warranty of habitability (assuming that is a universal concept and applies here in HK). The unit is not habitable without water. Without a faucet, there is no access to water.

[Elegiaque]

I assume by tap you mean faucet (more commonly used in US which I understand better).

Sorry, little side rant. Comments like this make me ashamed of/for Americans. Yes, other cultures/languages/geographical places use other English words for the same concept. Expand your vocabulary! Tap is not that difficult, and I think it is widely used in American English, "I'll have some tap water, please". Given you are on a HK forum, I would have thought you should have developed a sense of world Englishes and expanded vocabulary... If you made that same kind of comment about lift/elevator to a British person, my gosh they would slay you then and there...

For the OP, I really can't say if the LL is in the right or not, and to some extend it just depends on how you want to maintain your relationship with the LL. For your info, we recently had water leaking under our sink, and our LL arranged a plumber. Once to tighten the faucet and the second time the plumber claimed a new faucet was needed. The LL bought it, and yes, it was expensive like $1000+. (Turned out to be the wrong fitting, and there was a loud Cantonese argument between the LL and plumber... ) We weren't asked to pay anything in all this.

[ByeByeEngland]

Sorry, little side rant. Comments like this make me ashamed of/for Americans. Yes, other cultures/languages/geographical places use other English words for the same concept. Expand your vocabulary! Tap is not that difficult, and I think it is widely used in American English, "I'll have some tap water, please". Given you are on a HK forum, I would have thought you should have developed a sense of world Englishes and expanded vocabulary... If you made that same kind of comment about lift/elevator to a British person, my gosh they would slay you then and there...

.

I nearly choked on my afternoon stroll along the pavement, sorry sidewalk, using my mobile phone, sorry cell phone, to buy some sweets, biscuits, eggplant and crisps, sorry candy, cookies, eggplant and chips.

I wasn’t dressed in pants and suspenders in either the English or (bastardised with an S) variant English

[RMDNC]

Sorry, little side rant. Comments like this make me ashamed of/for Americans. Yes, other cultures/languages/geographical places use other English words for the same concept. Expand your vocabulary! Tap is not that difficult, and I think it is widely used in American English, "I'll have some tap water, please". Given you are on a HK forum, I would have thought you should have developed a sense of world Englishes and expanded vocabulary... If you made that same kind of comment about lift/elevator to a British person, my gosh they would slay you then and there...

For the OP, I really can't say if the LL is in the right or not, and to some extend it just depends on how you want to maintain your relationship with the LL. For your info, we recently had water leaking under our sink, and our LL arranged a plumber. Once to tighten the faucet and the second time the plumber claimed a new faucet was needed. The LL bought it, and yes, it was expensive like $1000+. (Turned out to be the wrong fitting, and there was a loud Cantonese argument between the LL and plumber... ) We weren't asked to pay anything in all this.

I know what a tap is but I have always used the term faucet with plumbers and thats what they use when they bid. You can be ashamed. I'm not. The world revolves around the US and more so China, not the UK by any measure. I made the distinction clear in my respose to the OP and for clarity I prefer my own operating language which is American English.

[Elegiaque]

I know what a tap is but I have always used the term faucet with plumbers and thats what they use when they bid. You can be ashamed. I'm not. The world revolves around the US and more so China, not the UK by any measure. I made the distinction clear in my respose to the OP and for clarity I prefer my own operating language which is American English.

Go on, make life difficult for the rest of us.

It doesn't matter if the world revolves around any particular political or geographical area (which it doesn't). It is about cultural acceptance and differences which you are blatantly and arrogantly ignoring. It's fine to verify if the understanding is the same, and it's fine to have different words. It's not fine to imply "my choice is better because it's AMERICAN -- let's use this word". Gah, even at a lunch yesterday others were saying how they hate how Americans think their way is best and they need to "bring" it to the rest of the world...

[RMDNC]

Go on, make life difficult for the rest of us.

It doesn't matter if the world revolves around any particular political or geographical area (which it doesn't). It is about cultural acceptance and differences which you are blatantly and arrogantly ignoring. It's fine to verify if the understanding is the same, and it's fine to have different words. It's not fine to imply "my choice is better because it's AMERICAN -- let's use this word". Gah, even at a lunch yesterday others were saying how they hate how Americans think their way is best and they need to "bring" it to the rest of the world...

I mainly used faucet for clarification so I could respond with accuracy not to champion one language over another. I think you are bored on a Friday and choose to pick a fight on something so trivial. BTW anecdotal but most HK parents these days prefer their kids learn American English.