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AIBU?

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Original poster

Was I unreasonable to redecorate?

390 replies

wlevrta · 18/10/2018 10:06

We have been in our rental property for almost three years.

However, we will be moving out in January/February.

We have redecorated the rental and I'm just hoping the landlord is going to be okay with it.

For context. The landlord bought the property as it was and made no improvements himself when he purchased it. The dining room wall was bright green! There was gaps between the laminate and the skirting board in the hallway. The bathroom taps were rubbish and water didn't come out very well. The toilet flusher didn't work properly.

It's not his home that he rents. He has numerous properties he rents out and it's his full time job.

Everything we have done to the property, imo, has improved it and everything has been done neutral.

We have put in a brand new bathroom and flooring.

Painting in the rest of the house, etc.

Do you think this will be a problem? He seems like a reasonable guy

OP posts:
MotsDHeureGoussesRames · 18/10/2018 19:07

The PP who docked someone's deposit for a LOCK CHANGE is totally unreasonable. Perhaps the tenant had valid and urgent reasons for doing so? I agree she should have let you know in advance if possible but I think you were incredibly unpleasant to withhold deposit for that. The electrics I can understand more - she should have run this past you before going ahead but really did it make a huge difference to you having dimmer switches as opposed to just on-off ones? I think you were really mean.

HeadsDownThumbsUpEveryone · 18/10/2018 19:17

I'm another one who is very confused how 6 months ago you thought you would be staying there for years and now you are buying a house and moving in January?

I am also baffled as to why you started the thread. If it had never occurred to you to ask him for permission then why would you think you were doing anything unreasonable and feel the need to start a thread about it?

Finally
The PP who docked someone's deposit for a LOCK CHANGE is totally unreasonable.

How is it unreasonable that poster had no idea who had a key to that house so she naturally had to change the locks. Changing the locks and getting new keys cut costs money. She didn't want or need the locks changing so it is only fair that she doesn't have to pay for it.

Poisongirl81 · 18/10/2018 19:19

What did you spend?

LightastheBreeze · 18/10/2018 19:21

Maybe OP came into some money like an inheritance or lottery winnings which would explain why the deposit is not so important to them and they can now suddenly buy a house.

BlueEyedPersephone · 18/10/2018 19:29

You now realise it wasn't a smart move, I would invite the LL round to do a moving out three month to go inspection and either confess or see if they notice??

Bluelady · 18/10/2018 19:33

The poster would have had no idea who had keys to the property regardless of whether the locks were changed or not. No tenant has any idea who has keys to their home. I agree that ll was completely unreasonable.

Valasca · 18/10/2018 20:07

@pigsDOfly yes it was addressed to you. It’s perfectly legal for a landlord to keep the deposit in his/her separate account and have it protected by paying an annual sum. The landlord doesn’t have to give the money to a third party. Of course the landlord has to submit paperwork for why he’d be keeping any/all of the deposit instead of releasing it back to tenant. And of course there would be mediation. But it’s perfectly legal for the actual funds to be held by the landlord.

buckeejit · 18/10/2018 20:13

Ok so you 'now yabu but now I think you need to tell him in the right way & well before you confirm you're moving out.

I'd say please can he come round as you've something to discuss with him, when he arrives say you're sorry that you didn't think it would be a problem but you changed the bathroom & it's since been pointed out that you shouldn't have so you'd like him to look at it to see if he's happy & if not, you'll do your best to put it back to how it was.

Potentially you could get a free months rent if he's a decent LL & the changes are a big benefit. OTOH, if he's a dick, he could probably sue you! The fact they send Christmas cards is a good sign so good luck!

LRDtheFeministDragon · 18/10/2018 20:16

From the info I just read, they also only look after the fabric of the building, so garden and decorating are for the tenant to organise, so utterly pointless you writing to the lettings agent.

No, not at all. They will arrange for decoration and garden maintenance if needed, but they do it all through the agent.

It does strike me as peculiar that you felt the need to finger-wag at me, but you seem to be getting your information from something you've 'just read'.

Why not limit your comments to things you actually know about? I may sound cross, but it's because, in my experience, people often assume most tenants are stupid and ignorant, and anyone can easily tell them where they're going wrong. I don't know if you're a tenant or a landlord, or neither, but you seem to be falling into that trap.

Bluelady · 18/10/2018 20:25

Valasca, sorry you're wrong. www.gov.uk/tenancy-deposit-protection

safariboot · 18/10/2018 21:45

Regarding the idea that a tenant replacing a bathroom without the landlord's permission or knowledge would invalidate the building's insurance - if that was the case then the insurance is pretty bloody shit isn't it?

