To think that my mother is making a mistake

[AnnaQuayInTheUk]

My mum is in her 80s, very capable and competent. A few years ago she moved in with her partner and let out her home. She had one set of tenants for the first few years, no problems. They moved out in the summer so she now has new tenants. All done through a local letting agent.

Her bungalow is in very good condition, well maintained but slightly dated. Since the new tenants have moved in they've asked for some minor changes. - bathroom cabinet to be moved to a different wall, internal glazed door to be changed to a solid one - which mum has happily agreed to and paid for

It transpires that they have now proposed (and mum has agreed) to replace all the kitchen cabinet doors at their expense, not mums. The doors are fine, solid wood, nothing is broken but they are dated.

I have no idea how much this is going to cost the tenants. The kitchen is quite big with a few integrated appliances, so it won't be cheap. The kitchen isn't going to be updated in any other way apart from being painted a colour of the tenants choice which my mum has agreed to pay for as it hasn't been done for a few years

Obviously it's none of my business, but I don't think my mum should be agreeing to the tenants choosing and paying for the new kitchen doors. What happens if mum wants them to leave shortly afterwards if she needs to return to the property? Would she have to repay them the money for the doors? I really think she's making a mistake.

So
YABU - it's none of my business and I should let mum get on with it
YANBU. - you need to try to persuade her not to allow this

The house is very likely to need to be sold at any point in the next decade. It could be next week, it could be 10 years. The tenants are taking a huge gamble investing a significant sum of money in a house they may have to move out of in a matter of months.

Changing the doors is unlikely to add significant value to the property, so I would make sure that they are not expecting their costs to be reimbursed on sale.

If they have funds to do this, why are they not putting it into a house deposit pot where they can change doors to their hearts content?

Then I would direct her to the letting agents and any concerns she has or the best way of going about it or any risks involved they should be able to go through it with her

Thanks everyone. I absolutely take the point about it being my mother's business and not mine. But that doesn't mean I'm not concerned about it.

She now lives 200 miles from the property so it's not easy for her to go and have a look/f2f discussion with the tenants.

My worry is that, if she allows them to do this and they do a dreadful job, does she have any redress?

She isn't planning on needing the house in the near future but who knows? If her partner dies, she will have to move out of his home as it will go to his children. If she needs a care home then she would need to sell to fund that. Hopefully those scenarios are a long way off/ might never happen, but on the other hand she and her partner are in their mid 80s.

When you give someone an inch in these kind of circumstances, they usually take more, a lot more.

Your mother is leaving herself wide open to a whole load of problems.

I’ve been a landlord and once the tenants start wanting to change things to their taste it’s a slippery slope to their doing something you don’t want or causing problems if you say no.

I would not allow them to change kitchen doors.

I think she should say no too because then the doors are the tenant’s property and it could get tricky if she wants them to leave, they could take the doors with them or ask for reimbursement.
I’d either get a proper kitchen makeover company to come in and paint the walls and cabinets at the same time, which would probably be a good investment anyway.
Or say no to doing anything structural to the kitchen.

Way too complicated.

Also get an alert set up on here.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/property-alert

We’ve got long term tenants who live in a house we own. They make changes to the house, in agreement with us, at their expense. They have updated the bathrooms, recarpeted, removed fitted wardrobes, changed floorings etc. all done to a decent standard. They are good people and it’s their home and hopefully will be for many years to come

When I rented out my old flat, my tenant often asked to do improvements. He was a fairly long-standing tenant and we had a good relationship. Some things I paid for eg new hob, but decorating etc I didn't and he just did the work. I just said if I wasn't happy with colour eg if he'd painted the bedroom black or something, he'd have to make good. But generally it was (for me) a sign he cared for the flat and was committed to staying there. Which he did until he'd saved up for a deposit to buy one.

ETA if mum thinks this will add value to home, personally I'd pay for it and just offset cost on profits.

In one of the rental we lived, we replaced the carpet in the large living room with laminate. We paid for it and the labour to fit it instead of rent one month. That was the landlord's decision.

I think my mum is hoping the tenants will be there for the foreseeable future. My worry is if they aren't, and who "owns" the doors.

If the tenants replace the doors at their cost and then have to move out for some reason, do they have any comeback about recouping the cost? I just don't think mum has thought this through.

I don’t think who owns the door has any relevance. They are hardly going to find a place where 18 doors will exactly fit the new kitchen. Get the Agent to draw up an agreement saying the doors have to stay if you are really concerned.