To refuse refurb works?

[Sparklfairy]

My letting agent has contacted me to say I'll have to move out for two weeks so that the kitchen can be replaced. Because it's a really tiny studio flat there's no way I can stay here while the work is being done.

The kitchen is absolutely fine. No damage, fully functional, the units don't look any more tired than they did when I moved in years ago, so this is purely cosmetic to justify a rent hike

I'm not even sure where I'm supposed to go for two weeks, as according to Shelter the LL is not obligated to pay for my alternative accommodation and I can only 'ask' for a rent reduction!

So as far as I can see, I have to upend my life for two weeks (which will inevitably be longer), fork out for somewhere else to live, and pay the same rent for the privilege. It seems to me the kitchen can just be redone whenever I move out, but the LL is trying to minimise dead rent months between tenancies.

And before you say 'oh, you'll have a shiny new kitchen so it'll be worth it' (which is basically what she said), as you can imagine, in a flat this small the kitchen is hardly a size where it's a delight to cook in. You just make what you can in the space you have and get the hell out of there.

Can I just refuse them?

Hopeful bump. Feeling a bit stuck because google isn't being that helpful. This isn't a 'repair', it's 100% cosmetic refurb that has no urgency.

I have no idea OP, but it sounds really unfair.

Yes, you can refuse if it isn't essential works/repairs. You are entitled to quiet enjoyment of the property that you rent and do not have to let anyone in unless in emergency. Shelter's website will have more info about this.

If it was essential repairs then you would need to check your tenancy agreement to see what it says about who is responsible for paying for alternative accommodation if the property becomes uninhabitable.

Thanks. I was hoping you would say that. She has this habit of swooping in at random and saying things are happening as a certainty, with this apparent urgency. Yet requested repairs drag on months... even years.

A few years back I moved out for a bathroom refurb, but that was needed because the entire ceiling had fallen down so I didn't ask anything about a rent reduction. But as this has been randomly dropped on me (I'd have to leave next week) and the work isn't needed/a repair/certainly not needed right now I don't see why I should disrupt my own life to accommodate it.

If you warn your landlord that you won’t be allowing access, then hopefully she will realise that she will be the one storing a kitchen she’s just paid for plus paying the kitchen fitter a day or twos money for standing on your doorstep and that she will just see sense and back off.

You need to check your tenancy agreement as your landlord may have a clause that requires access for improvement works which is absolutely legal and fine. If you refuse access could be forced by an injunction.

However they cannot demand you move out for the duration unless it's absolutely necessary that you cannot remain whilst the works are done.
Even in a tiny place might be easier to eat out/use microwave for a week than move out.

That doesn't sound quite right to me. I'm not a lawyer, but I work in that field, so I know a bit about unfair contract terms, and terms that try and override my statutory right to quiet enjoyment of my flat.

I'm not necessarily saying the kitchen can't be done ever, I just don't want it done right now, especially with next to no notice and no indication that it was even on the cards to be done. An 'injunction' to force me to move out for this work would be the very definition of an unfair contract term, so I'm not even going to bother checking the tenancy agreement for such nonsense.

Could you say to the letting agent or LL, I will confirm that I will vacate for X days once I know what hotel or Airbnb accommodation you will be paying for.
Bloody cheek. Where do they think you're going to move your life to for their convenience?!

Well as you say you aren't a landlord and tenant lawyer...

You can't help some people.

A term like that wouldn't be enforceable if it benefited one party to the detriment of the other. Its that simple. Landlords put all sorts into tenancy agreements, relying on tenant ignorance to push them through. I don't think that's the case here anyway, but if it was I could safely sign the agreement knowing that term had no legal basis.

Well you are wrong. A term like that - access for improvements- is perfectly enforceable. The property may be your home but it's the landlord's asset and landlord's have rights too that can trump a tenants right to quiet enjoyment. If you are a lawyer no doubt you have access to lexis or westlaw and can check for yourself. Perhaps have a look at Woodfalls. Maybe even ask Shelter. They'll confirm I am right.

As I said the starting point is checking the tenancy term regarding access. If it doesn't mention improvements or "other works" merely repair then you'll likely be fine to refuse if it isn't in disrepair.

If it does mention access for improvements or other works and you refuse access you will be in breach of a perfectly fair term and be at risk of legal consequences.

Oh dear. I do hope you're not a landlord.

As I said, I'm happy to allow access for it to be done. I'm not happy to be left a voicemail out of the blue saying its being done on x date and you'll have to move out for two weeks.

Hopefully you and I are talking at cross purposes, but if there is a term that I have to move out for refurbishment works at the whim of the landlord, or indeed if you use such terms, then no, they are not enforceable. Because in principle the landlord could make it so work is done every single month so I can't live there at all, yet still have to pay full rent. That is why it would be an unfair contract term. It is open ended for the landlord to the detriment of the tenant.

