Was I unreasonable to redecorate?

[wlevrta]

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

Why would he be upset you have improved his house!! I work with a lot of landlords and if they have a lot of houses and flats most of them really don’t know what the state of there property is as long as it’s fit to rent out again as quick as possible that’s all there interested in!! So just give the property a good deep clean and everything should be fine!! And if there is a garden make sure grass is cut and it looks tidy.

I grew up in a rented garden flat as a kid and my mum and step-dad fittted a modern kitchen, decorated all through, improved the garden massively, changed carpets and added storage heaters. We were there for a very long time (over 20 years) but renting was different then I guess. It was all done to make a horrible damp cold empty flat into our home. There was never any chance we would have owned a home so whilst I understand the wasting money comments, the alternative would have been living in horrid conditions.

Don't know if it has been said above but if the work carried out by OP involved electrical or plumbing, then insurance could be affected or even voided. Is the OP going to compensate the LL for that? We only have the OPs word that the work has been carried out to a high standard. The LL should be told exactly what has been done.

Cookingteaforsix if only all landlords were as good as you!! Immaculate, Morden and refurbished to a high standard!! I always say to landlords that if they would not live in it themselves!! Or would not want there children to live in the accommodation Then they should not be renting it out!! U TIL till it good enough. But most don’t care all they care about is there profits. So well done you for being a good landlord.

I wish I'd had a tenant like you, all mine have done is wreck the place and expect me to pay thousands to put it right!

OP said they were just swapped, you wouldn’t generally tell your buildings insurance for that, ours is just major works you have to tell them or else you would be telling insurance about every little thing

Are you going to tell LL soon? Please come back on and update when you do. If I had a rental house with a crappy peach bathroom suite I wasn’t going to pay to replace I would be thrilled to find a tenant had done it free of charge for me I hope your LL is happy you have made improvements rather than being grabby and keeping/charging you money.
Sorry for your loss op

You numpty

I’m a LL who wouldn’t be too impressed with your rogue behaviour, but as long as usual had replaced like for like, agreed to an inspection (coming out of your deposit) and work was of good standard, I wouldn’t pursue legal action. Coz I’m not a complete twat.

Replacing a bathroom suite is not a major change. Ignore the scare mongering about a freehold etc
And most landlords would be grateful for the value you have added to the property. You’d have to be a special type to get vindictive over something like that

You dont care about the money you spent and you're not fussed about getting the deposit back so I'm actually wondering why you posted this?

You've obviously improved the place so why would the landlord be that upset, yes he could be a dick about it but then you should have checked first as it's a rental!

Is this a wind up? Surely nobody is this stupid?

Who spends money on a new BATHROOM in a property they don't even own? That is lunacy

@wlevrta

If I was the landlord I would be really pissed off.

Some OLDER bathrooms can be much better quality than new ones, and you had no right changing it.

If it were me I would be suing you for ripping out my bathroom, and making you fork out the cost of one that was a similar quality!

Good luck. You're gonna need it!

So he gets to keep your deposit for 'damage' and gets a new bathroom, sounds like a happy landlord for a change!

If I was a LL and as long as the workmanship was good and no leaks etc then I'd be very happy! And the LL might be very happy
Just wait to see what happens

Oh OP. Sorry to hear about your recent loss. I agree (in the kindest way) that you are utterly barking to replace a bathroom in a house you don't own, especially without running it past the LL first. But I hope the LL takes it okay. Let us know.

Your landlord may not even notice what you have done. Think if you had painted red spots on on the green wall then he would. Why would there be an issue, you have basically made the property more easy for him to rent out again. Good luck with your move.

Thank you Nanalisa60. I agree, and I always refurbish to the standard I would be happy to live in.

10% of the rental income is set aside to do this.

I recently had rooms redecorated after a brief 11 month let as I want to know the new tenant would move in to a perfect home.
Properties get a deep clean, all carpets are shampooed, windows and fascia cleaned and gardeners and maintenance men in.

I think if it's immaculate tenants are more likely to care for their home and stay.

There are some lovely sounding people on this thread...

poster cookingteaforsix
Totally agree !! Also once u get a property done up and it clean and modern it’s easy for the tennent to keep and maintain, and easy to freshen up between tennents!!

My landlord has around 8 houses, 3 and 4 bed homes. A couple of flats, they are a retired couple who are lovely landlords they look after their tenants. However there are a lot of bad landlords and bad tenants who will take advantage of someones kindness and trust. Last time my landlord was here he was gobsmacked he said they dont have another house as nice and as well looked after as this and i recently have been unwell spent a week in hospital, my partner had to take time off to look after the children and we missed a weeks rent, i emailed the landlord once i got home and told him i had missed a week and why and that i would make it back up as soon as possible, his response was touching, he said do not worry i know you will catch up as soon as you can and i recieved a bunch of flowers 2 days later from him and his wife, how lovely is that.
Best landlord ive had hands down and ive been renting since i was 18..im now 41. Im going to be reluctant to leave once my children have grown up. But we cant really knock around in a 4 bed house just the 2 of us

Sorry above post is irrelevant & i've requested it be removed

Yes. You need permission before altering someone's property. Also, it was a waste of money. (Just adding to the chorus really!)

If this real, which I doubt!

Then he could sue you and frankly I think he should- improving or not (in your opinion) you’ve taken the mickey big time.

You may also have invalidated his home insurance - another reason to sue

You were idiotic to do all this without asking and you’ve broken the terms of your contract. In likelihood the landlord won’t mind.
The worst thing he could realistically do it retain your deposit but your deposit scheme would ask your agreement for this and you could claim “betterment” which you could easily prove.
Having worked in the Lettings industry for many years I’m pretty weary of tenants claiming they left a property better than they found it ignoring the fact it isn’t their house!
OP I’m sure you realise you did something wrong but there isn’t any real action the landlord could take other than retain the deposit and as I stated it’s very unlikely he’d be able to do that.