Landlord & bed

[pedropony76]

Some may recognise this situation as I posted about it only a few weeks ago. I’m mainly posting for traffic and I’d like some more advice on what to do here. Of course I’m happy to be told whether I’m BU or not!

Moved into a furnished property with my 3 month old DD last year. The bed has always been SUPER noisy and squeaky. I tried to get on with it as the Landlord stated that he didn’t want to remove the bed and asked if I could give it a try first and see how I got on.

Fast forward to now, I’ve had another baby and all three of us are in the same bedroom. Now I know some beds have the occasional squeaks but this bed is so squeaky and creaky that I literally wake up both kids by just sitting on the bed alone. That’s how noisy the bed is. Because of this, I’ve had to sleep on the sofa and have my 9 week old sleep in his moses basket in the front room with me.

I’ve sent an email to the estate agents a few weeks ago and asked if the LL could get rid of this bed so I can bring my old bed which is at my mum’s house. I was told that the LL wasn’t in a financial position to dispose of the bed or replace it. However he was happy to come to the flat to make the necessary adjustments to stop the noise. I said that I didn’t think the noise can be fixed (the bed is really old and it’s just on it’s last legs hence the creaking of it) but I’m happy for the LL to come round and try to fix it. I also sent an audio of the bed when I lay in it and get back up so he knows what state it’s in. The estate agents said they’d get back to me with the LL’s availability.

I heard nothing back to emailed today chasing it up. Would you believe they got back to me and said ‘unfortunately the LL is unable to come down to London as it’s a huge journey’ (he’s the one that offered this solution in the first place!!!!). ‘He’s still under the impression that the bed can be fixed, if you wish to swap it over whilst you’re in the property then go ahead if the current bed can be stored until you move out and then reinstated.’

So there’s a bed that needs to be fixed. The LL won’t come and fix it nor will he pay for someone to fix the bed. He won’t let me bring my own bed unless I keep the bed there when I leave (the bed also has to be a like for like price for what he paid). AIBU in thinking what the actual fuck!

I sent him an email saying I’d appreciate if he could stick to his word and try to come round and fix the bed and if not, I’ll have to call Citizens Advice as I honestly can’t live like this. I pay my rent on time, I’m a good tenant and genuinely love the flat and the area I live in. Even if the LL can’t make it down to London, he’s acknowledged the bed needs fixing but won’t do anything about it. He could have been decent and said ‘do you know what, seeing as I can’t get it fixed right now. Bring your own bed and I’ll replace the bed once you leave.’ He could get a £150 bed from FB marketplace if that was the case!!

Sorry I’m just frustrated but would like to hear people’s thoughts and any advice you have

Also, my old bed is currently being used by my little sister at my mum’s house. I couldn’t put the LLs bed in my sister’s room as it’s too big and wouldn’t fit. So I’m not able to swap it out and store his bed there.

I also forgot to add that I called the estate agents straight away and spoke to the manager who I’d been emailing. She even admitted that it’s ridiculous that he won’t come down to have a look at it and that she agrees with everything I’m saying but essentially, there’s nothing they can actually do

I'd get my own bed with room underneath, dismantle the creaky bed and store it under the new bed. Then take my new one with me when I move out.

Can you not store the landlords bed in your moms loft? Or under your new bed?

That's ridiculous - it'll surely cos him more to find a new tenant if you leave.

I originally wanted a Divan bed so there isn’t any space to put anything underneath.

What I think I might do is go to a bed shop and try to find a sturdy bed that also has space underneath. The only thing is, this bed is huge. It’s a super king size bed and has so many parts I feel like once it gets taken apart. You won’t be able to resemble it again. That’s how old and shit it is.

My mum also lives in a flat so no loft or basement access

Unfortunately if you rented a furnished property I'm not sure there's much you can do, other than what the LL has suggested.

As I said on your other thread can you not get your mum to give you a bit of cash towards it, as presumably she'd have to buy a bed for your sister.

ask the landlord if you can leave the new bed there instead when you move out.

then get one delivered that will take the old one away.

when you do move you can get one free to leave there if you want to take yours.