Whatever tenancy laws you think you know, contract law comes first. If I breach that contract by not paying my rent, they can evict me. If there are unfair contract terms, they are voidable. It doesn't impact the rest of the contract, it just means that part isn't enforceable.

Hope that helps.

Yes your contract does come first as ive said several times. What does it say about access for improvements?

I'm not a landlord, I'm trying to be helpful and answer your original question as to whether you can just refuse. I won't repeat myself on that but if you don't believe me I've pointed you in the direction of resources that will help.

If the notice is too short/inconvenient and you've bothered to check your tenancy to see the request is within the terms of your contract then try to negotiate a more convenient time. Simple.

Surely shelter can give you accurate information?

It seems outrageous that she can do this. Especially at such short notice.

I understand your concerns about the contract. It doesnt matter what the contract says if its unlawful. This is what shelter could confirm. Hopefully.

A few years ago I refused to have major work done. So the workmen turned up anyway and ripped the place apart despite my refusal. If you refuse, make very sure no one can access the property against your will.

Surely one weeks notice is classed as unreasonable… what if you are ill…

I've emailed the agent saying it's not a good time but we can liaise and organise a more convenient one with adequate notice. She hasn't responded yet.

Sorry for derailing my own thread bickering about contracts It boils my piss that landlords think they can put whatever they like into tenancy agreements and somehow it's binding. It really isn't, and I hope any tenants that read this realise that.

@potatocrates I work from home so no chance of that luckily.

I would refuse given she wants you to pay full rent. My old letting agents tried this with a repair to the bathroom when I was renting and claimed 'you are getting a new bathroom out of it'. No love, THE LANDLORD is getting a new bathroom out of this! Start asking difficult questions and as others have said she may rethink. It's ridiculous that they can just turf you out when they feel like it but also demand you pay them for the privilege of not being in the property.

I hope when your bathroom had to be fixed your landlord paid for your accommodation which should have been covered by the landlords insurance. I am fairly sure that they cannot insist you move out for changing the kitchen during the term of your lease. I am a one flat landlord and we are good landlords for our good tenants. Some landlords should be ashamed of themselves.

No, I paid full rent and no accommodation paid. I put it down as just one of those things - it was no one's fault that the ceiling fell down. I'm okay with a landlord/tenant relationship based on mutual respect, so I will accommodate where I can without a fuss. This is beyond the pale though, increasing the value of his asset and presumably justifying a rent increase when I renew, making me homeless for at least two weeks in the process while taking full rent. No thanks.

@Sparklfairy so do I! I only went out briefly, returned to my desk and found that half my windows were already gone.

Oh crikey, sorry I'm not laughing honestly maybe I'll just never leave the flat and get everything delivered for the foreseeable just to prove a point!

It's just strange, I have no idea why she was so randomly insistent it be done right this second with no prior warning. I had an inspection just a few weeks ago and she didn't say a thing. The landlord owns all four flats in the block, and often when work is done to one flat, they do all four to make it easier. A few months ago the storage heaters were replaced in all the flats, which makes sense even though mine worked and I'm fine with making myself scarce whilst it's done. But I'm friends with one of the neighbours and he's heard nothing about his own kitchen, and I cannot see any reason why mine would suddenly need 'updating'. It's like the disruption to my life, including the agg of emptying the fridge and cupboards and putting all my crockery somewhere safe out of the way doesn't even register with them.

Ask the LL to wait until you are going on holiday to get it done. That's what I did for my tenant got a new bathroom fitted whilst she was away for 10 days. All completed before she returned. I'll bet your LL has got a good deal on the kitchen so that is why they want to do it now so they won't have to store it.

If you do move out for 2 weeks you can't be charged rent for that period. You really don't have to move out if you don't want to.

Afaik, the advice you mention relates to actual repairs, when there is a problem a landlord has to fix and it’s not possible to fix it unless the tenant moves out. Even then they’d need a court order if the tenant refused.

What your landlord seems to want to do is to carry out improvement works, not repairs.

Check your agreement what it says. By law there’s no obligation on you to agree to let your landlord in to carry out improvement works (unless replacing the kitchen is the only way of dealing with some disrepair but from your post it appears not), let alone move out. What does your contract say, do you know?

The problem is that if the landlord really wants you out, they could give you a section 21 notice when your fixed term expires/ break clause in your agreement kicks in and get you out permanently. Assuming you moved in after 1997 (you said ‘years ago’).

How good/bad is your relationship? Perhaps they’d be willing not to charge you rent and contribute to alternative accommodation? If they do, I’d personally want it in writing.

I’m not a lawyer btw.