To insist landlord removes the pond?

[BumpPower]

We have rented for 4years, landlords are not career landlords and just want to spend as little as possible. Property is managed by local estate agent. It has tiny garden with concrete pond 6ft by 2ft which takes up about 40% of it. The day we moved in all the electrics were ripped out from the pond (no doubt because they were unsafe). The fish struggled on for a year but soon all died and are left with a large smelly empty pond. I emptied it and filled it with pots but as it is concrete base it soon filled up with water again. I complained a lot to the letting agent but they are rubbish and all we managed was to get the fish taken off the inventory. I gave up as all we used the garden for was hanging washing. Now however I have DS2yr (and DD4month) and we want to use the garden safely. The pond is super dangerous as it is really deep over 4ft in places and irresistable to a toddler. On our last annual inspection I pointed it out and asked if I could crack the bottom and so drain it and then fill it in. Agent agreed it was very dangerous and said they would get the landlord to sort it, advising me against doing it myself as anything I did would have to be made good when we leave. That was in Feburary. After many emails and visits into the letting agents I'm told someone came for a quote beginning of June. Its now July and the letting agent are once again not answering my emails. Am I unreasonable to insist the landlord makes it safe? We did rent it knowing about the pond (although we thought it would have a working pump) but have subsequently had kids and want to use the garden.

[icedgem85]

Have you directly told the landlord it's unsafe as it is? The letting agent knows there was a pond on the inventory so all they care about is that there's sill a pond when you move out. You took on the property with a pond in the middle of a tiny garden, which renders it useless to you. Legally, you probably don't have any legs to stand on. And they may just put a net over the hole and say it's now safe. I'd be thinking about moving. Or plead to the landlord on a human level.

[Petitmum]

ZOMBIE.............this thread is years old!!!

[dontdisturbmenow]

It's doubtful that the ll actively wants a pond
The OP was happy to rent the property with it, why wouldn't other tenants?

[dontdisturbmenow]

What does your contract says about maintenance of the garden?

You are of course unreasonable. You chose this property when you didn't have children. Now, because of your lifestyle choice, you expect your LL to pay a lot of money towards something that is not a maintenance matter, when you could then be gone tomorrow and the feature would attract some letters.

If I was your LL, I'd cover it with a secured mesh but certainly would not respond to your demands to take it out all together.

[Maelstrop]

Having removed the pond and filled it in when I rented out a house (as the ll), I think the ll is being unreasonable, actually. It's doubtful that the ll actively wants a pond. For the sake of longterm tenants, I'd be straight up removing the rim, making it safe, cracking the base and filling it in. Regardless of there being a pond at the time of viewing/renting, the ll has a duty of care to his tenants. I'm fairly convinced ll could be sued should anything happen to a child because of the pond.

[glasgowdan]

I know this is an old post - but all this pond requires is 1ton of sand at £30. And the base needs two minutes with an sds bit.

[1frenchfoodie]

How about filling with soil and planting up as a bog garden (nicer than it sounds - just plants that like damp conditions).

Though I like the sandpit idea I think it will be too wet (and, if your neighbourhood is like mine, attract cats).

[DavidDecorator]

They're all quite right you rented a house with a pond and when you can to view the property it was maintained with a pump and filtration system to keep the water clean. They removed that and you now have a pool of stagnant water which is not maintained or kept clean and is a health hazard children or not. If the pond appears on your inventory and there re photographs of it in working order then that is what you agreed to pay for.
The landlord in that case is liable to either replace the system thus keeping it in a fit and useable state of repair or removing it all together.
Don't crack the bottom point this out. If it says on your tenancy that you are responsible for the maintenance of the pond then they have to make that possible for you by reinstating the pump or filtration system that they removed as it is not a reasonable cost to be borne by you the tenant.
Once all that has been done put a nice white picket fence around it.
Hope this helps.

[BurningBridges]

Test of reasonableness - if it was still lovely and working etc., you'd be stuck to be honest. But a pond like that with no filter etc is just a stinking mess so in court, a judge would be more likely to think it was reasonable to fill it in.

