To not put the house back to what it was?

[QuantumDog2]

I've rented the house I live in currently for nearly 9 years. When I moved in it was a new build and we were the first to live here, so obviously a buy to let. The walls were all trade paint magnolia and the carpets were cheap, exactly the way new builds are presented as standard.
Over the years I've decorated it and made some improvements like extending the patio and I spend £1400 on new flooring for the lounge because the carpet was worn out by that stage and looked grotty.
Now I'm leaving as I've bought somewhere with my partner, but contractually apparently I have to return the property the way I found it. I'm 6 months pregnant now and don't fancy donning my overalls and climbing ladders to paint. What would you do? I feel like after 9 years here and the time and money I've spent on the place (although my choice totally) I shouldn't really be penalised, but I expect I will lose my deposit?

*We lived in a rented house for 18 months. The only time we painted anything was to deal with a scorch mark on a kitchen tile which was our fault.

Can posters not understand that someone who has lived somewhere for 9 years is vastly different to a temporary 18 month tenancy?*

Nope. There are two types of tenancy:

6 or 12 months with a break clause after an agreed period.
Rolling monthly tenancy

End of story.

6 months or multiple years makes no difference to the original tenancy agreement as signed by the tenants. That is what needs to be abided by, for all involved parties.

Your LL sounds like the type of person who likes to make difficulties out of nothing.
Based on what? The agreement was put in place when op took on the rental. They've asked that it's adhered to. Sounds perfectly normal to me?

@GreyhoundG1rl

Your LL sounds like the type of person who likes to make difficulties out of nothing. Based on what? The agreement was put in place when op took on the rental. They've asked that it's adhered to. Sounds perfectly normal to me?

Literally 😂

I’m not arguing that OP is in the right/wrong. I’m also not arguing that the LL is in the right/wrong.

I know that lots of people evidently prefer magnolia, and that’s fair enough. Just making the point that there are plenty of people who’d prefer and appreciate the scheme OP has put in. When I rented I would have been thrilled to see it and it would have been a definite plus for me, as it likely would have been for the pp whose comment I quoted.

In any case we can all argue about this ‘til the cows come home but it’ll have absolutely no bearing on OP’s situation. The LL will either claim it back from deposit or they’ll not bother.

6 months or multiple years makes no difference to the original tenancy agreement as signed by the tenants. That is what needs to be abided by, for all involved parties.

Of course a landlord can insist of enforcing the contract, but if I were the OP's LL I would never be so petty as to force her to repaint the house after 9 years.

If you had left the magnolia they would need to refresh it anyway.

A refresh can be done in a day with one coat. Repainting over darker colours is a much bigger job.

@QuantumDog2

I've rented the house I live in currently for nearly 9 years. When I moved in it was a new build and we were the first to live here, so obviously a buy to let. The walls were all trade paint magnolia and the carpets were cheap, exactly the way new builds are presented as standard. Over the years I've decorated it and made some improvements like extending the patio and I spend £1400 on new flooring for the lounge because the carpet was worn out by that stage and looked grotty. Now I'm leaving as I've bought somewhere with my partner, but contractually apparently I have to return the property the way I found it. I'm 6 months pregnant now and don't fancy donning my overalls and climbing ladders to paint. What would you do? I feel like after 9 years here and the time and money I've spent on the place (although my choice totally) I shouldn't really be penalised, but I expect I will lose my deposit?

If you've lived there for 9 years then the land;loard should have been replacing carpets and decorating, has he/she?

@QuantumDog2 don't let this thread amp you up for an argument/confrontation that hasn't happened yet ❤️ I think the decision not to repaint is a fair one (as I said before). You're at peace with losing some of your deposit if that's the route he decides to go down. You know now to take as many pictures as you can of how neat the place is and the improvements you've made to back yourself up should the need arise. Leave it at that and don't borrow worry from tomorrow

Even when putting it back to how it was makes it objectively worse? Whilst making unnecessary work for the OP?
Wasting money and resources?
Ridiculous. Yes, definitely making a problem about of nothing. Agreements can be varied if all parties actually agree to be reasonable. Unlikely these days though.

"Please make my property worse, because we agreed that you would."
Idiotic

@TheWeatherWitch

Paint it beige, get cheap beige carpet laid. Rip up the expensive flooring and patio. Job done.

If your pregnancy prevents you holding a paintbrush, get your husband/partner to paint.

1000% this.

Why should they benefit from your money and hard work.

I’d take the flooring, replace with the cheapest copy of the original I could find, rip out the patio extension, and paint in all magnolia.

I wouldn’t care how much it cost me, I wouldn’t want them benefiting from only the part of my hard work that they approve of… but then I’m a petty bitch.

NTFT

But honestly, stop worrying about it. It is highly likely the deposit scheme will side with you.

If they tried to keep your deposit to repaint the walls 9 years after the landlord last did it, it would be betterment, and that isn’t allowed.

If they try and keep anything, challenge it. Without a lot of proof and specific clauses in the contract, they won’t be able to claim anything. Even if they have all that proof, they will only be allowed to charge a proportion of the cost, which reduces with time. After 9 years I’d be really surprised if it didn’t reduce to 0.

And I say this as a landlord (who would never dream of trying to charge someone who had lived there for 9 years to redecorate).

Let the deposit scheme do its job.

@moynomore

6 months or multiple years makes no difference to the original tenancy agreement as signed by the tenants. That is what needs to be abided by, for all involved parties.

