To be unsure how to proceed with landlord issue.

[tulippa]

We moved into a rented house in April. We really like it here - the house is big with a lovely garden and it's close to a good secondary school for DS (we will be applying in October).

We are, however, having a few issues since the landlord told us some work needed to be done on the outside of the house - this wasn't mentioned to us before we moved in. She is getting her son to do all the work - things like repointing, repainting a fence, taking out shrubs.

On 23rd May the son came round to put equipment and other items in the garage which takes up about a quarter of the space in there. He didn't start any work until early June and we have been having problems like he'll text at 9.30pm to say he'll be coming round at 8am then not turn up and no text to confirm either way, turning up at 8am without telling us, not coming because it's drizzled at 7am.

He will ask DH for constant cups of tea and nag if it isn't made quickly enough (DH works from home and cannot keep stopping for tea breaks - he started being deliberately slow with tea making and now the son has brought his own tea making equipment as he was obviously not efficient enough!)

These constant cups of tea result in him asking to use the toilet frequently - I am not one of those mners who freaks about strangers using the toilet but it's annoying when it's all the time. He seems to be treating the house like he still lives in it - I know its's not our house but it is our home.

He also left a bag full of sweets and fizzy drinks hanging up in the garage which attracted mice. He has now moved this bag to our fridge.

I asked the landlord today for a timescale of how long this work will take - it's now school holidays and it will be awkward for the kids to relax in their pjs in the morning - they'll have to get dressed early in case he may or may not come round. She said she'll discuss it with us tomorrow. I'm sure if he'd have turned up every day he said he would and not disappeared each time there was a cloud in the sky the work would have been done by now and we're worried this is going to carry on for the whole of the school holidays.

We're really not sure what to do - this is pissing us off and we feel our right to quiet enjoyment of our property is being breached. However we want to stay here for at least two years as the house is otherwise great. How do we assert our rights whilst maintaining a good relationship with out landlord. AIBU to think this is even possible? (Sorry for the essay!)

I wouldn't let him into the house - if he needs something he can knock and wait to see if it's convenient. A cup of tea per day is fine - if he wants more than that he should bring a flask. No keeping stuff in your fridge.

Landlady needs to be told about the behaviour and say you need to know exactly when he's going to come. None of those jobs sound major so it sounds like it should have been done ages ago.

Also they have said they plan to do some work on next door's house so I guess he'll be expecting to keep his stuff in our garage even longer.

WTaF?
I know you don't want to damage the relationship with your landlord, but her son does NOT get to keep his stuff in YOUR garage.
If landlord was paying a Proper Contractor, they would not be keeping "stuff" on your property.
Or their swwets in your fridge.
Or demanding cups of tea & nagging when they are not delivered quickly enough.

I think you have to tell your landlord that you are unable to have 'quiet enjoyment' because her son is intrusive, flakey & has no time management skills. Obviously you might choose to word that more tactfully ... but she may not be aware of just how flakey her precious son is, & - until you inform her otherwise - has no way of knowing how annoying & upsetting this constant drip drip drip of non-completed work is to you & your family life.

If you have exclusive rights to the entire property then I wouldn’t be letting him store anything in the garage. Say it’s for insurance reasons etc.

Yanbu. I've rented for years, I find when it is a direct agreement with the landlord it can be tough, we had the landlord who is my BIL here every Saturday for about 3 months, not getting much done, it was annoying and intrusive.
They rented the house before it was renovated or repaired.
The best landlord I ever had was an invisible one through an agency.
Even now if something is wrong he'll have to check it a few times, then take weeks to sort it himself.
We are paying top end rent, I don't know why they can't get a professional.
The worst are the ones who previously lived in it as a home, I'd be keeping eye out for a similar let close by.
IME these attached LL wont change.

DarkAtEndOfTunnel - that sounds horrendous - it must have been awful going through it when you were pregnant.

EmeraldShamrock yes I think they're having trouble releasing their grip on the family home. I really do appreciate they own the building but we have paid to use this space to live in.

DH spoke to LL when son was round this morning. She said he does take his time with things so is probably fully aware that he will come and go and cry off at the drop of a hat. Timeline is end of August. Poor DH and the DCs will bear the brunt of it as I will be at work for most of the hols.

We have a spare fridge that we have set up in the garage for him - we even bought him a flask which I filled with boiling water this morning so he could sort his own tea - he didn't touch it (suppose it has been hot today). DH also tidied up the garage so there is a clear delineation of son's stuff and ours - he still hung things on DS's bike this morning. .

We get the impression he is spoilt and is not used to being told no. He seemed a bit put out when DH told him he was locking the access from the garage to the inside of the house so the DCs could have free access to the garden without bumping into him on the way out.

tulippa
I wonder how your LL would feel if you asked for your rent to be discounted as you have not been able to enjoy the privacy of your home due to the muddle headed and unprofessional actions by their son?