Who’s the CF- landlord or me?

[OhDearNoWindowHere]

I’ll try and keep this brief. A couple of months ago landlord contacted to say he needed to do some work on the roof. It was damaged and causing damp so I was pleased. Blokes came over and sorted all the tiles etc and I was pleased. There was a skylight causing lots of leaks and damp, so they took it out. Didn’t ask me, I just noticed afterwards. I wasn’t thrilled but it didnt provide much light as it’s in an impossible place to clean and was causing issues so I decided not to cause a fuss. But they never tidied up after sealing it up. I contacted the landlord to ask about painting etc now it’s dry and he’s told me that it’s my job to fix it as I’m responsible for maintaining the property and keeping it updated. The problem is, it looks awful, it’s in a difficult place to paint, and I don’t see why I should have to pay someone to redecorate it, when they made the mess without asking me? I’ll attach a picture to show what they’ve left me with, but who’s the CF?

YABU- the LL fixed the problem for free, i can deal with the painting
YANBU- I didn’t cause the mess and shouldn’t have to pay to fix it

Definitely a landlord issue to fix, he's being the CF.

Sounds like my previous LL. It’s definitely his responsibility. But maybe if you were to do it, ask for contribution to the costs?

Not your responsibility! Who manages the property?

www.citizensadvice.org.uk/housing/repairs-and-housing/repairs-and-housing-conditions/renting-from-the-council-or-a-housing-association/repairs-what-are-the-landlord-s-responsibilities/#:~:text=Your%20landlord%20has%20to%20do,pipes%2C%20windows%20and%20external%20doors

I have rented out a property in the past as I needed to moved abroad temporarily. I used a very good letting avenge and can assure you that it is 100% the landlord’s responsibility.

I agree you’re responsible for maintaining it. Maintaining it means keeping it as close to the current condition as possible.

Disagree that you’re responsible for updating it though! As if you should be adding value to his property!

If he doesn’t listen to reason then contact CAB for advice.

He’s a proper cheeky bastard, it’s definitely not for you to fix

It’s 100% the LL

Have a look in your contract but I'm pretty sure landlords are responsible for the building itself, including painting of bare plaster.

That’s not maintenance, it’s repairs/renovations therefore his responsibility.

This was my post last year before I moved out.

www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/4851146-who-is-responsible-for-thisphoto-attached

No - I’m a landlord by default (and a tenant in a different country) - no way would I expect my tenant to make good after work I’d had done.

Hard to tell what the distance is from your pic. If it's just a roller on a long pole job, it's a five minute job (assuming you're not disabled/if you are you have a friend who can help).

If it's far enough away that you need one of those special ladder thingies for stairs, that's more annoying and I would expect the landlord to do that because it's not the kind of thing you have lying around or can buy cheaply.

But op would almost certainly have to buy paint and a roller with a long pole. To decorate where work has been done that op had no choice in.

Yeah @sunseaandsoundingoff but why should she?

If you don't think it's that much work to do then I'm sure the OP wouldn't mind you going round to do it.

Definitely a landlord job, but up to them if they do it or not as it doesn't really have to be painted.

These landlords are bloody awful aren't they. I rent a house out and I make sure it's kept nicer than mine!

Of course it's the landlords responsibility, it's his house. He'd certainly have had something to say if you painted it without the mess having happened so why would it be your responsibility now? Your contract should be clear that it's the landlords responsibility, and no doubt it says you are not allowed to paint/decorate/change anything in anyway, I know that's what mine says. I'm not even allowed to put up a poster let alone paint a ceiling. That's not to say he has to, it's his house so if he doesn't want that bit painting/tidying up he doesn't have to do it. We had a similar issue with a leak in our DDs room which had pink walls when we moved in, and my landlord got the painter to repaint just that patch in basic white. Looks a right mess, even the painter apologised, but nothing we could do about it.

I am a landlord and I would see that as my responsibility. Any necessary work should be finished to a satisfactory standard.

LL here, that is your LL’s responsibility.

All repairs/decoration/making good is the responsibility of the landlord who owns the house, obviously. In the past, my tenant has done decorating because he wanted to do it himself and was handy. I let him, but I paid for all the materials and gave his children some money when I saw them. I have asked my longterm tenants to organise workmen (which I give them) because it’s ridiculous trying to be the middleman and go back and forth repeatedly until the time is decided. Invoices all come to me, obviously.

Thanks everyone! That’s what I thought but I didn’t want to start a fight if I was being unreasonable about it. I’ll contact CAB and then go back on Monday with a calm and reasonable response!

@sunseaandsoundingoff i cropped the picture, it’s really high and over stairs so would require those weird ladders/scaffolding. I think that’s why he’s refusing to do it?

Yeah, a 5 minute job her landlord can bloody do!

Agree with others that landlord is wrong. Defect to redecoration was caused by landlords repair so he is responsible for making good or it could be left as it is.

How is it a five minute job?

1. Go to the shop to buy long handled roller, tray & paint
2. Prep mist coat
3. Do mist coat & wait for it to dry
4. Paint first coat & wait for it to dry
5. Paint second coat. (Possible extra steps of realise paint doesn’t match existing paint and have to repaint the whole area)
6. Clean up

It's structural so absolutely the LL responsibility.