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?