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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To not let my new tenants come over AGAIN before they move in?

32 replies

AbyCat · 28/03/2013 16:15

I'm really not sure if IABU on this one. We've agreed to let our old house out to tenants, who have messed us around a bit. They wanted to move in within a month which would have been round about now, but then asked to put it off til the start of May, and we agreed as they seemed nice decent people who want to stay for a long time. In the meantime, we've put ourselves out to move out in a hurry for the end of March deadline (needlessly) and have bent over backwards to accommodate them (like providing new washing machine/dryer, leaving some furniture that they liked the look of, including our garage in the deal, plus losing a months rent too due to their delay). Fair enough.

They've been round twice to measure up so far & now want to come in again this weekend to measure up again & show their family the place.
I've actually got contractors(friends) staying in the place anyway who are doing the decorating etc. for me, and it all looks a bit of a mess for starters so I'm a bit embarrassed about that, you know what blokes are like when camping out in an empty place, its probably full of dirty socks & pizza boxes! So, WIBU to say no, you can't come over again, wait another few weeks? Or am I going to serious piss them off & set a bad tone for our tenancy agreement in the future?

OP posts:
MousyMouse · 28/03/2013 16:17

yanbu

WillYouDoTheBunnyHop · 28/03/2013 16:22

YANBU, tell them that you have contractors in and it would be more convenient after x date.

expatinscotland · 28/03/2013 16:30

YANBU

whois · 28/03/2013 17:13

YANBU

Tell them they can measure up when they get the keys.

Original poster
AbyCat · 28/03/2013 17:14

Phew, thanks. The agent is making it sound like I'm being a right caaahh for not letting them in again this weekend when they have family over who want to see the place. I'm tempted to say, pay me the months rent now & you can have the keys now as originally agreed so you can measure up to your hearts content!

OP posts:
eggsandwich · 28/03/2013 18:59

I agree with you abycat, tell them to give the months rent as originally agreed, you have done more than enough to accomodate then, I assume you still have a mortgage on the property, so them moving in later than agreed means you still have to find the payment to cover your mortgage. If they still continue to mess you about I'd find another tenant, makes you wonder what they will be like as tenants. Sorry to sound hard but had my fingers burnt by some tenants before.

AnyoneforTurps · 28/03/2013 19:51

YANBU

zwischenzug · 28/03/2013 20:10

This all sounds a bit unprofessional to be honest.

If they've already signed the agreement, I would say you should let them come round in order to maintain a good relationship with them.

If you've not yet signed the agreement, YANBU, but it would be perfectly reasonable of them to walk away from the tenancy in this case due to your refusal to cooperate.

Costypop · 28/03/2013 20:17

They are renting not buying. Stuck to your guns, there are lots of tenants out there that will be good and won't mess you around. As for back dating the move in date I would of asked for half the rent. It's a business at the end of the day

zwischenzug · 28/03/2013 20:20

They are renting not buying.

Seriously? Cos it's not like tenants should have the same expectations of having somewhere nice to live or anything Confused

InLoveWithDavidTennant · 28/03/2013 20:25

do people actually do this?

dh and i have been renting for the past 7 years. we're in our 5th house so far. when looking for a house, we go and view, pick the one we like, wait to be accepted, then choose a moving in day. we have never gone back for a second viewing... or meassured to see if our stuff fits.

i didnt think you could Blush

DontmindifIdo · 28/03/2013 20:32

seriously? YANBU - tell them it's not possible, get the agent to tell them you have people at the house, you don't have to say if they are guests or contractors, it's not actually any of their business right now.

If you were already renting this out and they were going to be moving in to a property that's currently tenanted, they'd not be able to go round to measure up at all before moving in. It would be unreasonable for you as the landlord to expect paying tenants to put up with the next tenants popping round to show it to family, measure up etc over a bank holiday weekend, so it's not a normal thing for tenants to be allowed to do or letting agents to arrange. A second viewing on a rental would be odd IME.

If you've not signed a contract, tell the letting agent to get it back advertised - this doesn't bode well for them being low mainentance tenants.

SoupDreggon · 28/03/2013 20:36

it would be perfectly reasonable of them to walk away from the tenancy in this case due to your refusal to cooperate

Lol. Yes, they've refused to cooperate by moving out early, leaving furniture, including the garage and accommodating their month's delay.

zwischenzug · 28/03/2013 20:43

I'm pretty staggered that a landlord would attempt to rent out a property and not include the garage as part of it... why not exclude the bathroom too?

