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?

@Skysblue

Don’t do any painting - the fumes are very bad for pregnancy.

The landlord can’t just deduct whatever they like from the deposit, that practice ended many years ago. Check that the deposit is held in a deposit protection scheme and make sure you have the paperwork on this, ask the agents for it if you can’t find it. (If you have zero paperwork and they won’t provide it then personally I’d withhold rent to cover the amount of the deposit and explain in writing I felt forced to do this because they failed to comply with legal obligations regarding deposit).

Anyway. What is likely to happen is you move out (having made sure to take lots of photos of current condition), the estate agent writes to you with an outrageously long list of all the things they want to deduct from the deposit, you write back objecting to each individual item on that list with a justification eg floor has been upgraded with permission; wall paint was upgraded as previously informed. Suggest you concede some items eg £X cost of repainting the kids bedrooms.

If you and they can’t come to a MUTUAL agreement then I believe they have to take it to Court before anything can be deducted from the deposit. And there is a long queue for Court time…

Get a written quote from a local tradesmen for cost of repainting the non-neutral colour rooms, supply it to agents and say you agree to that amount being deducted but will not agree to anything further as you have significantly improved the property over a nine year period in which the landlord did zero maintenance, and that if the landlord seeks any further amounts then that would be a matter for a judge to decide.

Brilliant. Thank you!

@Rosesareyellow

It looks like a home now and I'm a bit OCD about things being just-so, so I've done an excellent job with the finish, if I may say so myself.

That’s all well and good, but it’s not your house so when it ceases to be your home all of that is irrelevant. It’s not your house to do with and leave exactly as you please, that’s the nature of renting (I know, I’ve rented for a long time too). You want walls to look ‘just so’ that’s your issue (and you sound a bit spoiled and fussy about it in all honesty - I’m not convinced it needed all the work you describe.) It sounds like you were hoping from the start that you could just leave it how you like. If the LL wants it repainted then that’s perfectly reasonable.

Yeah, I understand what you're saying but I never intended to stay here as long as I have. I thought I'd be here three or four years, tops. And then after that amount of time I would obviously have put the house to a neutral colour without question. I think, for me anyway, it's the feeling like I've received very little in terms of maintenance on the property over the last 9 years, often having to resort to fixing things myself. I was without an oven about 6 years ago for almost a month before I gave in and got someone to fix it for me. It just feels unfair to have to make good the house yet again, when I feel it's good enough as it is. I know that's subjective, but it's now let agreed.

[quote Noodella18]@billy1966

The walls weren't unpainted. OP just latched onto that when somebody started talking about mist coats, because people were saying that she was unreasonable and then the tide of the thread turned when somebody said it was just a mist coat. Mist coats are not done in magnolia, they are done in the crappest, cheapest white paint available. OP originally said:

The walls were all trade paint magnolia and the carpets were cheap, exactly the way new builds are presented as standard

And as for landlord saying they didn't want to repaint a brand new house a year after buying it because the OP didn't like the colour - I think that's fairly reasonable, don't you?![/quote]
I concede that I don't know what a mist coat is. But as I've tried to explain...the walls were presented as magnolia and the paint just wiped off with a soft cloth if I tried to remove things like kids sweaty finger marks.
It looked crap and was crap. Whether it was a mist coat or not I don't know.

If you paid for the oven to be mended, you need to submit that receipt to the TDS if the deposit return goes to dispute. Every little penny that you've spent on the house, whether you think it relevant or not, submit the receipt.

It was watery horrible shit paint. It marked horrifically, wiped off, cracked in places and with loads of plaster pops it was just a mess after a year. My home would have looked like a squat after 9 years if I'd just left it.

I concede that I don't know what a mist coat is. But as I've tried to explain...the walls were presented as magnolia and the paint just wiped off with a soft cloth if I tried to remove things like kids sweaty finger marks

I think to be fair you should have been better informed when you moved in as it was a new build - we were told not to decorate for two years and not to wipe the paint! Any marks should be painted over because that first coat of paint does just come off. I wouldn’t be surprised if other issues arise because of this - a new house needs quite a lot of taking care of and ‘gentle settling’ in the first few years, you going in all guns blazing so to say with the decorating and everything may have caused some damage or created long term problems. But if they did not inform you then that is their fault in my opinion - I’ve only just found all this out from buying a house otherwise I’d be clueless about these things.

