Tenant has asked us to fit carpets.

[fatnfrumpy]

We are new to being LL,s and our first ever tenant has been in for ten months now.
They always pay on time and seem to be a nice young couple.
However we seem to have several texts from them asking us to fix this and that.
so far month one, say shower is leaking. We have a new electric shower fitted.
month three, they report a smell in the bathroom. we unblock the drain that is filled with cooked onion from the kitchen sink.
Month five, they use the brand new fitted intregated dishwasher for the first time ever! (£7,000 brand new fitted kitchen when they moved in) they report that it leaks. The reason it leaked is the door was too tight against the cupboards. Had they used it before we could of got the kitchen fitters to rectify the problem but after five months we pay a carpenter to do it. BTW the tenant is a qualified carpenter but wanted us to pay some one to do it. It meant planeing the side of the intregated door!!!
Month eight, reports that the spare unused bedroom radiator is not getting hot and needs bleeding.
Month nine, their bedroom radiator is now also not getting hot, we call a plumber this time who bleeds the whole system and puts in chemicals.
Month ten, tonight I receive a text as follows,
Hi fatnfrumpy,wonder if it is possible to get some carpet,it,s so cold here even with the heating on. I would be willing to put some money towards it?
We have the original floorboards downstairs that we had varnished before they moved in. We also installed a wood burner inthe front room as he is a carpenter he access to wood to burn!
We rented the house to him at approx £150 pcm under the going rate for the road as we didn,t use an agent. We also saved him agents fees.
AIBU to think he is starting to take the mike or is this normal.
Thx in advance to a virgin LL.

I can bleed a radiator but depending on my relationship with the landlord I might not want to (e.g. if they were the sort who would deduct from my deposit when I left if there was the slightest mark on the carpet)

As with Hully - we've had tenants like this. Had the blocked sink thing too - tenant seemingly unable to try to do it herself (it was her food which had got stuck) and virtually requested that I book a flight and come and do it for her. Had to pay a plumber to come in and pour some caustic soda down, which unblocked it within 30 seconds.

I also paid £500 to have the shed roof fixed (apparently was leaking) only to arrive back in this country to realise that it's not the roof that leaks - the water is coming up from the floor when it rains!!

Sometimes I think the agents are a bit rubbish. The tenant calls the agent to say, for example, that the bins are full , so the agent calls you, the owner, to say that the bins are full - presumably hoping that you'll come and empty them, rather than suggesting to the tenant that they leave them out for the next bin collection day.

Don't give them carpets, and try to help them help themselves a bit with bleeding radiators etc, by giving them instructions.

What trills said.

I'm pretty good at diy but there is no way i would even begin to mess about with bleeding rads as it can go very wrong if you don't know exactly what you're doing. I don't want to fork out for those repair bills!

It's not worth the risk of losing the deposit from a tenants point of view.

I don't know about bleeding radiators. Our plumber takes two to three hours to sort out the whole house. There is goopy liquid that comes out and he is bloody brilliant in sorting it all out and calibrating everything including adjusting mysterious taps at the back of the boiler. It is a delicate operation.

No way would I want a tenant fiddling around with the heating system except setting the temperature and switching it on/off.

I think your tenants sound fine. When I was a tenant, I was very demanding (called up the agent to fix light bulbs and loose toilet seats) so I guess I find our tenants surprisingly easygoing.

I would not supply carpets. Our tenants mentioned it was cold and I sent across a couple of freestanding radiators. I figured I could always use them down the line.

traips Reminds me of when I tried to inform the EA that the small pipe leading to the electric shower was leaking on the floor (which is carpeted- ridiculous). Water was dripping from it. I'm not a plumber, I was just reporting what I saw with my own eyes.

They send a plumber around. Evidently it was condensation, so the water was coming from the outside. But the way the shower was fitted meant that the corner of the pipe was outside the bath, so the condensation dripped onto the carpeted floor. He actually asked me what I wanted him to do about it.

