Landlords - WIBU to request this?

[StickEmWithThePointyEnd]

We have rented this house for two years now. No plans to move, the landlords are family friends of MIL. We are good tenants, never missed a rent payment, look after the house and garden and we fix any minor problems as they appear. All of our appliances in this house are our own aside from the oven and hob.

The oven is a built in piece of crap which is impossible to clean as the dirt is so stubborn even oven pride won't shift it. It doesn't cook evenly, which seems to be getting worse, and I hate it so much. It was not a new oven when we moved in and the dirt/staining wasn't caused by us.

I have a brand new freestanding electric cooker in the garage which was brought with us from our previous house but hasn't been used for two years because there is no room for it as the oven is built in.

Would I be unreasonable to ask the landlord to remove the built in oven and hob and adjust/amend/take a saw to the worktop so that we can use our own cooker instead?

Would the price of the adjustments to the worktops be cheaper than replacing the built in oven with a new built in one? Bearing in mind that if they do agree then they no longer have any for fixing the cooker should anything go wrong as it would be our own appliance and so our responsibility. The landlord is quite handy so he would probably do the work himself anyway.

[HindsightisaMarvellousThing]

How old is the worktop and is it tatty?

As a landlord I wouldn't be keen on removing a built in item and having a freestanding one there. Freestanding ones attract dirt and mess down the sides (at least in my house they do) and if you moved he'd be left with a gap to fill.

[StickEmWithThePointyEnd]

Yes that's the issue, I think the worktops are reasonably new whereas the oven definitely isn't. I suppose there is no harm in asking but I won't get my hopes up, except to hope the built in oven gives up the ghost completely sometime soon!

[Hazelbrowneyes]

I wouldn't want to do that but if you are good tenants, and it sounds like you are, then I would replace the oven.

[Cosmosim]

I think asking to replace the built in oven would be much cheaper. I do think a qualified electrician to install it is better for a landlord though.

[lalalonglegs]

I'd ask for a new built-in oven which would be more cost effective for the LL than rejigging the kitchen. We bought a nearly new one on eBay a couple of months ago for just over £60.

[lalalonglegs]

Cross post - yes, most modern ones need to be wired in which needs an electrician.

[BrienneOfTarth]

I don't think a landlord should be expected to cut up a worktop to make a space for a tenants own oven. Could you afford a new oven of the right dimensions for the built-in one? I don't think it's reasonable to ask him to buy one unless the old one breaks beyond repair.

As you have a good relationship with your landlord and have no immediate plans to move, I would suggest the following for the landlord's approval:

a) you will buy a new oven at your own cost (probably about £300), which will be your own property and therefore you have all responsibility for its maintenance - and will dispose of his old oven HOWEVER:
b) as and when you move out of the house, which you do not anticipate being any time soon, you will sell the oven to him at an appropriate price for its age and condition, namely - if within 12 months (e.g. if unforseen circumstances force an unexpected move) - 75% of purchase cost. 12-24 months - 50% of purchase cost. 24-36 months - 25% of purchase cost. 36 months+ £50.

[MrsTaraPlumbing]

I really think there is no harm in asking for anything so long as you ask nicely!
As good tenant - and explain your reasons.
Landlord very greatly in their attitudes.

BTW in my own home we have paid a professional oven cleaning service - they charge about £50-£60.
They take it all apart and clean it with amaing chemicals and when finished it looks like new.
As a last resort you could google oven cleaning professionals in your area.

[specialsubject]

the main issue is that your oven doesn't work properly. The landlord needs to know that.

I would agree that it would probably be better for him to fix or replace the current oven with another built in one. Less damage to the kitchen, no cost to you, he keeps the oven.