To deduct this off my rent without landlords consent?

[Userxxx]

We have been renting our home for 8 years. In that time the landlord has fixed stuff that needed fixing (electrics burnt out. leaking toilet, new oven hob, front door locking mechanism) but has done no maintenance at all. We have painted through and changed a bedroom carpet to laminate as it was old and coming up.

Our stairs and landing carpet is the original carpet in the property so over 30 years old and literally threadbare on the landing, and coming off the stairs so is a hazard.

I requested it to be changed over 2 years ago through the letting agent who responded that the landlord had given permission and their maintenance people would do it. It never happened and I stopped chasing it when Covid started.

I requested it to be done again this September. Again told LL agreed to getting quotes done and they’d send their guys out. Again they didn’t come so I emailed them in October and said I’d get it done myself if they didn’t send someone out within 14 days and take it off the rent. No response.

I got quotes a few weeks ago, went for the cheapest, paid for it and it’s being fitted next week. I also decided to change the carpet in the main bedroom as again it’s very old and has holes in it. I decided I’d pay half as we hadn’t agreed to it but the landlord will benefit as the carpet is disgusting and when we leave next year, landlord won’t have to do it.

Lo and behold. letting agent called me yesterday saying they were sending their guys out to do a quote for the Landlord. I told them I’d already sorted it and the bedroom carpet too and was told as I’d done it without permission and their guys might be cheaper, I can’t take it off the rent!

WIBU to just deduct it from next months rent and tell them to piss off? If they try to serve notice, would I have grounds to say they are serving it maliciously? It is £650!

are you and other posters saying that I should replace the carpet in a rented property out of my own pocket then?
@Userxxx
Well what I, at least, have said very clearly several times now is that the way to recoup your money is NOT by stopping paying rent, but by talking to your LL. Stopping paying your rent is not the way to address this problem.

If you are as good a tenant as you claim to be I'm sure eviction is the very last thing on the LL's mind, but you are forcing his/her hand by not paying your rent. It's just looking for trouble.

On the issue of then staying in the house for months free of charge while you wait for those eviction proceedings to take place...those laws were put in place to protect tenants in genuine cases of hardship and mistreatment...not for someone who is playing games like you are. The idea of costing your LL thousands just so you can save on moving costs is morally reprehensible imo.

AAAccording to Shelter, tenants can deduct from rent for repairs which are not carried as long as they give reasonable time to do them (over 2 years in my case) and inform them that they intend to deduct it from the rent giving them time again to remedy it (another 2 months).

a carpet isn’t a repair, it’s decoration!

You don’t even qualify for a disrepair claim, frankly you went ahead without permission at your own risk, however your LL was decent then he should refund however he has no legal responsibility to do so.

**However if your

In all the places I have rented, I have redecorated, changed carpets etc., but never expected the landlord to pay. In my most recent flat I re-carpeted the hallway (huge, it runs the length of the flat) to the tune of £750 but it was my choice and my decision and not claimable....even though the carpet was crap.
If the heating doesn't work, they send someone out but all internal decoration is my responsibility.
And no, don't withhold rent, you will be in the wrong here and it will cause you all sorts of trouble.

@MeanderingGently

In all the places I have rented, I have redecorated, changed carpets etc., but never expected the landlord to pay. In my most recent flat I re-carpeted the hallway (huge, it runs the length of the flat) to the tune of £750 but it was my choice and my decision and not claimable....even though the carpet was crap. If the heating doesn't work, they send someone out but all internal decoration is my responsibility. And no, don't withhold rent, you will be in the wrong here and it will cause you all sorts of trouble.

Did you get permission?

Because it doesn’t matter if you’re willing to pay for it, it’s not your property, so if you want to redecorate or change a permanent feature like the carpets then you need the landlords permission. It is not your choice or decision to make; it’s theirs.

He obviously doesn’t give a shit about whether the stairs are safe for his tenants so why should I give a shit about his contract?

Because you want to get a mortgage.

