To ask if our tenants' request is reasonable?

[TrickyD]

Tenants have just moved in to our two bed terrace house which was let as furnished. They have requested, via the agent, that we remove the bed from the second bedroom as they have a 6 month old child; they want the room as a nursery, and apparently " their furniture will be arriving soon".
We live 90 miles away, so bringing the bed here, storing it and probably taking it back for the next tenant is a pain.
The bed was there when they viewed. Would it be reasonable to ask them to deal with it themselves and replace it at the end of the tenancy, or should we just suck it up and drive over and fetch it? DH prefers the latter "to keep them sweet".

[Charley50]

Well I hope they have somewhere free to store it, and don't have to fork out more for storage for the 'good rent' that their new home has attracted for you.
It's their home, and you are begrudging them wanting a bed removed. What bed is it? When you see them tomorrow I would check that they actually have somewhere free they can store it, and if not, arrange to store it at yours.

[DaisyDando]

I think they are being perfectly reasonable and as a tenant I would ask for this. I am an excellent tenant btw!

[Justaboy]

If it were me with one of our tenants I'd just day get rid of the bed and we want to £xxx compensation for it.

They put it on a local sales site and get their bit and add it onto what you reckon it is.

What's wrong with that then?.

[Oatsinajar]

I agree with poshpenny. They should have made that request before they took the tenancy.

[Isitjustmeorisiteveryoneelse]

Sorry if someone already said this, but there definitely used to be a difference in rights/protections for the landlord between an unfurnished/furnished let. Something to do with if it's furnished, that's your possessions in there, so you have more rights. Not sure if the law has changed on that but friend of mine had a massive problem with a non paying tenant about fifteen years ago. He couldn't evict them for months but was told if he'd let it furnished i/o unfurnished it would have been sorted much quicker. Not suggesting these tenants are trying it on obvs but definitely best to say they can dismantle and store it if it's not being used and that way maintain the 'furnished' aspect of the let.

[MustBeThursday]

It's reasonable for them to enquire if removing the bed is a possibility, but as they will have signed an inventory of the furniture when they started the tenancy my understanding is that it's their responsibility to store the bed (and protect from damage) if they don't want it in the second bedroom. They should have negotiated its removal before they signed the agreement.

When we were in a furnished property we had to use our storage space there to store a random phone table/chair and the curtains we didn't want to use because the property was let to us with those things included. If you're happy for them to dismantle it's perfectly reasonable to ask them to store it in the property, especially as you've mentioned that there is storage space.

[honeylulu]

Their problem to deal with moving/storing/replacing it.
A girl I used to work with turned her nose up at the bed included in her furnished flat, took it to the tip and bought a posh new one. Then had a strop at the end of the tenancy when she was told she had couldn't take it with her unless she left a suitable replacement.
Er, yup!

[Charley50]

Honey lulu maybe she turned her nose up at it because it had an old mattress or one of those ones where you can feel every spring.

[Livelovebehappy]

Doesn't seem such a big deal TBH. Obviously when you approved them as tenants you would have seen they had a baby and at that point I would have assumed that one of the bedrooms would be used as a baby room. It's not a frivolous request, i.e. that they don't like it, or want more room, but is a practical request for the baby to have appropriate bed/cot to sleep in.

[MustBeThursday]

Charley50 It wouldn't really matter why she turned her nose up. As a tenant in a furnished property you sign an agreement that the furniture will either still be there in reasonable condition or a suitable replacement will have been left. If furniture in the inventory is unusable (like springs poking through the mattress etc) the landlord/letting agent should be contacted to arrange replacement. If a tenant just wants to replace furniture out of preference then they either store the original one and put it back when they leave, or they leave a new one behind.

[Pemba]

I was interested that on page one, appalachian said 'it's almost impossible to get unfurnished lets'. I have found just the opposite, probably less than 10% are furnished, and I prefer unfurnished myself as obviously I have all my own stuff by now. I like to choose my own furniture and not have to worry about taking care of the landlord's sofa etc. Although when DD and boyfriend got their first place they had just left uni and it made sense for them to find a furnished place for their first home together. We are all in the Midlands, I wonder where you are appalachian?

I thought a reason more and more places were let unfurnished was because there used to be a tax break or something for landlords connected to replacing furniture, but now that has recently been taken away, so there is little benefit to them in renting furnished?

Oh I think your tenants' request was perfectly reasonable OP, because otherwise how are they going to fit the cot in etc? It's not like they just disapproved your taste in sofas or something. I do think you could have helped them out a bit, I'm sure a bed (single?) wasn't worth that much. Just make it clear that you won't be removing all the furniture to suit them. Anyway it's possible they did request the bed to be removed when they viewed it, and the agent didn't pass this on, as it seems they are poor at communication (like most letting agents in my experience!)

