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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To say no to landlord

62 replies

lustybusty · 15/04/2013 21:01

Ok, my first AIBU, so please be mildly gentle...
Myself and a colleugue (27&22) are sharing a house. We had a 6 monthly inspection by LL (first inspection) a month ago, and they raised a couple of issues. Fair enough. One of them was that the grass in the back garden is looking "long and unkempt". The longest bit of grass is about 4 inches. However, I do agree it needs cutting, but we haven't had a dry spell long enough for us to get the mower out.
My friend should finish her PhD this week (eek!!) and is c

OP posts:
SassyPants · 16/04/2013 05:51

How dare you celebrate your friend's accomplishment! Glass of water, crust of bread and then off to bed! Hmm

I reckon you either suck it up and let him come on Saturday or do it yourself ASAP.

Tee2072 · 16/04/2013 06:19

Do what I do: pay a young strapping man £15 to come do it at a time that's convenient to you.

Longdistance · 16/04/2013 06:27

Envy wishes my LL would cut my grass!

rainbowslollipops · 16/04/2013 06:38

Wish my landlord would fix my fence. Oh while he's at it and my drafty back door. Yabu. Count yourself lucky!

pumpkinsweetie · 16/04/2013 06:38

Someone else is cutting the grass for you, let them do it as it will save you the job Envy
I have nagged my dh for weeks about doing the lawn, I'm still waiting and although terrible at gardening it looks as though the job is up to me pffftt

ZillionChocolate · 16/04/2013 07:15

Does LL need access through the house to get to the garden? If not, I'd reply and say great, thanks, we have plans for the weekend so won't be home to meet you but we'll leave the gate open.

Unless you're turning the garden into a jungle that can't be restored, I think the length of the grass is up to you.

MardyBra · 16/04/2013 07:22

In the time you're spending debating this on AIBU, you could have just gone out and cut it yourself. YABU.

ClaireDeTamble · 16/04/2013 07:29

Really Mardy? Do you often cut your grass at 10pm at night?

I bet your neighbours love you Wink

Tee2072 · 16/04/2013 07:41

Not if it's soaking wet, Mardy!

Although my young, strapping lawn guy cuts in all sorts of weather. He says it doesn't matter if it's a petrol mower and your grass is otherwise healthy.

YoniMakesTheWorldGoAround · 16/04/2013 08:58

If you were my tenant and told me that it wasn't a convenient time, I would rearrange but add a little note to my mental file that you were (a) not adhering to the terms of your contract by keeping the garden in good order
(b) inflexible about helping me to help you and
(c) a little pendantic if you trotted out the "quiet enjoyment" line.

I'm assuming he doesn't have to rent to you, he could rent to another tenant. I would be gracious, let him through the house and bank some brownie points for when you need some good will from him.

ophelia275 · 16/04/2013 09:04

Yoni, how is the landlord doing them a favour? He wants the grass cut, not the OP. Surely the OP is entitled to quiet enjoyment in her own home. The landlord should come when it is suitable for his paying tenant, not when it is only suitable for himself.

expatinscotland · 16/04/2013 09:07

Why did you take a house with a garden if you don't have time to maintain it? YABU.

YoniMakesTheWorldGoAround · 16/04/2013 09:10

Ophelia, the tenant has presumably agreed through the contract to keep the garden in good order.

The landlord feels that it is not in good order. The tenant (see OP) agrees with the landlord that the grass needs cutting.

The landlord has offered to cut the grass as a favour to the tenant. It is not his responsibility.

The landlord does not know (yet) that the tenant has planned to have a hangover on Saturday so does not know the time is not suitable, so that point is moot.

ophelia275 · 16/04/2013 09:11

But the landlord is almost certainly not helping the OP out of the goodness of his heart. He is most likely either concerned about his property looking dishevelled, certainly the tenant has not requested it. What would be interesting to find out from the OP is whether the landlord is as quick to address problems raised by the tenant.

