End of tenenacy: What do you think? Landlord wants to tile kitchen floor while we are stilll here

[carolinecordery]

Hi, we are moving out of our privately rented house on 17th July but yesterday we got a note from the landlord who lives next door to say that they have got a tiler coming in from the 13th to do the kitchen floor. The last few days of our tenancy will be hectic and stressful as it is with packing, moving, cleaning and decorating (they also want us to repaint the kitchen walls before we leave). I don't want a tiler putting the kitchen out of action and making a mess while we're still here.
Am I being reasonable or not?
I think they should do a major refurb job like this after our tenancy and before the start of the next one (it is let already but not sure of moving in date of new tenants).
What do you think? I'm putting a letter to them tonight to basically say we don't give our permission. not sure if we have the right to refuse. It is not a 'necessary repair' after all.
Thank you for any advice

i wouldn't allow it, not in the last few days when it is all hectic. and yes, you do have the right to refuse.

LL can do it when you have gone.

also, take pictures of everything before you leave, especially if you think it might turn nasty getting your deposit back. best tip we ever had that was.

YANBU at all to refuse. You have the right to 'quiet enjoyment' of your home. You don't have to let anybody in.

A bit of a cheek really. Why disturb you? The landlord only has to wait 3 more days and then he can do what he likes.

The landlord should be doing the tiling after you've got not while you're still there. The kitchen will be virtually unusable if the floor is being tiled. And you aren't responsible for repainting the kitchen I wouldn't have thought. I have heard some landlords are very unreasonable about returning deposits and use any excuse.

He is trying to get it so that he can move another tenant in the minute you move out, instead of having a gap while he upgrades the place.

Tell him no.

you don't have to do it.
might be difficult to do a usefull moving out inventory with the builders in as well.

Thank you all.
When we painted the kitchen, they did say 'so long as you put it back to magnolia when you leave' and we sort of mumbled ok, even though we've improved the place with our decorating. It was death by magnolia. The new tenants will be disappointed though as they love the colours we've got in the kitchen - it was what sold them on the property when they viewed. But the landlord is not going to care about that, he just wants to avoid having to repaint himself at the end of the next tenancy. Apparently the new floor tiles 'will clash' with what we've got now.
DP does not want to send a letter (I drafted one and it just ended up sounding too shirty, as do all the letters I write to the landlord), he says he'll go round later.

It's not an essential repair and you have the right to refuse. And yes the landlord is obviously trying to shorten the gap between tenancies but tiling a kitchen is going a bit far.

I have rented many a time - I always found that you should cooperate as best as you can with landlord at the end of tenancy as IMO helps get you your deposit back asap (rather than the regulated time period). Even if it does put you out. Maybe ask as a goodwill gesture that he gives you the deposit back the same day as you are moving out / pay for expenses of eating out.

Also, tiling a floor should only take a day max - state this is the max he can have to do the job and the guy should start early, so it is dry by the evening. If it is going to take longer than this - then it's impractical. I would try to paint and pack most of the kitchen before this date. It is a pain - but how you handle it should depend on how fast you need your deposit back.

Legally, I think they only have to give you 24hrs to access the property, reason vary from contract to contract.

Good luck with the move!

I do think it's impractical, even for a day. We have a one and a three year old as well. It is a big kitchen and the landlord is not in the habit of employing highly skilled people judging by the rest of the house.

I'd say no. Our landlord is selling and has mucked us about re viewings so I have said no more until we find somehwere and move out and there is nothing they can do.I renovate houses and tiling is quite disruptive

It will take longer than a day to sub floor tile allow drying time and then grout

as a landlady i can tell you that your landlord has no right to carry out the work whilst you are still in the property. he can ask but you can refuse. it sounds as if he wants it sorted before the next tenant moves in but you are paying rent and unless he is going to compensate you for the inconvenience - such as not charging you rent for those days the work is being carried out - i would refuse

Another (ex-, thank goodness,) landlord here who thinks yours is a nobber.

Works carried out during a tenancy are tax deductible, works carried out during a void are rarely so. Also, as others have said, he wants to minimise the void. All the advantage to him, all the disadvantage to you.

Either he compensates you for the disruption or you tell him no.

I would agree with May09 about co-operating with your landlord when you can, but it's nonsense to suggest this expedites the return of your deposit. Your deposit is protected, and it's not your landlord's privilege to decide whether you're entitled to its return.

May09 tenants don't have to consent to access; bad LLs conflate notice with consent and it is NOT the same thing legally.

All very interesting and helpful. Yes our landlord is a complete nob. our deposit is not protected as they never bothered putting it into the Deposit Protection Scheme (despite our informing them about it 3 years ago).Our next place is managed by a nice agent.
DP went round this evening which we were dreading, but they agreed to do it after our tenancy.
Hooray!

Glad it is resolved. Hope you get your deposit back.

What date did your tenancy start. Surely he's breaking the law by not using a deposit protection scheme?

What date did your tenancy start. Surely he's breaking the law by not using a deposit protection scheme?

Not good news about your deposit. Here's hoping he's reasonable about returning it.

If he isn't, you'll need to claim it back through the Small Claims Court. You could be looking at nine months or more to get your money back. On the upside, you could also get three times your deposit back.

However, be sure - given he lives next door - that your tenancy is not actually a licence of occupation. Get some proper legal advice if things go wrong. Most solicitors will give the first consultation free.

You can also ask the landlords at landlordlaw.co.uk and on Moneysavingexpert, and keep posting back on here if things go pearshaped. On another thread, a poster has successfully sued her landlord for 3x deposit and is willing to share her documents.

If your deposit wasn't protected by teh end of april you are effectively a sitting tenant. This has just happened to us!