[Baylisiana]

Technically you don't have to remove it, though it would have been nice. Technically they don't have to let you in at such short notice, though it would be nice. It seems a bit of an imbalance at this point but if they are happy with the arrangement to dismantle it then it sounds like it has resolved itself. I am a bit surprised the agent said that without checking with you though. On top of the notice thing, the agent is sounding a bit rubbish!

[differentnameforthis]

We could suggest they store it there, with the proviso suggested by Spot that it should be replaced if not suitably wrapped up, by which I mean the mattress, the frame should be OK. Seriously? You want to ask them to store it in a cellar you know to be damp, with the potential to ruin the mattress, but then expect them replace it when if it gets ruined?

That's taking the piss op!

If you want it stored there, YOU go and wrap it, and suss out the storage area to see if it is likely to cause an issue or not. But the burden on them to replace it when they have no control over the storage area is a bit much.

[Joinourclub]

Sounds like s reasonable request to me. They needed a furnished place, but how many furnished places come With a cot? Seems quite understandable that they would take a fully furnished place and then buy their own cot. What's their other option, buy non furnished and then buy ALL new furniture? They are asking now because they know you are visiting and they hope it might be convenient for you to remove the bed at the same time. If you can accommodate their request then say yes. If you are going to be there anyway can you package and store it in the cellar?

[donajimena]

Sorry but I think if you go and view a property that is furnished you have to use your loaf and decide if it meets your needs BEFORE you take the tenancy.
I rented a three bed bed property and the only room that the cot bed fitted into was the master bedroom so I took the smaller bedroom. It didn't even cross my mind to ask the landlord to remove the bed in the smaller room because it was there when I viewed it.
In my current house there was a hideous sideboard in situ when I viewed it. I asked BEFORE I moved in if it could go. Which it did

[opinionatedfreak]

Removing furniture at the beginning of a tenancy is quite common. I would consider removing the bed - you have a vested interest in keeping it undamaged. They don't.

Be aware of your agent. I rented with a poor agent - it was miserable and it cost out LL loads as the work they organized was all substandard.
Gloopy messes of wood filler on window frames, knocking out (and not replacing without prompting ) the backs of kitchen cupboards when sorting out a plumbing leak, a bathroom light switch that persistently detached from the ceiling.

They also gave out key out to tradesmen without permission resulting in my flatmate waking up to find a strange man in her bedroom (she was on nightshift).

It was a premium property but every appliance that broke was replaced with the cheapest thing from Argos eg 14 year old Neff dishwasher replaced with a cheap one, wrong size of Fridge freezer put into the gap in the kitchen. Meaning that in the two years we were there it lurched downhill in appearance and rental appeal (and when you are paying >2k a month for a 2bed you expect reasonable appliances).

Oh and rental agency specifically paid for Saturday delivery to make waiting in for the appliances our problem (they were closed on saturday) without asking us if this was ok.

Then they tried to withhold our deposit.

[RainbowDashian]

I have rented two furnished houses with a baby/toddler. Both times prior to moving in the Landlord/letting agent asked us if we wanted the bed removed out of the room they'd be sleeping in. Both times I said yes.

If you aren't willing to take the bed out, you shouldn't have agreed to have a family with a baby/toddler in.

[Velvian]

If an agent showed them the property; they could have requested that the bed was removed before they accepted the tenancy. The agent may have indicated it would probably be fine and then not told you in the hope the remnants would remove it without formally requesting to do so & then it would not be their problem -I say this having rented properties managed by agents in the past.

[Velvian]

tenants

[itsmeyouknow]

I would check the tenant didn't have the conversation with the agent earlier who is only passing the request onto you now. Like others I'd say you're renting a home to people you hope will stay for the long term so you'd expect a bit of come and go. Also people who care about the furniture and space are more likely to look after your home. I'm with your husband on this one. Any other requests that come later are v different and you don't need to agree just because you did this one.

[Karoleann]

No, I don't think you should move it. Just say that you don't have anywhere to store it and leave it at that.

[w12newmum]

But you say the agent has agreed? Having rented via agencies I am pretty sure they often agree and promise things without checking with landlord. You also say they agents didn't give tennent much notice about your message - maybe the problem is the agency not the tennent?

[YorkshireLass2012]

We asked at the beginning of our tenancy for some furniture to be removed which our LL was fine about. But he did make it clear that any future requests would entail us pitching in with costs to remove the furniture (not ongoing storage costs) which I think was fair enough.

[w12newmum]

Just read your updates and sounds like a typical landlord (not a good thing) - blame the agent and let the tennent continue to messed about as it's out of your hands. But it's not as the agent is your represent is. Your tennents sound reasonable and accomodating (especially if they are paying rent before you have cleared out from last tennent) - I hope you deal with future issues of repairs and returning deposit better.

[YelloDraw]

I just thing being petty (and that is what you ARE being by refusing to move it because it is slightly inconvenient for you) is not a good way to a good LL T relationship.

Renting out flats/houses is NOT effort free money, you do have to deal with things and use some of your time to do so!

Having been both a LL and a T I appreciate good Ts, and good LLs... And eihter side being petty is shit.