Well. Hell, I don't care, it's not my house. But if it were my house, I'd bloody well want to know that there's water soaking through the carpet every time someone runs the shower. That's why I rang the EA in the first place! They never did fix it. The guy said to fold up a towel and leave it on the floor there...

What I'm getting at is, traips, I'd have thought they would have sent someone around to actually assess the problem first, rather than just fix the roof based on what the tenant said?

I bled the radiators in our new rental, but I absolutely checked that I was allowed to do so first - I certainly wouldn't be mucking about with the kitchen cabinets though!

On the other hand I'm also a landlord and my tenant is angling after carpets too, but I like the house as it is, so I'm not doing it.

I can understand that it's annoying having all these little issues reported, but it's better that than my situation, where the previous tenant let all sorts of things ride, so when my new tenant moved in she found lots of stuff needed work - within her first 2 months I'd had locksmiths out twice for sticking doors and the plumber had replaced shower, hot water tank, and diverter valve for various issues (all of which the previous tenant must have had, but didn't bother to mention to anyone).

Hmm. I was a LL and think most of their requests are fair (though unusual not to use a dishwasher for 5 months) but I would have thought they could bleed a radiator themselves!! However, they knew the house had no carpets when they moved in. Suggest they can buy some rugs to put down, out of their money, but I don't think carpets are your reponsibility!

The ventilation thing would worry me - curtains need to be opened, windows need to be opened to air the property, esp in winter.

hth

Flatbread, the reson there is was a smell in the bathroom is the bathroom and kitchen are next to each other. The drain filled with onions was outside the bathroom window.
As for bleeding the radiators it took my DH less than ten minutes but it took him a two hour round trip to do it!
The boiler was serviced in April and gas certified.
As a qualified carpenter who has made all the furniture in the house himself out of oak I would have thought he would be more than capable of planeing a half centimeter off the kitchen door!
I take responsibility for repairs etc but so far the complaints have been niggles that he could have sorted himself? We unblocked the drains for him too although surely that is his responsibility?
Any how I politely told him this morning we is more than welcome to put in a room sized remenant or large rug. His winged but but but it is sooooo draughty through the floorboards.
He moved in las feb when we had snow for weeks and it was ok then. I suggested to him that light the fire earlier and back up with fan heaters as that is what we do!

I knew about bleeding radiators before I was 30. Not to mention sodding drains, blasted windows and bloody wiring.

Ah, ok. I do find older houses in the UK pretty tough going, with lots of niggles. The drain thing should be fixed by the tenant, if it is a straightforward thing. But sometimes the issue can be further down the drain and then it gets trickier.

I would just mentally assign, say, 5 hours a month to take care of tenancy things. That could include chasing up, rent, fixing stuff or doing rental paperwork. If it gets to be more than that, then have a chat with your tenant.

Regarding rent, ime, ll always feel they are undercharging ( I certainly do) while tenants usually feel they are paying too much.

Ah Piglet, but that is why you are the resident expert

I don't think it's a case of not being capable of doing these things, it's not wanting to do it in case the LL throws a shitfit and takes loads of money off the deposit.

I wouldn't do anything in a rented property it case it bit me on the bum - I'll have a go at bleeding radiators in my house but not someone else's
I sympathise with them over the cold issue -its unpleasant being cold/draughty. Beautiful floorboards equal cold to me.

Would you really be happy if a tenant started getting their carpentry tools out and hacking bits off doors?