If he wants to play funny buggers and evict a long standing tenant, who’s always paid on time and taken very good care of the property (repainting throughout several times, massively enhancing the garden, reflooring one of the bedrooms to a high standard, replacing skirting boards),

If you did any of this without permission you are not a good tenant.

Whether you are happy to pay or not is irrelevant, you don’t get to make a choice on more permanent features like flooring and painting because it isn’t your property.

@Userxxx

According to Shelter, tenants can deduct from rent for repairs which are not carried as long as they give reasonable time to do them (over 2 years in my case) and inform them that they intend to deduct it from the rent giving them time again to remedy it (another 2 months).

Even the woman from the letting agency said it needed to be done when she came to look at it over 2 years ago!

This is your answer OP. I'd listen to Shelter over PP!

Also it sounds like the LL not at fault as s/he gave permission for the quote, but rather the agency who delayed. So I'd push back with them, it's a situation of their making, their failure, they need to square it with the LL.

Sounds like you've been a good tenant for a long time, I'd stick to your guns.

Why risk the roof over your children's heads for a bit of carpet?

If the carpet was seriously unsafe then you would have been justified in taking a Stanley knife to it and removing it from the stairs altogether. After notifying the landlord you were going to do this.

Withholding rent means the landlord can start the eviction process with no further notification. It puts you in a very weak position. They may say nothing, letting you assume they are accepting the deduction, and then hit you with an eviction when they feel like it.

Sorry, to be clear, they can start the eviction process by serving a section 8 notice. They don't need to chase for the rent first. They can't just turn up and evict you of course.

Yes you have to pay out of your own pocket. Withholding the rent for a carpet, won't look good in court for you. It should say in your tenancy agreement what they are responsible for and trust me it won't say carpet or decoration.
It will go against you, no landlord is likely to touch you if you withhold the rent and you won't get a mortgage if you withhold the rent either. Why would you risk that for a bit of carpet seriously?

Presuming they have a deposit from you, they will just deduct the rent arrears from that anyway. If the rent arrears are more than the deposit because you decide to play silly beggars and stop paging rent altogether they will almost certainly take you to court, and if you need a mortgage to buy that will make getting one very difficult and expensive

If you deduct from the rent - they can (rightly) serve a section 8 notice on you for non payment. This will affect your ability get secure another tenancy.

It’s not that you shouldn’t be entitled to get the cost covered it’s the way you’re going about it.

You're not very bright are you OP?

You want to withhold rent however want a mortgage... then state you will withhold rent for the duration of your tenancy.... which will undoubtly leave your credit file in shatters, give you court costs and put you at serious risk of eviction all because you went ahead and laid carpets without permission

I agree with @Elbie79 - the vast majority of the replies on here are based on opinion, not facts. One even said that tenants have no rights, which is simply bollocks! Just because they think you shouldn't have done it doesn't mean they are right.

If the carpet was a hazard it could potentially be classed as a repair. Did you take pictures and keep a record of all of your requests?

Follow the advice on Shelter and phone them as well - don't ask for advice on here! Good luck, hope you can negotiate before it escalates

Your letting agency are shit OP.

I wish we had a proper professional private rental market in this country.

are you and other posters saying that I should replace the carpet in a rented property out of my own pocket then?

No. As explained by others above we are suing there are better ways to deal with it than not paying your rent.

massively enhancing the garden

Again, this isn’t an enhancement without permission. DD rents. Her neighbours stained the fences over summer and it leaked through. She asked permission to paint her side the same colour and was refused. The landlord argued that it would then need doing every few years and may become his responsibility if She were to move.
Similarly, the next tenant may not have the time or inclination to take on your garden enhancements.

[quote Userxxx]**@AdobeWanKenobi are you and other posters saying that I should replace the carpet in a rented property out of my own pocket then? I’ve already clearly stated that it is hazardous as coming off the stairs, letting agent agreed, and the LL has had since Sept 2019 to replace it.