But if they did not inform you then that is their fault in my opinion - I’ve only just found all this out from buying a house otherwise I’d be clueless about these things.

Having said that maybe they did inform you… in which case a heftier bill than you imagined may be coming your way.

@Rosesareyellow

But if they did not inform you then that is their fault in my opinion - I’ve only just found all this out from buying a house otherwise I’d be clueless about these things.

Having said that maybe they did inform you… in which case a heftier bill than you imagined may be coming your way.

I was expressly told not to paint for one year. Both by the landlord and by a local builder. I waited a year before I began AFTER the LL said I should paint myself. I probably did a room every month or two that year, so for example the kitchen was the last room I did and that would have been about two years after I moved in.

I think this is probably getting boring for a lot of people now 😆 but I don't really know what else I can say to strengthen my argument.
I painted the house because the LL didn't want to do it, with their permission, on the proviso that it was painted neutral when I vacated. I thought that I'd be here for maybe 4 years or so so when I painted I had every intention of returning it to magnolia for them when I left.
But nine years later, and with every maintenance issue being a struggle or just being left to deal with it myself in that time and pay for most repairs, I feel like I really don't want to redecorate their house for them.
I did every improvement in the full knowledge that I wouldn't be benefiting from the money I'd spent once my tenancy ended. I was happy with that. I don't regret a penny spent and I'm happy to walk away leaving the house as is. I'm not happy with the idea of painting the whole place white or whatever at yet more of my time and expense, just so that the landlord can benefit from my hardworking yet again without lifting a finger. It's not a money thing, it's a principle thing. If it was a quick job to repaint a three bed house I'd do it, no question. But it's not. It's a huge undertaking and will be expensive. If the LL wants a magnolia house then I think she should put her hand in her pocket for once.

And to clarify, I will lose my deposit for the redecorating if the DPS say that's the fair thing to do, and I won't sweat it.
But I will appeal any deductions, just to get a fair outcome for us both. I trust that the DPS will make that decision correctly, one way or another.

OP did you address with the director the landlords claims of paying half the flooring.
For that cheek alone I would be taking everything I put in and putting the old fittings you kept back up, getting a cheap similar carpet to what they had and getting a painter in for the rooms.
How disappointing with regards to the landlord. After 9 years and very little maintenance. Plus you have added value to their house, they could have been a bit more accommodating the fact you were a good tennant and are currently pregnant.

@AdviceOnLife

OP did you address with the director the landlords claims of paying half the flooring. For that cheek alone I would be taking everything I put in and putting the old fittings you kept back up, getting a cheap similar carpet to what they had and getting a painter in for the rooms. How disappointing with regards to the landlord. After 9 years and very little maintenance. Plus you have added value to their house, they could have been a bit more accommodating the fact you were a good tennant and are currently pregnant.

Thank you.

The claim made by the LL about half the flooring has all gone quiet now. I asked the agent to request proof from the LL of either a rent reduction to cover their half of the overall cost, or evidence of £700 being paid to me by the LL. Obviously they couldn't provide either because I covered the cost.

If you wanted it painted after the first year you should have asked the LL to do that. If they refused then so be it.

Your LL is a CF OP!! He should be paying you money except I know that’s not how it works! If it was me I’d be highly cheesed off if any money was deducted at all. He should be painting before new people arrive, with decent paint too. To cover dark colours all you need is a cost of grey paint but what you did sounds great and I love the denim drift! No one likes magnolia anyway!! Good luck OP!

@Smileforthebirdie

If you wanted it painted after the first year you should have asked the LL to do that. If they refused then so be it.

I did. The LL said for me to do it.