Valasca · 18/10/2018 22:54

@Bluelady no, you’re wrong. Your own link points to one of the schemes where a landlord keeps the deposit in their bank account and pays a fee to register it and protect it. The actual money stays in their account,

pigsDOfly · 18/10/2018 22:57

Valasca Oh okay. I wasn't aware that a LL could hold onto a tenant's deposit, which is why I didn't understand your post. I was under the impression that all deposits had to be placed in a tdp.

It's all rather confusing though as one website I looked at says what you have said, but another one (a government website) says the money has to be put into a tdp.

Whatever happens, in the case of a dispute over the return of the deposit both websites say the money would have to be held by a tdp while the dispute is resolved.

In any event the LL cannot just decided to just keep the deposit, which was my original point in response to a pp who said that the OP's LL might decide to just keep the deposit.

Wherever the deposit is kept there is still a legal obligation on the part of the LL to prove that he/she has justification to apply to keep all or part of the deposit.

angelikacpickles · 18/10/2018 23:21

@HeadsDownThumbsUpEveryone
How is it unreasonable that poster had no idea who had a key to that house so she naturally had to change the locks.

Because that has nothing to do with having changed the locks. The tenant could just as easily have had copies made of the original key and distributed them to whomever they wished.

NoHufflefucksGivenMugglefucker · 19/10/2018 00:26

@headsdownthumbsupeveryone

Your name just threw me an old memory there, thanks for that 😁

Bluntness100 · 19/10/2018 09:42

Wherever the deposit is kept there is still a legal obligation on the part of the LL to prove that he/she has justification to apply to keep all or part of the deposit

I don't think in this instance that would be hard to prove really. She broke the terms of her agreement. And then some.

Hopefully she can prove the work was done to standard by professionals and this isn't some home bodge it job they did themselves.

DerelictWreck · 19/10/2018 09:56

I don't know how it's possibly to spend £10k on a bathroom, what do you spend it on?! Unless you're talking about plumbing everything from scratch?

It's depressingly easy as I just did it Confused

Bespoke shower due to awkward space, the floor had to be completely ripped up and started from scratch, new everything from tiles to taps to lights, and I paid a project manager with a crew to do it all so I didn't need to be around or answer questions (I had to work and couldn't take calls)

pigsDOfly · 19/10/2018 10:21

Whoever did the work, if it involved connecting anything to a gas boiler or any electrical points it would invalidate the existing safety certificates the LL has for the building, which he won't be pleased about.

Having said that, if the building was in a state of awful disrepair it's possible the LL hadn't bothered with safety certificates and so would be breaking the law anyway, which lends a whole new aspect to the situation.

It's hard to know really as one the one hand the OP says the place was in a fairly bad way and on the other she says she loved living there and thought they would be there for years, hence the new bathroom.

LightastheBreeze · 19/10/2018 10:50

We need before and after photos so we can judge properly Grin

woollyheart · 19/10/2018 11:10

There seem to be a lot of landlords on here with pristine properties and who keep to the rules. In my recent experience, there are a lot of rented properties in poor condition and obviously flawed electrics and plumbing and probably without any certification.

Last time I paid a deposit, I got it back in full. However, I had to harass the agent who was holding it in their account. They were unwilling to relinquish it even though landlord was happy and property had been checked and re-let. They urged me to say that there was a dispute so that they could take it up with insurer and they could delay paying it back even longer. I didn't go along with this and said that I would prefer for my own solicitor to pursue it, and they paid up at that point.

It should not be legal to keep the deposit in the landlord/agent's account. It should be held independently.

Original poster
wlevrta · 19/10/2018 11:33

@LightastheBreeze no can do...

What if my ll is on mumsnet and recognises the before photo? :o

Unlikely of course but it wouldn't be how I wanted ll to find out!

OP posts:
LightastheBreeze · 19/10/2018 11:37

Oh that would be awful especially as it would be the recognisable peach shade and you have listed all the other defects above as well.

Original poster
wlevrta · 19/10/2018 11:38

@pigsDOfly no electrics or gas was touched

We didn't change lights or tiles or power shower

We literally just replaced bath, sink and toilet

Like for like

Kept everything in exactly the same place

The bathroom is very small and we also replaced the laminate that was in there as it obviously wasn't suitable for a bathroom

It was starting to go black and lifting up

Clearly the wrong kind of flooring for a room that gets very wet

So we replaced it with a neutral but appropriate flooring for a bathroom and the surface area to replace was tiny!

OP posts:
Original poster
wlevrta · 19/10/2018 11:39

Also for those wondering the circumstance in which I'm now able to put a deposit down to buy my own home is sadly due to inheritance Sad

OP posts:
StillSmallVoice · 19/10/2018 12:06

Sorry to hear that. Have some

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