There's a lot wrong with the attitude towards tenants in this country, they should be able to expect more, leaving a bit of furniture (probably a bad idea btw) and putting the start date back a few weeks is hardly asking the earth. Reading InLoveWithDavidTennants post says a lot about the shitty end of the stick tenants get and the sad fact that so many of them are just resigned to it.

KLou111 · 28/03/2013 20:53

Firstly, they are renting it, not the family. The family can see it when they are renting it!!
Secondly, if they want to see it again to measure, and you can't put them off totally, I would put them off until the work is done because no doubt they'll want to see it again otherwise!
You do want to 'maintain a good relationship' but I do think 3 viewings is a bit much. Like someone said, they are not buying it. 2 viewings is more than reasonable tbh.
It's Easter this weekend too, surely they'd should respect you might be busy and want some family time.

morethanpotatoprints · 28/03/2013 20:57

I would say its Easter, I have plans and I'm very sorry etc. They think you are being reasonable then.
Not that I think you are btw.

morethanpotatoprints · 28/03/2013 20:58

being unreasonable, that is. Arghhh too much vino already

SoupDreggon · 28/03/2013 21:01

I'm pretty staggered that a landlord would attempt to rent out a property and not include the garage as part of it... why not exclude the bathroom too?

Presumably because a bathroom is an integral part of the house and a garage isn't.

zwischenzug · 28/03/2013 21:08

Ok I accept that was a bit of an extreme example. The back garden then, nobody really needs one, why not cordon it off and use it for your own purposes, don't want any pesky tenants trampling the nice grass..

I would really question the mindset of a landlord who decides arbitrary bits of a property are off limits when renting it out, smacks of a lack of respect for the tenant. Certainly wouldn't rent off any landlord who thought that sort of bizarre behaviour was appropriate (not that I'd have to, thankfully I'm out of the shitty private rental game now).

Kiriwawa · 28/03/2013 21:13

It doesn't sound like the garage is actually on the property.

I think YANBU - you've been very accommodating

DontmindifIdo · 28/03/2013 21:22

Zwischenzug - you will find whole buildings rented out in parts of London that have been subdivided up in a way that some of the flats (or only one) will have access to the garden and not the others. Perfectly normal.

The garage is also normal to be left out. Because if it's not an integrated one, then they can often be rented just as a garage separately. People do rent garages, just a garage. It's not so normal where I live now because most houses have a garage, but where I lived in London, most older properties didn't have them, so where there were rows of garages, people who owned their own homes would rent just a garage.

OP - it does to me sound like you have been far more accomodating than others would be. Until they actually rent it, you have a right to use the property - it's easter weekend, and while you have moved out, there's no reason for them to presume you couldn't make use of the house.

MidniteScribbler · 28/03/2013 22:56

Seriously? Cos it's not like tenants should have the same expectations of having somewhere nice to live or anything

Once you sign a contract on a house, you don't get to just visit whenever you feel like before settlement. Sure, you can ask, but the owner is under no obligation to agree. This is not an owner vs tenant debate.

teacherandguideleader · 28/03/2013 23:44

I have rented several properties. On two, I went for the first viewing, decided I wanted it, signed the agreement and then didn't see the inside again until I moved in.

For the final property I rented, I did ask to go for a second viewing. Sadly, despite horrendous rent, my previous property had been riddled with damp and everything (all furniture and soft furnishings) had to be scrapped. I had nothing to move into my new house and asked if I could go around to measure up a couple of weeks before I moved in so I could order my furniture and curtains etc so they would be delivered on moving in day.

For my landlord, it was no issue - the house was empty and the agent was a 2 minute walk away - I popped in to get the key and returned it half an hour later. I had signed my agreement by then (the agents also knew me as I rented my first flat off of them).

If they had said no to my second viewing I would have understood but it helped me out massively. I wouldn't have dreamed of asking to look again (I did realise I had forgotten to measure one of the windows but I was too embarrassed to ask for the keys again!).

Whoknowswhocares · 29/03/2013 00:01

I think it would be a good idea to refuse tbh. You have bent over backwards and they still keep asking for more.
Fair enough, you want a good relationship with them. But that is achieved by mutual respect and boundaries. It sounds like they need a line drawn in the sand to me. If every request is always met with a 'yes', they might just keep asking for more, not just now but throughout the tenancy.

SoupDreggon · 29/03/2013 07:10

smacks of a lack of respect for the tenant

Respect works both ways.