@Pinkfluff76

Your LL is a CF OP!! He should be paying you money except I know that’s not how it works! If it was me I’d be highly cheesed off if any money was deducted at all. He should be painting before new people arrive, with decent paint too. To cover dark colours all you need is a cost of grey paint but what you did sounds great and I love the denim drift! No one likes magnolia anyway!! Good luck OP!

Thank you. Lots of people think I'm the CF so it's hard to know what's fair and what's not.

I don’t know how to reply…
don’t doubt yourself! Of course you want the place to look homely when you live somewhere. He painted with rubbish paint in the first place, didn’t do maintenance, you even got the oven fixed. People who are on the LL’s side need their head read! Stand strong and don’t believe the haters.
And I meant a coat of grey paint, not cost…

the thing is, the DPS will require evidence about the arrangements.

what evidence your LL can provide and what evidence you can provide about the arrangements. Was it via email?

When you asked the LL to paint after 1 year and the LL said you do it, is it written? How long after that was when you asked if you can paint the walls blue and the LL said you do it but you have to change it back when you leave?

Why are you still listening to that liar (the agent) who is telling you different things every time you meet?

When was your last email or written conversation about the things you listed with your LL?

The DPS will need some real evidence about arrangements and I am afraid will not take some emotional "I improved the house and it was crap when I moved in and I am pregnant and have kids" as a significant proof. Its only ok here on MN.

Also, changing your points (suddenly saying you asked your LL to paint and they said no you do it or paying half for the floor improvement) may not go well with the DPS.

I think your agent/director is mixing the messages. Why are you not dealing directly (via email so there is proof) with the LL?

Please, be calm and think about it reasonably. Make sure you have some evidence about your arrangements with the LL.

Otherwise, you can just offer the LL (not the lying agent) that you work out the blue walls painting costs and the half of the floor improvement costs and then make a deal.

Maybe the LL has been spoiled with a decent tenant who wasn't bugging them every 5 minutes to change a lightbulb. Or tenants that trash the place and don't pay rent.

There are lots of shitty tenants out there. From a budget DIY facebook group I've seen plenty of private rentals get seriously dodgy decorating - think glitter walls, fablon worktops, really shitty "improvements" like smashed mirror risers on the stairs, and painting tiles on walls and floors. So I understand the Magnolia rule.
But when a rental is tastefully decorated, with good quality flooring and everything in working order, many tenants are happy to pay a little extra to live in a place they can see as home and not just 'a rental'

Hopefully the director of the agency will be able to impress on the LL that you've actually saved them a fortune over the years, and your improvements have allowed them to advertise the property for more than they would get if it was manky carpets and magnolia.

The director has just emailed me to tell me as per the contract I'm expected to return the house to the 'condition it was in at commencement of the tenancy'. So that means they are insisting I paint the whole place. No mention of the LL having a problem with the flooring etc though, so presumably they are happy to keep it in place.
Now what do I do?

I’d take the flooring with me and replace with a similar cheap tatty carpet, just get your partner to paint watered down emulsion everywhere like when you moved in

Would it be easy for me to take the flooring up? It's laminate and goes under the skirting boards. 🤷‍♀️

Does the landlord not realise people hate magnolia...I'd be really unhappy if i looked around a house and liked the decor, signed the contract then turned up and found it had all been painted magnolia!
If he does end up taking money from your deposit I'd want proof that the painting had actually been done!

That’s ridiculous. Very stupid letting agency. No one likes magnolia. Paint it with watery paint. Idiots

@QuantumDog2

The director has just emailed me to tell me as per the contract I'm expected to return the house to the 'condition it was in at commencement of the tenancy'. So that means they are insisting I paint the whole place. No mention of the LL having a problem with the flooring etc though, so presumably they are happy to keep it in place. Now what do I do?

theres no mention of the the LL having a problem with the flooring, but there's no mention of any specifics

The landlord said everything back to plain cream walls please. when you spoke to them at the start of this thread. They could insist on carpets being put back in, they could also insist on the removal of the patio

I guess what I'm saying is that I don't mind paying for the place to be repainted where needed out of my deposit. But within reason. I mean...how much will it cost to get it back to trade paint colour magnolia? did you get a quote?