To think this is particularly poor for a rental?

[EachPeachPearRum]

We spent an age getting our house ready to be rented out. The house we have rented is turning out to not have been looked after to the point I wonder how anyone lived here.

-the dishwasher doesn't work (tablet door is broken)

• The washing machine is so full of mould I refuse to use it even after I've cleaned it
• the tub won't drain as the brain plug that's meant to pop up won't so I had the joy of hand bailing out the bath last night
• the house was filthy despite being "professionally cleaned"
• Some of the rooms didn't even have lightbulbs in the downlights
• the garden was full of rubbish. I've hauled out half broken laundry baskets, bottles, cans you name it.

When we viewed the house the agent assured me all of it would be sorted before we moved it and now I'm sat in a house where I can't wash the clothes, the kids or dishes (well I can by hand). Is this normal? This is our first rental. We wanted to rent for a year to see which village would suit us best but I'm ready to bail out to Airbnb at this point.

The fact that people are minimising the issues shows how bad things are for tenants in the UK.

I currently rent my house out and it was immaculate and in perfect working order when the tenants moved in, and any reported issues get attended to immediately.

I would be ashamed to take their money otherwise.

This is the first time we've rented in the UK and I'm just shocked. We own our house in the UK and are moving within the UK. Our house rented out almost immediately but the tenants wanted to move in quickly. We are moving to a more rural area and there just weren't a lot of properties to choose from. So I took this one thinking the agents had a good month with the property empty to sort the issues.

It really didn't occur to me to walk through every bedroom making sure there were lightbulbs. I assumed replacement was my issue but I didn't realize I needed to bring them with me!

I can't think of any other business where you could treat people so poorly and get away with it. I really feel for those who are stuck as long term renters. There should be financial consequences for properties not being sorted before people move in. What exactly are the agents being paid for otherwise?

Take photos of everything and send a detailed email so it's in writing. Ours was a shit tip too. Luckily the landlord was too cheap to do an inventory so he hasn't got a leg to stand on when we move out. To be fair we have painted the whole house and repaired stuff so it's in a better state than when we moved in. You have my sympathies it's shit.

No I've never rented a house in that state that's appalling.

It’s all very well people saying things like “just chuck the tablet in” but things that are fine when a property is your own are not when you are paying to rent.

The landlord can only make claims against the original condition as specified on your inventory - so if all this stuff is broken, make sure it's noted, then you can decide if you want to muck about getting the agent to fix it, or if you'll take the risk that now, basically, any accidents that happen in the house when you move out are not your problem - the landlord cannot prove they weren't already there.

Your call on this probably depends on whether you have clumsy kids, and how long you're planning to live there.

As to appliances - the rule generally is that they're required to keep them in good repair if they are present and on the inventory - but this isn't the situation here - this is a move in issue. I'd think that the washing machine should be cleanable, and the dishwasher tablet dispenser will probably never be fixed, but they should send someone round to fix the bath drain.

This is why we have our own washing machine and generally ask the landlord to remove theirs (or we move it ourselves and store it somewhere)

max totally agree as a LL. I respond immediately since I manage the place currently. Downside is tenants bring in pets/more people and several have degraded the place.

However I agree with all PPs. Take photos as you go in. Take photos now. Any expenses you've had to pay, keep in a file. Take photos of the stuff you've hauled out of the garden or bills for dumping it at a tip. Make sure they're time stamped - though a phone will do that for you. And check you have fire alarms, fire kit, carbon monoxide detector if on gas, and look on landlord websites for what they should bloody well be doing.

Is it run by the letting agent? or by the landlord? If former, it may be they've done FA and not managed it properly for their 15%. Either way, you have a right to the LL's address and contact details.

I have one of those plugs in my bath and sometimes doesn’t open when you turn the handle. I press down on the plug and then turn the handle again and it works. You could try that.

The other things, I would get on to the agent for them.

It's 'not normal' but the way it is. Every rental I have lived in has been superficially clean but filthy at a closer look. Never trust a landlord, most of them care more about their pockets than whether or not you can wash comfortably. Video and photograph everything, get a newspaper with the date on it and film that too so they can't say you did the damage yourself. Document every last thing that's not up to standard. Good luck!

Every rental I have lived in has been superficially clean but filthy at a closer look

I'm both a landlord, and a renter - and that's true. I've seen my place after the supposed 'professional clean' - and it really wasn't, I went in myself for a day to get it up to a standard I was happy with. Not had a landlord do that for me, although I've had plenty try to charge me for them at the end of the tenancy/for things that I missed checking on the inventory - I have learned my lesson there, and now am a stickler on the inventory, it's so important.