Of course a landlord can insist of enforcing the contract, but if I were the OP's LL I would never be so petty as to force her to repaint the house after 9 years.

Well, maybe they won't. But the point is that they can.

Hopefully the letting agency can sway the LL that he'd get a better price for it decorated as it is than if it was bland and magnolia.

What I would point out is that you moved into an unpainted house, you asked for permission to paint, at your own cost and now are being asked to change it to a colour it never was before, again, at your own cost.

So. It is not possible to return it to how it was - unpainted.

You are unwilling to repaint it at your own cost given that you bore the cost of the original painting job that the LL should have paid for.

It's being advertised at a dearer rental price and they have explained it's because of the decor and improvements you've made - so they can't argue that and claim that your colour choices devalue their rental to allow them to keep your deposit. It's one or the other.

I've lived in rentals up until now and in each case, common sense has usually prevailed - if the agency can explain that the LL is likely to get more for the house as it is, you are probably in the clear - it all boils down to money.

Actually, my last rental was the only one where it wasn't bloody magnolia. Now, the colour choices of the LLs wife weren't to my taste at all but it was so nice to live somewhere that felt like a home and not a beige soulless rental.

Why should they benefit from your money and hard work.
I’d take the flooring, replace with the cheapest copy of the original I could find, rip out the patio extension, and paint in all magnolia.
I wouldn’t care how much it cost me, I wouldn’t want them benefiting from only the part of my hard work that they approve of… but then I’m a petty bitch.
Well it would seem your final sentence is the literal truth...
Nonsense, too, as op has said she's not going to paint the walls as she can't be bothered. You think she's going to rip up a patio rather than having to bother?!

So if they must they can take my deposit. As I set out previously, I'll take that hit, provided it's reasonable and I see receipts that the work has been done properly.

They can take your deposit, and they can charge you on top of that for any work that needs to be done to put it back to how it was.

And no, they don’t need to show you any receipts either.

You being there for 9 years is irrelevant. You paying nearly £100k is irrelevant. You spent money knowing the property would need to be reverted back to exactly how it was when you moved in. You can’t throw your toys out the pram now.

[quote whatk8ydid]@QuantumDog2 don't let this thread amp you up for an argument/confrontation that hasn't happened yet ❤️ I think the decision not to repaint is a fair one (as I said before). You're at peace with losing some of your deposit if that's the route he decides to go down. You know now to take as many pictures as you can of how neat the place is and the improvements you've made to back yourself up should the need arise. Leave it at that and don't borrow worry from tomorrow [/quote]
This.

It really isn’t a big deal.

Why don't you just ask them ahead of moving out, see what they say about potential impact on deposit then work out if you want to change it back. They may be happy with the amends and not require them to be changed back again.

@seaandsandcastles

So if they must they can take my deposit. As I set out previously, I'll take that hit, provided it's reasonable and I see receipts that the work has been done properly.

They can take your deposit, and they can charge you on top of that for any work that needs to be done to put it back to how it was.

And no, they don’t need to show you any receipts either.

You being there for 9 years is irrelevant. You paying nearly £100k is irrelevant. You spent money knowing the property would need to be reverted back to exactly how it was when you moved in. You can’t throw your toys out the pram now.

That isn't at all how it works. The OP is not responsible for turning the house back into a freshly painted and carpeted new house. 9 years is entirely relevant, 9 year of wear and tear, and ALLOWED changes, means OP is not liable.

I would be arguing that they can't change for betterment and after 9 years the whole house would need redoing anyway

6 months or multiple years makes no difference to the original tenancy agreement as signed by the tenants. That is what needs to be abided by, for all involved parties.

More wrong. LL's can and do put all kinds of shite into contracts that is not enforceable and sometimes not even legal. A common one is insisting tenants have to facilitate viewings, they don't, and the contract is meaningless. They also write in that they can enter the property as long as they give notice: they can't do that either.

A rental contract is not a magical document that anything put in it has to happen. Anything unreasonable can and is over ridden by legislation.
In this case, a requirement to return it as it was 9 years ago is certainly over ridden by both common sense and the rental deposit scheme rules.

I think the agent is going to sort this all out for you without a problem, but I must say you don't seem to realise that what is tasteful and high quality to one person won't be to another. I love the look of your Denim Drift, but would hate pale pink or green. I can see why landlords request everything back to a blank canvas.

Please come back and let us know what the agent says, op!

I hope it goes your way.

Firstly - has the landlord actually seen photographs of current decor or have they based their decision just off an email without the full info?

Secondly, if Rightmove is mentioning your improvements, maybe you need to go back to the landlord and query if that needs amending as those will be being put back to previous state...

See what they say - you might have to go an 'all or nothing' approach and the LL may back down IF he thinks the floors and the patio are worth it and IF he see some photographs of the decor. At least the agent is going to broach the subject

Also, when anyone views, mention the plan is to go back to magnolia everywhere. They might request to keep the current decor if they want to rent it

It's completely normal for a LL to require a house to be put back as it was and it's what you agreed when you moved in. What you spent on doing it up was completely irrelevant and your decision. That's why most people don't decorate rented places, because you're paying to decorate someone else's house. The LL would be completely within their rights to use the deposit to repaint.

The LL would be completely within their rights to use the deposit to repaint

Doesn't matter how many times people say it, this is still wrong.