To think my landlord is a CF......

[LayTheTableMabel]

We have been living in our current house for 6 years during which time my landlord has done nothing. If anything breaks he says we can fix it or leave it. He is now expecting us to paint the entire house (over the damp spots where he refuses to fix the roof), including the wood work & kitchen cabinets. Is this standard or can we quote reasonable wear & tear?

www.gov.uk/renting-out-a-property/making-repairs

england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/repairs/landlord_and_tenant_responsibilities_for_repairs

Thanks wriggly. I have looked at these but been told we need to paint to get our deposit back. I guess it's wether you can argue or not. Ime landlords see a deposit as a moving out bonus.

I’m frustrated for you OP! LLs should maintain the properties whilst tenants are living in them to reduce wear and tear. I.e. Painting, replacing carpets etc. That’s not your job and not what your deposit is for either. If they do keep your deposit then you have essentially been renting to keep their house nice for them. I find it extremely unethical! If you were in there for 6 months and there were marks/stains all over the walls fair enough, but 6 years? That’s just insanity. Try and find which scheme your deposit is protected under and contact that company they should be able to help. You can usually find your property on their websites takes a bit of digging through a few

Ime landlords see a deposit as a moving out bonus.

Your deposit should be protected so the landlord can't do that. If it isn't they can be fined - up to 3x the deposit if I remember correctly.

Contact Shelter about the repairs, landlords aren't allowed to coerce tenants into them.

That’s terrible.

I rent out my old house and gave new tenants a month free rent to decorate when they moved in and let them choose new carpets. Every 3 years I repaint, or give them the equivalent rent free period to do it.

Your ll sounds like a twat

I wouldn't do it. I would put my case to the deposit scheme. Hope you also have all the repair requests that have been denied in writing. Of course, the place will need sorting if the LL hasn't been bothered to maintain their property. It's not up to the tenant to do this.

Make a gdpr data access request

Tends to soften landlords coughs

I don't really see what a GDPR request would help. Your landlord is being a very CF. I'm a landlord and recently my tenants got in touch because there had been a cold spot, when cleaning some of the paint had come off. As a responsible landlord, I'm not charging because it's considered wear and tear plus I'm not an arsehole.
OP check that your deposit is protected and definitely challenge the LL.

I had this, in a property 10 years, yes 10 years and the LL didn't do a single bit of cosmetic work on the house.
Cheap stair carpets were well worn, walls not in good state, cheap laminate flooring poor, garden fence rotten and front door a state.
When we moved out she wanted money fir re painting as in her words..... there were more marks on the walls than expected. Sadly as we had used Blu Tac in sons room we didn't argue but she wanted much more than that room alone would have cost.
My only consolation was that it would have cost her a fortune to upgrade to rent out again, if the silly mare had done it periodically it would have spread the cost.
Wonder if she had hoped we would do all that when we were in situ?
I really hope she is on MN as well

Hi everyone, sorry for not checking back in a while moving with 2 teens & a 6 month old has been hectic! Thank you for your feedback. Your supportive words have given me the conviction to stand up to him. I have quoted shelter at him, he is squirming. Great to know I am not being UR and should stick to my guns!

Thehop and Andromeda you sound like lovely landlords- good to know they exist! My new LL are proving to be pretty awesome too 😊