You dismantle the creaky bed, store somewhere & bring your old bed or buy a new one. I assume there's nothing in your tenancy that states you can't do this?

Are you in a one bed last with 2 kids?

I'd replace the bed if its that bad

I've never even considered asking the landlord about this. I just took the bed down! The frame is in the loft and the mattress is under my actual bed.

@Biscuitsandpizza so if the washing machine broke down it’s okay that the LL doesn’t get it fixed because he simply doesn’t want too or because he isn’t in the financial position too? And he gives me the option of buying my own washing machine but it’ll have to stay in the property once I leave even though I bought it? How does that make sense

@JuneJubilee could you explain that in simpler terms because I don’t get what you mean? Thank you for taking the time to comment on both threads too^^

I'm sorry OP, it's really shit but this sounds really normal. It's always been the case in my area. We've had it with tables that aren't stable, beds, a fridge etc.

I only ever rent unfurnished now!

Good luck!

@Fayekrista the only thing is, I have nowhere to store it at all.

I’m starting to think maybe I can turn the frame on its side and put it against the wall and just buy a new base. So it’ll look weird but I’ll keep the mattress and use it on the new base. I’ll wait to see what the LL comes back with but I doubt he’ll have a change of heart so I’ll have to do that

How ridiculous! I’ve never had this experience before so I’n genuinely a bit shocked haha. Thank you for the positive vibes:)

Just buy a bed frame from IKEA and chuck his away. I can't believe you haven't done that already.

@LauraNicolaides I don’t want to spend money on something that I can’t keep. Why would I throw away his frame when he’s said I have to buy one that’s like for like in price. It then has to stay when I leave. That’s really taking the piss

Dismantle bed frame, buy your own new one, store old bed frame under it. Ensure you have his agreement in an email that you can do this.

When it comes to moving out if the shitty bed frame won't go back together, that's his problem, and you can point out that he agreed you could dismantle it.

Throw his. Buy a new one. Take it with you when you go and find a free one one fb marketplace to leave there as a replacement.

Yeh it is really unfair but at this point just replace the bed and consider it worth it for the state of your sanity/comfort. It’s shit, but your landlord is clearly not going to do anything so you might as well just get on with it and make yourself comfortable. If the new bed costs more than your secure deposit take it with you. Presumably the old bed you will trash won’t. So take loads of pictures. Then when you leave, the landlord can literally only demand what the bed was worth. If you do it through TDS dispute they will be fair.

I'm not sure it's the same thing. The bed works as a bed, it's just noisy. If the washing machine broke it wouldn't be usable. I didn't mean either that you'd leave it there, I meant if you get a different bed, I think it would be your responsibility to look after the existing one and then leave it there when you go, taking your own with you.

I'm not saying you're unreasonable to be annoyed at the bed situation, but, that my understanding is that if you rent a furnished property, it's on the basis that if you don't want an item of furniture there it's up to you to sort out. (Not if things are broken and unusable, of course, then it's clearly the LL responsibility).

I remember your original post. Why can't you either place his bed in storage and move in your own or swap beds ie you put in your bed and his bed goes to your mum's? It might not be ideal but you did take the property furnished so if you dont want to use it you need to find a way to house it until you move out

I think you should email back and say:
‘The landlord admits that the bed needs fixing. As he cannot make the journey to do this himself, which is understandable, please confirm whether he will arrange for a local tradesperson to undertake this task. If not I will arrange this and have them invoice the LL for payment. Please note I have already attempted to fix the bed myself and it has not improved the noise.’

If they come back with bullshit after that, break the bed and claim unfortunate accident. I remember your last thread, you’ve been very reasonable but this has been going on too long now.

This is the way to do it.

Best advice you've had in this thread tbh!

Listen to @CourtneeLuv!

Everyone saying put up with it as it’s not broken: it’s so noisy that it wakes everyone up through the night. So much so that the OP isn’t even using it and is sleeping on the sofa. It may not be broken but it’s not fit for purpose.