In my experience landlords are rarely quick to repair things when the tenant needs them repaired but are quick to repair things when it means the landlord or his property will suffer in any (economic) way.

cantspel · 16/04/2013 09:14

With a petrol mower it doesn't matter if the grass is a bit wet so better to let the ll do it then use a cheap electric mower from b&q.
Just get up let him into the garden and go back to bed if you are that hungover. It will take 5 minutes and save you a job that would take a lot longer.
If garden grass is kept long and unkept it not only looks a mess but can a safe harbor for common garden pests like mice and rats.

YoniMakesTheWorldGoAround · 16/04/2013 09:15

But the landlord is almost certainly not helping the OP out of the goodness of his heart. He is most likely either concerned about his property looking dishevelled.

Almost certainly? Really? Care to place a bet? You can speculate but you can't know. Maybe it is both :)

Willow36 · 16/04/2013 09:16

You've had a shit experience of LLs then ophelia.

cantspel · 16/04/2013 09:19

ophelia want is unreasonable about the ll wanting his property kept in a state of good repair? or would you rather a ll who didn't care if his tenants were living with rats and mice?

Icanhasnickname · 16/04/2013 12:07

Maybe on account of your being two young ladies, he's trying to help more than if you had a man about? Maybe he's a bit old fashioned and thinks you need help!

flaminghoopsaloohlah · 16/04/2013 12:13

It's better than him not being interested in anything but the rent...

Could you just say to him that you don't want to inconvenience him and that the only reason you haven't cut it is because it's been wet and didn't want to ruin the lawn and you will cut it as soon as the weather allows?

loveisagirlnameddaisy · 16/04/2013 12:21

Yoni the contract doesn't compel the tenant to do anything with the garden during the term of the contract. The only requirement is that it is given back in the same or reasonable condition at the end of the tenancy.

The tenant also has the right to enjoy the property peacefully and this would seem like the actions of an over zealous landlord. Is he going to cut the grass weekly during the summer because that's how quickly it will regrow?

Original poster
lustybusty · 16/04/2013 12:31

Hiya all! Some interesting comments raised, we do have a mower, but every time I've gone to mow the lawn since it needed doing, the grass has been too wet. squelchy in fact now, I may be wrong here, but I thought trying to mow a lawn when it's wet can and often does pull the grass up by its roots? LL is pretty good, generally speaking with issues, he's more concerned about a blown lightbulb than us!
expat can I just say, it's not that I don't have time to maintain the garden per se, but I do work 0800-1700 mon-fri...and the weather recently has been... Moist. Now, I am willing to accept that IABU, as that appears to be the resounding consensus, and I will prob just let him in Sat and hope he's not in a sociable mood...
For those who have said about me not being willing to help him help me, any other weekend it wouldn't be an issue, in fact I'd be delighted for him to come over (prob offering coffee and bacon butties too!) it's just this particular weekend.... How would people feel if I asked to rearrange for 1 week later? Still put out that I was being difficult?

OP posts:
SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 16/04/2013 12:34

What if you told him that you think the lawn is still too boggy to be mown this weekend, and you will do it as soon as it dries out enough that mowing it won't destroy it entirely? If I were a landlord, I would not think that was unreasonable.

ThoseWomenWereInTheNip · 16/04/2013 12:52

Just borrow a mower and do it. Its part of the agreement. I guarantee that if he comes round to mow it you'll be billed for it when you move out. You wait and see. I have personal experience of this. Once a fortnight go around the house and make sure everything is as it should be. Its amazing what constitutes (or rather doesn't) normal wear and tear these days. Have a small tin of gloss to hand. If the white goods aren't yours remember to wipe the seals of the washers and keep them clean. Keep on top of the oven and wipe up spills etc. keep pathways free of junk and tidy.

SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 16/04/2013 13:16

But if the lawn is too wet, she will cause more damage by mowing it now, ThoseWomen - and the landlord could bill her for that - so she is damned if she does, and damned if she doesn't, imo.

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