I rent - should I get new carpets?

[HairsprayBabe]

Now I am not planning to rip up the carpets and put new ones in before you go off on one but I really need some advice and I can't seem to find any on shelter etc.

My house was HORRIBLY re-fitted before I moved in (3 years ago). Most things are pretty liveable with however save for the flooring.

The carpets and kitchen lino were fitted by some sort of potato monkey, everything was cut too small and the carpet doesn't go up to the edge of the room. This is in every single room in the house.

The carpet is fraying and coming up at the edges it looks terrible and it is a trip hazard, especially in the kitchen because the room is half lino half carpet and there is a big carpet gripper with frayed and lifting carpet halfway across the room. DSD is tripping on it constantly and we keep catching socks ect on it.

We have contacted the estate agent about the carpets before and we have been told the landlord doesn't see an issue with the carpets and it is his house so we can't force him to get new carpets.

My AIBU is this - Should I just live with the shitty slightly dangerous carpets OR WIBU to go down the route of getting 3 quotes for new carpets getting them fitted PROPERLY and then billing the Landlord.

Most advice says you can do this for essential repairs but I don't know if this comes under that?

Landlord here. Fixtures and fittings do not have to be top quality or to a tenants taste but they do have to be safe. A trip hazard in the middle of the kitchen is not safe. OP have you considered moving?

We cannot move

Just bolding that as it has been asked a few times.

It is too expensive for us at the moment plus there are no properties close enough to DSD school and in our budget. We already stretch ourselves.

"Just move", because it's that easy and totally free, isn't it!?

OP, back when we privately rented we had one landlord who was an arse about repairs and had very loose standard when it came to what was/wasn't safe. We ended up speaking to environmental health at the council who came out, did an inspection, and then compelled him to do the repairs with the threat that if he didn't then they would do them and bill him for the work.

if the landlord tried to deduct from our deposit for 'slight urine smell on some areas of carpet' then the tenency deposit scheme judicator would roll around laughing at them!
Really?
You did say that they 'stink'.
This is why landlords don't want to put new carpets in.

yeah pretty sure a landlord can deduct for urine smell - the price of a professional clean at least.

Def don't buy new carpets, for the price of re-carpeting a house you may as well move, ie: rental deposit, moving fees and referencing when renting privately would come to about this sum.

What if you re-carpet and he wants the house back? It would be thousands down the drain!

I would say its a make or break, he either fixes the problem or you move. He will probably suggest the latter though.

If the carpet is literally almost to the edges, but not quite (the biggest gap you mention at the edges is 'a good inch'), can you place strips of wood painted to match the skirting boards around the edges of the room to cover the gaps and make it look a bit neater?

The put a big rug, or carpet protector over the worn bit/join in the kitchen?

We wouldn't do the whole house - just the kitchen where it is dangerous. I will see if environmental health have anything to say on the matter thank you for that suggestion.

The wood idea round the edges of the room could do the trick to make it look neater.

A rug in the kitchen wouldn't work the join is in an awkward place we have tried it in the past but it look awful and gets in the way of the kitchen table and the back door.

What is a carpet protector?

Carpet protector

Lots of people used to have it, but probably not so popular in houses any more. From a time when people had less money for home decoration and thinks were relatively more expensive and had to last a long time.

Hmm that might work
It will look awful but at least it will stop the tripping, it shouldn't get in the way of the kitchen table too much, will have to see about the back door but at least it isn't too expensive if it dosn't work.

Thank you!

If the floors underneath are floorboards/chipboard, can you tack the edges down with carpet tacks?

You can get really reasonably priced off cuts from franks carpet factory if you have one near we are going to do that because ds has smeared and ripped all the carpet in his bedroom up.

You cannot fit new carpets and then bill your landlord afterwards. It is his property.

If you do it without his permission, he won’t pay for it (and doesn’t have to), and you will have probably invalidated your rental agreement and will lose your deposit.