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?

i always remember the tenant who thought she could leave me a bright pink wall with her daughters name painted over it!!
' A little girl will love a pink wall!!'

the tenancy deposit scheme sided with me - it paid out for a complete professional repaint of the wall to the boring beige/magnolia/neutral it was to start with!

@GreenFingersWouldBeHandy

That and the fact that a single mother has paid the mortgage for 9 years, I don't think I'd want to take any money off her. But then I am a bit of a pushover myself.

You don't want to take any money off HER?

Um...how would that work?

I'm saying that if I was them I wouldn't dock my deposit. I am a SHE after all. But then I concede that sometimes I am a bit of a pushover and they might be a bit smarter than me.

I’m a landlord and where I live people want white so I’d expect a repaint (but I’ve also paid for mid tenancy repaints for long term tenants).

@TisTheSeasonToBe

i always remember the tenant who thought she could leave me a bright pink wall with her daughters name painted over it!! ' A little girl will love a pink wall!!'

the tenancy deposit scheme sided with me - it paid out for a complete professional repaint of the wall to the boring beige/magnolia/neutral it was to start with!

I guess I'll deal with my deposit being used to repaint where reasonable. I'm just a bit unsure about what to expect.

And I'd never leave a bright pink wall with a personalised decal on it. 😆

Also what you consider value added might not be what the landlord or estate agent considers value added.

But you are leaving a pink wall. The next tenants might not have a girl who'd want pink, personalised or otherwise.

@GreyhoundG1rl

But you are leaving a pink wall. The next tenants might not have a girl who'd want pink, personalised or otherwise.

Yes, I think I'm going to leave the kids bedrooms as they are too. If I lose my deposit, so be it.

@Goingdriving

Also what you consider value added might not be what the landlord or estate agent considers value added.

The Rightmove listing mentions the improvements I've made to the place as selling points for potential tenants.

Why bother starting the thread, you've clearly decided to do what you fancy regardless. You will lose some of your deposit, you're cool with that. You'd never leave a pink wall you say, but you are leaving blue ones

Feel a bit sorry for your LL though. Not tremendously considerate of you.

[quote elbea]@fucketyfuckwit I’ve retained many deposits for redecoration. There is a huge monetary difference between touching up magnolia and painting over dark blues (surveyor)[/quote]
@elbea - what after having not painted your rental property for 9 years? Surely a professional landlord would have expected to redecorate in nearly a decade?

@WhoIsPepeSilva

Why bother starting the thread, you've clearly decided to do what you fancy regardless. You will lose some of your deposit, you're cool with that. You'd never leave a pink wall you say, but you are leaving blue ones

Feel a bit sorry for your LL though. Not tremendously considerate of you.

I really don't want to be inconsiderate to my landlord. So I will think on that point and try to work something out with them via the agent. But yeah...I'm unfortunately not going to be repainting the whole house. Lots of people saying I'm unreasonable, but lots saying I'm really not.

@WhoIsPepeSilva

Why bother starting the thread, you've clearly decided to do what you fancy regardless. You will lose some of your deposit, you're cool with that. You'd never leave a pink wall you say, but you are leaving blue ones

Feel a bit sorry for your LL though. Not tremendously considerate of you.

No, I would leave a bright pink wall. I'm leaving a pale pink bedroom, a green bedroom and a denim blue hall stairs and landing.

Agh, I meant WOULDNT leave a BRIGHT pink wall. Bright pink is too much, for anyone.

@QuantumDog2

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?

Find a local handyman and get them to quote you. Doubtless that will be cheaper than whatever the deduction is from your deposit.

Lots of people saying I'm unreasonable, but lots saying I'm really not.
The thing is; it's not about whether you're being reasonable or not, it's about whether the agreement that you're breaching can be enforced against you.

Leave it as you found it.

No need to replace flooring and carpets but walls etc tidy and clean.

@QuantumDog2 Hmm. Did the letting agents take new photos when they re-advertised? If not, you could say something along the lines of "Sorry if I seemed a little brusque yesterday. I appreciate you live rather far away and cannot obviously see the property in person but I thought maybe some pictures of the colours and quality of the painting I've done might be helpful in reassuring you that I'm not leaving a mess behind! I've loved calling this place my home." and send off some nice pictures taken in daylight.

Also - a landlord (about eight years ago now to be fair but I can't imagine the process has changed that much) tried to keep a frankly ridiculous % of our deposit, I think just chancing their arm that we wouldn't contest. We did though - the process was very fair and pretty much all of it was awarded back to us. Just take photos of as much as you can - things like how neat the edges are on the paintwork, the condition of the flooring you've put in, you could even include receipts for that if you still have them (or email confirmation etc).

@GreyhoundG1rl

Lots of people saying I'm unreasonable, but lots saying I'm really not. The thing is; it's not about whether you're being reasonable or not, it's about whether the agreement that you're breaching can be enforced against you.

Yes, the two are linked. Is it reasonable to expect the landlord would have to redecorate after nearly a decade anyway? I wasn't sure. I'm still not sure to be honest. But I will fight it if they take my entire deposit off me.