[HeadDreamer]

^Ask them to bring it back to what it was when you signed the lease (i.e. repair the crack, repair electrics and pump, restock with fish, etc.)

They will probably decide pretty quickly that they'd rather fill it in.^

I think this might be the approach too. Because I doubt very much he'll want to restore the pond!

[HeadDreamer]

YABU about the pond. He doesn't have to actually remove it because you have children. You have rented the place with the pond. For what it's worth, I've bought a house with a large pond and I have a 5 and 1 year old. A neighbour has just moved in and they have a YR child too and they have a pond. It costs a lot of money to actually remove the pond properly!

However, what you have isn't a pond. It's a smelley stagnant water pit. I don't think your landlord is interested tbh. I wonder what is his plan because surely if you move out, he won't be able to rent the place out with a large hole in the back garden?

[KoalaDownUnder]

I think user is correct.

Ask them to bring it back to what it was when you signed the lease (i.e. repair the crack, repair electrics and pump, restock with fish, etc.)

They will probably decide pretty quickly that they'd rather fill it in.

[Snowflakes1122]

I'd fill it with soil and plant flowers in it.
I did think sand pit too, but would be a cats toilet in no time.

[Mrscog]

Actually, you're right inertia - and it would require a large volume of sand to fill reasonably - probably £150 worth!

[Cheerybigbottom]

We had the same problem, huge part of the garden was a pond. Our LL was a new parent as well and without fuss got the pond professionally covered. It's now a raised wooden/weatherproof surface in the garden my son loves to play marbles on.

Sure I'd rather it was proper useable garden, but it's safe, and without cost to us.

[Inertia]

I'm not convinced that a 4ft deep sandpit in a poorly mantained hole would be enormously safe either, to be honest.

[gallicgirl]

To be honest, what tenant would want a pond in their garden?
Either dangerous or a load of maintenance needed. I think you'd be doing the landlord a favour filling it in!

[Mrscog]

A water pump is only around £40 - for peace of mind I'd buy a pump from somewhere like screw fix and just keep on top of emptying it yourself.

It does sound like it would make a great sandpit though - although you'd need a good cover to stop too much rain getting in.

[user1467101855]

Sorry yabu - you rented the house knowing their was a pond. If you no longer want to live with a pond in the garden then you need to move

There is no longer a pond though, there is merely a large and dangerous hole in the garden, which is not at all the same thing. The landlord has a legal duty to maintain the property to a safe standard. So his choice is to reinstate the pond fully, with a working pump etc, or to fill it in/remove it.

[2nds]

You might not even need decking around the top of it.

[2nds]

I'd ask the agency if I could go ahead and drain the fucker and fill it up with something and agree to make it back into a pond again when I am leaving.

Could you put a bit of decking around the top of it and put seats in it so you'd have a nice area to sit, with a little table and maybe an outdoor fire or some plants?



There are endless possibilities

[trafalgargal]

Your needs have changed. You rented a home with a pond if you no longer want to live in a home with a pond and the landlord wants to keep it then your best option is to move.

[Rainbunny]

I don't think you can insist really. You rented the property in full knowledge that the pond was an existing feature of the property, albeit crappy sounding and in poor repair. I think you'd have better luck pushing for the landlord to repair the pond to a decent working condition than get rid of it IYKWIM. If you rented a house with a swimming pool would you feel justified in demanding the landlord drain and fill the pool because you had children? It may seem very different but the essential principle is the same.

I think offering to help do whatever is needed to be done on behalf of the landlord would be the easiest option -with the landlord's full permission of course as you'd be liable for property damage without (preferably) written permission.

[rosiecam]

I'd have thought if you say (in writing) that the former pond is currently unsafe, and suggest filling in the pond yourselves, bearing the cost, if they will agree to let you leave it that way when you move out, they would most likely go for that, since it sounds like it would be an improvement to the property which otherwise they would have to pay for before anyone else moves in. Would you be willing to do that?

Alternatively you could get the CAB involved and check your rights to see if you can keep insisting that they have the work done and pay for it.