You're a landlord. Part of what they pay you in rent is for you to keep the property in a good state of repair. Whether you have a two hour round trip or whatever to do so is immaterial and to be honest if it's an issue then maybe you shouldn't be a landlord. You could always get a job instead.

hmm. i'm a tenant and my oven blocks one of my kitchen drawers so it's unuseable. i can use a saw, i wonder if my LL would be happy for me to work away myself at making the drawer useable? dont think so somehow.

all reasonable requests OP the fact that he is a carpenter and 32 shouldn't come into it. he could just as easily be a disabled old lady and you would be as equally obliged to carry out repairs as the LL. i also cant believe your outrage at them waiting 5 months to use the dishwasher. they dont have to use it of they dont want to and when they do it doesn't have to be within your timescale. you should have checked it was working before letting the property.

they should be opening windows though. i never realised until i joined MN that people dont open their windows everyday! mine are open all day everyday until dusk unless it's really cold. it's common sense surely that houese need to be aired. doesn't their house smell without them open?

oh yes, all reasonable requests except the carpet. he needs to buy big rugs.

Mine are open all day everyday until dusk unless it's really cold.

You must spend a lot on heating. And be in the house rather more than a lot of people. (assuming you don't leave all your windows open while you are out).

I will go and open some upstairs windows though.

I think the OP's attitude is sadly common amongst landlords - happy to take the money, not so happy to do anything to warrant it.

nope. my heating isn't even on yet. except if we are finding it really hard to keep warm i'll stick it on for half an hour. i'm in and out of the house all day and the downstairs windows go on the lock (but still open if that makes sense) before i go out. even when i was working full time, all windows on the open lock.

tbh i'm more than happy to bleed radiators, unblock drains and do small repairs but i need to know i'm not going to be arsed about and blamed for doing these things not the way the LL would have done them. for example i'm not going to pay for a professional plumber to bleed a radiator so if that's what the LL wants, they'll have to do it themselves or pay for it.

my stair and landing carpet needs replaced. i'm happy to pay for it to be replaced but i've been in this house since june and not 1 of the repairs i've reported has been fixed, including a 8X16 inch hole in the back door!(no ventilation problems here right now!) so they dont fill me with confidence that they would appreciate me looking after their house and reward me by not kicking me out at the end of the term so i'm not offering to do it till i see proof that they are decent LLs. all evidence to the contrary so far.

WALLISON wtf is your problem?
You sound like you are hell bent on starting a bun fight and have some gripe with LL,s.
We HAVE fixed every little niggle he has asked us to within a day or so.
What I am trying to say is I would have found it easy to do these little jobs if I was a tenant.
They ASKED for a dishwasher when we decided to put in a brand new kitchen and en-suite before they moved in. YES we did try out the appliences, inc built in oven and hob, american side by side. intregated washer etc This kitchen cost over 7k and they were delighted with it.
As we were not using an agent we knocked off £150pcm of the going rate.
YES i think we have been bloody good ll,s to them, changing the washer from a 1200 spin to a 1600. putting in a washing line, garden shed with tools, lawnmower etc. Grassing over the yard and putting gravel down so they have a wonderful outside space.
Now they want fitted carpets downstairs after we put in new underlay and carpet in hall, stairs landing and bedrooms for them last April.
I think they think we are made of money?
WALLISON I DO HAVE A JOB!!!

PS WALLISON I take it from your negetativity towards me and LL,s in general you are a TENANT?

No need to shout.

Fat, seems like you have been very accommodating about things you shouldn't have e.g., changing the washing machine.

Defo say no to paying for carpets.

But the rest is fine, IMO.

We had been planning to change the kitchen before renting it out. Agent advises me not to, said I could not charge more rent just because we put in a new kitchen.

The rental market is a strange beast. Just focus on the warm glow from the prompt rent and put up with doing repairs, even if your tenant is an irritating git.

Fixing things and bleeding radiators normal for landlord. Some tenants good at DIY some not. Would rather have a tenant do nothing than start hacking away at cupboards. Having been a landlord and a tenant I wouldn't expect a tenant to bleed a radiator.

Changing fixtures and fittings like carpet after tenant has moved in is not normal.

Sorry if I missed a bit but does the room with a fire have central heating? A bit unusual to have to use fan heaters as back up.

Is there anything in your contract about the tenant being obliged to keep the house adequately ventilated?