A family member moved into a rental recently and I helped. I cleaned the bathroom. The bathroom cabinet had used cotton buds, used dental sticks, and a load of hair stuck to the earwax clumps. In the corners of the cabinet. The fridge shelves had crud mashed into the sides, they'd been wiped but not taken out to do properly. Ditto freezer. Blinds stained so badly they need replaced. Anything that didn't show was dirty. It's disgusting what they get away with, but as someone said upthread what can you do when the removal men are unloading the van?

Agree with those PP saying that you should send the agent a very detailed list of all faults. Also take dated pictures of all issues. If you don't do this you could find that the landlord denies that the problems were there at the start of the tenancy and tries to claim the cost of remedying them from your deposit.

It is your responsibility to replace lightbulbs during the tenancy but this assumes that they are all present and working at the start. Not your responsibility to replace those that are not working although you will probably have to for your own convenience.

Horrible situation to move into a dirty property with equipment that doesn't work as it should. I hope the agent gets it sorted for you.

Also check the landlord has registered your deposit with DPS. If he/she hasnt you can claim compensation. It should be done within a few days I think and you should get an email about it

Sounds normal to me too.

No damp, no mould? Lucky you

blackbird better to date stamp photos on your camera or email them to yourself so it's date stamped - I think you can do it on mobiles but never had to try it. The problem with newspapers is that you could save one from the date you moved in and use it later .... so not entirely reliable.

Absolute ROFL at ‘just don’t move in’. Yeah coz that’s possible.

I don’t think most of those things are really bad - the dishwasher is still usable and FWIW you should be able to lever out the plug with a knife (voice of experience!) I would be pissed off with the garden though.

Reminds me of when I moved into my first flat - was assured the broken window would be fixed, the toilet would be unblocked, the fridge confirmed usable (or replaced), lock added to front door as we were the only one with only one lock, and the boiler checked as the flat had been empty a long time. They did none of it. To the point I had to call them as an emergency to get the boiler on (very cold in early Feb this was). They then charged me a call out fee

Not at all surprised. Welcome to private renting in the UK. All you can do is keep banging on to the agents and hope for the best.

Our tenants have called to complain they found dust on top of the fridge....

We ended up buying a convection oven - he then complained when we moved out that it was missing

My landlord confiscated my iron "because it used too much electricity" and told me not to use the oven and washing machine at the same time, for the same reason. I was the one who paid the electricity bills, they were not included in the rent, but the electrics of the house were so old and knackered that the landlord was worried that any strain on them would blow the lot and then they would have to spend money on upgrading them!

This is why people hate renting.

Our tenants have called to complain they found dust on top of the fridge.... Ye gods!

Last month I had a man call me to tell me I had missed the fact that the kitchen cupboards were filthy! He was very irate!

I asked him how he knew they were, given it was a double height ceiling (Georgian house, so very tall rooms) and he said he had climbed onto the worktop to have a feel - did I mention the gap between the cupboards and ceiling was about 4 inches, and he is 6 foot and a big bit tall, I am 5'5"???

I told him to fuck off that I wouldn't be doing the same at check out, so he didn't have to sorry about them! Not sure he was convinced

I've privately rented my whole adult life and without fail have had to clean the new place.

The one I'm in at the moment took the biscuit...it was horrendous. I e-mailed the letting agent giving them the option of me leaving the house in the same state or they reimburse my time and materials. They gave me 200 quid and paid my first months rent!

Definitely create a paper trail. I hope you get it sorted.

My current rented flat is the only one I have ever moved into to find it was actually properly clean. I do personally know my landlord and I know she scrubbed the place top to bottom before we moved in. We did have some issues with damp, which has now been fixed. All white goods are my own and I like it that way as I most rentals have very old fridges and washing machines that are not energy efficient.
Renting is horrible in general, you never feel settled or secure that you can stay in your house for any length of time. You always have that feeling in the back of your mind the landlord will decide to sell and you will have to move again. You know you are paying off someone else’s mortgage and then some buy at the end of it all you have nothing to show for it.

I'm in a city with a massive rental/housing crisis (Dublin),moving, and I just don't know what to do. I'm very averse to a house share with strangers at my age(34) as 'holding a face' in your own home can be a bit much for me. And I take privacy and security very seriously. Landlords here are now charging 800 euro at least for really grotty bedsits. Single beds beside a cooker types. A proper apartment is out of the question financially now even though I'm going into a good permanent job. It's just not right what unscrupulous landlords can do. And if there's a need, you have to put up and shut up lest they take the next person who won't moan about the filth and the broken furniture.