Who is liable for the contents of the fridge

[Cocolisboa]

The person is in Scotland so I am assuming Scots Law must apply but not sure when it comes to housing.

He lives in a rented flat (private landlord agency). They supply the white goods and various other furnishings throughout the house. As per guidelines they have electricians etc up to test the appliances every year.

Last night the frudge/freezer stopped working completely. All the contents are ruined. Including his life saving injections.

The fridge/freezer has a stamp on the back of it under the serial number with the date of 2004 on it.

Who is liable for this?

[R0b]

On the face of it, I would say he is liable for his own contents.

White goods are not expected to last forever so it is inevitable that they will eventually die out. If the landlord has tested the appliances in accordance with their legal obligations, I can't see how the landlord can be held liable.

My thoughts are:

1. Why didn't the tenant take out insurance which covers fridge contents?
2. If the tenant knew he had to store life saving injections, did he make the landlord aware or did he enquire about the state of the fridge and its age?
3. Could the tenant not have purchased his own fridge for peace of mind that it was in a new condition?

Pending any specific Scottish law, the chances of holding the landlord responsible is probably too remote. It is the tenant's responsibility to look after their contents and belongs and to ensure they are adequately insured, that's not the landlord's job.

[MIKE770]

hence the need for contents insurance for tenant to purchase to cover personal goods/belongings (Cheap enough), landlord has building cover, as above cannot see a case here as all reasonable steps have been made with annual inspection for fridge etc.

[Cocolisboa]

Thank you for clarifying this. Much appreciated.