In my experience, the deposit protection schemes don't always side with the landlord. I had some tenants in my house that chopped four inches off a pair of handmade silk curtains, drilled holes in built-in cabinets and had four dogs (I'd agreed to one) which left the carpets in such a disgusting state that I had to replace all the carpets and underlay throughout. The DPS said it was "fair wear and tear over five years". Couldn't keep a penny of their deposit. So you might be lucky...

@abbey44

In my experience, the deposit protection schemes don't always side with the landlord. I had some tenants in my house that chopped four inches off a pair of handmade silk curtains, drilled holes in built-in cabinets and had four dogs (I'd agreed to one) which left the carpets in such a disgusting state that I had to replace all the carpets and underlay throughout. The DPS said it was "fair wear and tear over five years". Couldn't keep a penny of their deposit. So you might be lucky...

That's awful, I'm sorry that happened. I'll be leaving this house immaculately clean and will fill in and make good the holes I've put in the walls for pictures and mirrors etc. It's just the painting. I can't face it now I'm starting to get SPD again.

Your landlord is not allowed to keep your deposit to redecorate for incoming tenants and I think you would have an argument that it hadn’t been decorated throughout the 9 years tenancy so you did it yourself (with permission as you say).

Did they do an inventory? If not they’ve got no proof of what the colour the walls were. Make sure you take date stamped photos of every room to show it’s not ‘damage’.

If the landlord is able to get a new tenant on the basis of how the the property looks now, they’d hardly have a case that they suffered a loss due to your improvements and they have to demonstrate that they’d suffered a loss to claim on your deposit.

It’s disgusting what they get away with expecting tenants to put up with viewers intruding on their privacy and not wanting to decorate out of their own pocket between tenancies, especially after a long term let when they’ve done no maintenance for years.

We’re in a similar situation. Property was the only one available in price range but it hadn’t been decorated for years before we moved in 7 years ago (we have repainted several times but kept it neutral) and we asked for the 30 year old (from new build) stair and landing carpet, which is threadbare and coming off the stairs to be replaced 3 years ago and it still hasn’t been done. Rent keeps going up though.

I’d definitely fight it if they try to keep your deposit. You’ve got nothing to lose if you don’t need a reference.

@UserOfManyNames

Your landlord is not allowed to keep your deposit to redecorate for incoming tenants and I think you would have an argument that it hadn’t been decorated throughout the 9 years tenancy so you did it yourself (with permission as you say).

Did they do an inventory? If not they’ve got no proof of what the colour the walls were. Make sure you take date stamped photos of every room to show it’s not ‘damage’.

If the landlord is able to get a new tenant on the basis of how the the property looks now, they’d hardly have a case that they suffered a loss due to your improvements and they have to demonstrate that they’d suffered a loss to claim on your deposit.

It’s disgusting what they get away with expecting tenants to put up with viewers intruding on their privacy and not wanting to decorate out of their own pocket between tenancies, especially after a long term let when they’ve done no maintenance for years.

We’re in a similar situation. Property was the only one available in price range but it hadn’t been decorated for years before we moved in 7 years ago (we have repainted several times but kept it neutral) and we asked for the 30 year old (from new build) stair and landing carpet, which is threadbare and coming off the stairs to be replaced 3 years ago and it still hasn’t been done. Rent keeps going up though.

I’d definitely fight it if they try to keep your deposit. You’ve got nothing to lose if you don’t need a reference.

Thank you! Excellent advice and my viewpoint entirely. Xx

Dulux denim drift is a very popular colour and idea for a hallway. And Dulux Egyptian Cotton is a neutral and not that different to magnolia.

Personally I would have sent photos the the landlord to ask if you could leave these two rooms the colour they are and paint the pink and green bedrooms in magnolia.

It wouldn’t have taken you very long to do it yourself/ with your partner. And yes I see that you are pregnant but he can climb the ladder and you are not too pg to lift a paintbrush or roller.

Or you could have paid someone to do it - that would probably be less than your deposit.

However I think your email to your landlord telling him that you are too busy and pregnant was a bit cheeky. No wonder he has told you to paint it all magnolia.

You chose to give notice when you were pregnant and busy - that’s not the landlords fault.

There’s a lot of comments saying how hard it will be to cover the dark blue - really it’s not, I’ve done similar walls many times and I’m nearly 60. You just do one coat of cover up paint like this and then a couple of coats of the magnolia/ whatever . So yes it’s three coat work rather than two but it’s not that big a deal.

www.diy.com/departments/dulux-walls-white-primer-undercoat-5l/5010212641316_BQ.prd?storeId=1215&ds_rl=1272379&ds_rl=1272409&ds_rl=1272379&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI6Yex1Yb98gIVZoODBx2p3wVBEAQYBCABEgLJ1PD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

I can’t imagine the hallway is that big although there’s always a lot of cutting it. But personally I’d rather spend a weekend doing that than lose a ??? £1k deposit AND risk getting a bad reference.

BTW what kind of flooring did you fit in the lounge that cost £1400?

As a landlord I’d be a bit annoyed you are leaving ‘feature colours’. I would certainly redecorate after a tenant moves out after nine years but returning denim blue to a light neutral is much more work than simply redecorating over another neutral lighter colour.

Why dont you price a painter and see if it's less or more than your deposit?