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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:
Nothisispatrick · 18/10/2018 11:04

We have improved his property

And most likely broken your contract in the process. Utterly bizarre!

TrickyD · 18/10/2018 11:05

Tenants have just vacated a flat we rent out. We asked for some minor amounts to be retained from their deposit (broken blind and similar). They came back and asked for money from us because they had replaced the hob on the electric cooker. We had no idea there was anything wrong with the existing hob, and had they asked us we would have attended to it. Our agent said that because electric work was involved, it must be inspected for safety purposes.. The cost of the inspection will also be deducted from their deposit.

Beware, OP, your 'improvements' may entail a cost to you.

DerelictWreck · 18/10/2018 11:07

I am speechless! In what world did it not occur to you that it's not normal or acceptable to do this to a rental property?

You wouldn't rent a car and then spray paint it to an 'improved' colour, would you?!

Saying you didn't know is like saying you didn't know you can't do this in a rental is like saying you didn't know you had to pay rent in a rental!

It's not your property, it's someone elses. It's really not that hard to understand, and they would be well within their rights to start legal proceedings against you for this. You might get lucky and they're fine with it, but equally you may well find your self up shit creek for this with a very big bill to pay.

woollyheart · 18/10/2018 11:10

I would think it depends on the landlord- I recently rented, and it was impossible to get hold of the landlord by phone or other means. They weren't interested. I did several plumbing repairs because I wanted toilets that flushed, taps that worked etc.

My parents rented longterm, and they also did repairs, plumbing, decoration etc etc. Similarly, their landlord was not interested in doing repairs, renovations or decorations.

Huggefire15 · 18/10/2018 11:11

Even if you lived there 30 years, it was NOT your decision to redecorate or replace anything in the property, without asking the landlord first !

bridgetreilly · 18/10/2018 11:11

I think the other thing is that normally the kinds of things tenants do are easy to put back at the end of the tenancy: changing curtains or repainting. But obviously you can't put the bathroom back the way it was...

AjasLipstick · 18/10/2018 11:12

Derelict do you feel better now?

God help us all..some people on MN just come on to take out their own frustrations on other people! You're acting like it was YOUR bloody house.

OP's not shat on the carpets. No she shouldn't have done these things but it's not as though nobody else has told her that already!

bridgetreilly · 18/10/2018 11:13

OP, I think the really big lesson to learn here is to read your contracts. Because I bet there's stuff in your tenancy agreement about this that you've ignored. And if you're about to buy a house, you really need to be reading and understanding what you are signing.

leiaskye · 18/10/2018 11:16

I didn't replace the bathroom, but we did replace the toilet seats as they were grim and broken.

The landlord I don't think cared, but the (awful) woman who checked the house on us leaving told me off. Said I should have asked before doing so.

Mind you, she also said the house needed professionally cleaning (at my expense) as there were a few crumbs in a kitchen cupboard. I was so pleased I had photos of the house when we moved it - the whole place was filthy and I had to scrub it top to bottom!

If I was your landlord, I don't think I'd mind that you had put the bathroom in. If it was as bad as you say, I'd probably be pleased!

thatmustbenigelwiththebrie · 18/10/2018 11:16

Wow. I think you should have asked first.

We repainted our flat before we moved out because we really wanted our deposit back and as we'd lived there five years the walls were quite scuffed. But we did it all the same colour it was.

Putting in a new bathroom is madness!

VerbeenaBeeks · 18/10/2018 11:16

WTF?! Not read all the replies, but you can't just replace bathroom suites and redecorate SOMEONE ELSE'S HOUSE WITHOUT ASKING!!! Shock
YABVU.
My Gawd. Sorry, but massive overstep there - I'm not a landlord, but I could see him quite rightly being pissed off at that one!

Atchiclees · 18/10/2018 11:17

What is done is done now, how are you going to manage the next step of revealing the bathroom changes? You should seriously consider offering paying for an independent assessment of the work you have had done along with a written guarantee. The LL is going to find out, so you need to work on the best way of managing that for everyone.

Hubblebubbletripletrouble · 18/10/2018 11:18

I can’t believe the sheer arrogance of this!!

IzzyGrey · 18/10/2018 11:18

Out of principle you should have asked but let's be honest, he isn't going to kick off that you have modernised his property, especially if it's just one of many that will be rented out. And I say that as a landlord.

IzzyGrey · 18/10/2018 11:19

Don't worry too much about these comments. Haven't you noticed that the population of Mumsnet is much more dramatic and easily outraged than the rest of the population of the UK? 😂

woollyheart · 18/10/2018 11:20

If he did no work to change or improve the property after he bought it, and hasn't done any inspections, he will probably be delighted unless the work is to a poor quality and he has to remove it.

Original poster
wlevrta · 18/10/2018 11:21

@IzzyGrey Haha! Grin Thank you. You have comforted me somewhat. Half of these comments have got me seriously worried...

OP posts:
Original poster
wlevrta · 18/10/2018 11:22

@woollyheart No, he did no improvements when he purchased the property. Just rented it out as it was. It wasn't in great condition to be fair.

OP posts:
maddening · 18/10/2018 11:23

I would ask him to come round to let him see what you have done - if I was the ll and it looks better than before then he might be pleased

puzzledlady · 18/10/2018 11:23

Our tenants did this - they asked first though.

RandomObject · 18/10/2018 11:25

Ah OP I feel for you. I don't have anything more to add but you obviously had good intentions. You're not a massive idiot, you live and learn. See if you have safety certificates/guarantees for any work done and fingers crossed the landlord will be ok.

longwayoff · 18/10/2018 11:25

Are you thinking of asking for a contribution for your improvements? You'll be lucky if you get your deposit back. Its not your house. Of course he may be pleased. He may not be. I think he'd legally be able to demand you restore it to the condition it was in when first rented. Never 'improve'someone else's property without written consent.

Original poster
wlevrta · 18/10/2018 11:26

@longwayoff of course I wouldn't ask for contributions and I'd understand if I didn't get my deposit back

OP posts:
CoffeeChocolateWine · 18/10/2018 11:27

My husband and I are landlords. I would be fuming if a tenant made changes to OUR property without permission. We once had a tenant who changed the locks (??) and rewired all the electrics so all lights were dimmable without permission. We were really pissed off and asked to have it all reverted to the way it was when we let it out. And anything she didn’t do we docked from her bond. She thought she was improving it; we did not. And she had no right...it was OUR house!

Santaclarita · 18/10/2018 11:28

He may be annoyed with you or not care. That really just depends on him. I would tell him now to find out as he could sue really.

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