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.

Lurking I couldn't agree with you more. I hate agents, but have to use them, it is money for old rope if you ask me. We have tried advertising ourselves and for some reason tenants prefer to use an agent.

My DH can do all the checks, advertising, showing people around. We tried doing it ourselves once and as soon as the person on the phone realises you are the LL they run for the hills. We only use an agent to find the tenant and do all the checks then take over ourselves with inventories and maintenance. For some strange reasons the tenant feel more secure through an agent.

Really have? I've had the worst luck with agencies, I prefer a private LL as I've personally found them to be a lot more resonance and willing to work with us.

Not that I'm a horrid tenant and grows dubious substances in my back garden .

Yes Heels that?s what we have done in the past ? get the agent to set the tenancy up, get to know the ll, then get free of the tie when confident. But that?s the thing isn?t it? When done well, agents are a good thing ? but that?s why they need a more socially defined role, something akin to housing associations I guess.

I?d happily skip the letting agent bit if you could get some kind of reliable referencing and download an agreement online or something. I am sure there?d be a down side somewhere ? how would it affect rental prices?

I hear your angst too Wallison btw - and expect I?d empathise if I knew what had caused it. We have been totally but legally shafted in the past and it sometimes seems impossible to move forward or make any significant contribution to change - too busy moving .

That makes me angry too, and it's hard not to let rip sometimes, but you have to channel it

Sorry for slight hijacking btw op. Hope you find a solution.

Santa you can find out who owns your property on the land registry website for I think £2. You could approach them for a longer term agreement, with say a two yearly rent review. I would be more than happy to do this for a long term rental, as findng tenants is the most expensive cost for a LL.

Tribble I think you need to have a good relationship with tenants, it is a two way street after all. Property is the biggest thing you will ever purchase, having a good tenant takes some of the worry away. We are not pushoevers though, tenants are told what we expect from them and in return they get a quality property, with good maintenance back up. Seems like a winning formula so far, just wish the sharks in the business would stop giving us a bad name.

i know who owns it and i've found out that this is the first time they've used an agent to let the house. i think that's why i've hesitated to contact them directly as maybe they got fed up of dealing with tenants directly. i love this house and dont want to do anything to piss them off . i'm going to ring the agent again on monday and try and get a date pinned down for when teh repairs will be done by, if i cant get it from them i'll think about contacting LL directly.

Santa, you could right them a nice letter saying how much you love the house and want to stay for a long period if they would be happy with that to contact you, if you don't hear anything from them by XX date you will not persue anything with them. I can't see why that would piss them off they can either ignore and that is the end of it or they can contact you, Their call really.

Write no right sorry it is late

thanks have i'll keep that in mind. i'll see how i get on with the agent first.

I’m a landlord trying to get a new tenant carpets are HighTech quality like 29.99 sq yard just need cleaning prospective tenant wants new carpets laid cause he don’t like sand colour he ants black says he’s got 2 children that will make a light carpet dirty, well do I sense something wrong here or not because it seems to me his kids are just messy I have said I will clean the existing carpet what do you all reckon

@fatnfrumpy I am a LL and they sound v annoying tenants. I am lucky to have lovely tenants who are practical and are happy to sort small problems themselves although if they do ask me to fix something it's usually big (new boiler/ dodgy fence etc). I've had tenants like yours in the past and it was the happiest day when they moved out! If you're able to in your contract, serve them notice and get new tenants!!

zombie thread!

Twiggy if the tenant messed the carpet then they should be cleaning them, themselves. If the current carpet is serviceable but the wrong colour then it does not need replacing.

I realise this is an ancient zombie thread, but asking for things to be fixed as a tenant is not annoying. A lot of landlords wouldn't want tenants to attempt to fix things themselves, they'd want to know it was done properly. A tenant wouldn't necessary know a sink is blocked because of their onions. Yes they should air the house, but all their requests sound completely reasonable. Even carpets, if it's very draughty. Would you like to live in a cold house?

who puts onions or food waste down a sink? unless you know there is a waste disposal you would be very stupid to do that.

the tenants (presumably long gone) chose a place with no carpets. they would not magically appear. the epc isnt ideal but does give some ideas on heating etc.

I would say no to fitting carpets.
if you're feeling nice you could go half with them on rugs, IKEA have some big rugs that are quite cheap.

zombie thread