He obviously doesn’t give a shit about whether the stairs are safe for his tenants so why should I give a shit about his contract? I had no doubt this would drag on for months if I hadn’t got it done myself.

I have to chase for the gas safety certificate to be done every year too, this year 3 months late.

If he wants to play funny buggers and evict a long standing tenant, who’s always paid on time and taken very good care of the property (repainting throughout several times, massively enhancing the garden, reflooring one of the bedrooms to a high standard, replacing skirting boards), over putting in a much needed new carpet which he’d already agreed to replace and will greatly improve the property for future tenants then I’ll play them too by making the eviction process as long and difficult as possible and making sure he’s more out of pocket than me.[/quote]
Enhancing the garden in some peoples eyes is replacing grass and putting down something different, which the landlord may not want. You replaced carpet with laminate in a bedroom, that's not something I would want. Just because it's enhancing in your eyes is not in others, which is why you need permission to do things like that.

You're quite right to be frustrated about the carpet but every agency I have had to go to has been useless and in some cases I've found out from the landlord that they were never contacted by the agency and stuff has been dealt with when I've got in contact with the LL not the agency.

Trying to make someone more out of pocket than you is spiteful and it may well backfire.

If you had multiple accidents because of the carpet, why didn't you take it up? I know it wouldn't look nice but it would be safe.

Genuine question, not attempt to pile on!

Might even not pay rent from when he starts action so that will help with moving costs

And that CCJ you may accrue might stop you from getting any property.

Read what people are actually saying to you. Also stop making “upgrades”without consent (I’m jot talking about the carpet, but the garden and flooring). When it comes to moving out - this will be noted on the checkout and you could be liable for replacing.

If the carpet was a trip hazard you could have took it off and left it. Many councils give houses to tenants with no carpets so the carpet being up for a while until the ll was available to put a new one down wouldn't have been an issue.

You can't withhold your rent but can you find away to speak to the landlord directly they might come to an agreement with you over price.

So I should have taken it up leaving the gripper spikes so we cut our feet on it as we walked down the stairs?

This is not a council property. If I was only paying a third of what we pay in rent and could live in it for life I wouldn’t mind replacing the carpet!

How much longer should I have waited for the LL to be ‘available’ to replace it exactly?

A Section 8 can only be issued if you are 8 weeks behind in rent. We won’t even be two weeks behind so that’s not going to happen.

Enhancing the garden was filling in all the deep holes in the lawns and replanting the grass, building borders along the fences which were just stones, mud and weeds and re-staining the decking. Together with building raised planters. Hardly making it harder to maintain.

Anyway carpets going down tomorrow so we shall see! We’ve just taken the old ones up and the underlay has turned to dust!

A Section 8 can only be issued if you are 8 weeks behind in rent. We won’t even be two weeks behind so that’s not going to happen.

It's the Section 21 notice I'd be worried about. I'd strongly advise you to talk to your landlord OP.

You absolutely should be able to do this, but unfortunately you can't. It would be best to tell them that you're going to find somewhere else to live if they don't sort this out. If you've lived there for eight years and you've always paid your rent they'd be bonkers to lose that over the price of a new carpet (which absolutely you should be entitled to).

@HaudYerWheeshtYaWeeBellend

You're not very bright are you OP?

You want to withhold rent however want a mortgage... then state you will withhold rent for the duration of your tenancy.... which will undoubtly leave your credit file in shatters, give you court costs and put you at serious risk of eviction all because you went ahead and laid carpets without permission

This is a) very rude and b) not true. I got a great mortgage from a major bank without any issue at all, despite having missed a rental payment previously. If you get a CCJ then of course that's a problem, but late or missed rent doesn't have any impact on your credit file.

@LittleGwyneth late and missed rental payments can have a massive impact on your credit score. You are very lucky it didn’t affect you and that you didn’t incur any late fees but the OP and others could if they don’t pay.

www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2012/03/rent-payments-to-go-on-your-credit-file/