Hi ladies
Lengthy post warning!
Desperately looking for advice please! We currently rent out a house (as we are currently abroad for work). Intention is to return in a couple of years with our family and live in the house for the foreseeable future thereafter. The house is on a has a separate cottage that my parents live in. I am currently visiting them at present.
The couple we rent to are a very presentable professional couple with 2 kids + 1 stepchild on weekends. My MIL acts as a de facto landlady due to her living in close proximity and wanting to keep We last had an inspection in Dec 2017 (and not a full one as their schedule did not permit despite us being in the country a limited time). They are very quick to use privacy and their kids as an excuse to avoid an inspection despite reasonable notice on several occasions.
They are also incredibly quick to complain about issues and we are always quick to call the necessary service providers to resolve. Sometimes my FIL does the more basic repairs himself, as he is very handy with things like that.
The latest issue has blown up to massive proportions & I am not sure how to resolve. We had a message earlier this week about mould on the bathroom walls and how it was a health hazard to their kids/they now have lung infections etc and can we possibly paint with antifungal paint/sort additional ventilation (despite there being an extractor/bathroom windows never being open - my parents live in a cottage opposite and I too have not seen any of these windows open during a 1 week stay). It basically was worded to make us feel as if it was the reason the kids were sick. We then got an additional message about whilst we are there to bring an electrician along as well as the dimmer lights keep fusing...
arrangements to inspect were tricky given their “privacy” however we managed to arrange a suitable time. As I am currently here I tagged along. Lighting issue turned out to be because they were using the wrong bulbs!!! And the bathroom was a combination of condensation mildew/dirt on walls. MIL took along a anti mildew household spray and cleaned it no problem! It was most definitely IMO a cleaning/window ventilation issue. She left a patch to show it was a cleaning issue. Where things went slightly askew is when we decided to look at the rest of the house. This was due to the condition of the tv room (first room we entered). Wow. I was shocked - it was filthy. The tv room had dog paw prints everywhere, the polished concrete floor had a large crack - they were basically using it as an indoor dog kennel to their 4 (rather feral) large dogs. To top it off there was a pile of dust just flying there. So we decided to look at all the rooms and were horrified, broken blinds, windows, cracked glass panes in some doors, dog scratch mark on doors and floors, a filthy toilet and thick dirt on door & cupboard edges and skirting boards. This despite a full time maid! Now my MIL was probably a bit short with the maid (a separate issue) but then sent a to the point I message to the tenants about the wrong bulbs being used, how they should clean the bathroom etc AND that they needed to replace the broken and cracked windows.
I just had a gut feel that the tenant lady would be upset that we had basically looked at all the rooms.
Trues Bob it all kicked off and she has sent several messages about our disrespect for going through all the rooms with a fine comb (exaggeration), how she can’t enjoy the property as a result of my MIL being present (another exaggeration as she was last there 2 months ago to help with a burst pipe), how it’s not a cleaning issue and the she resented her turning up with heavy chemicals as the maid is pregnant, stepchild gets asthma, wants to use natural products yadda yadda. How do pregnant woman clean then? Had she even tried bicarbonate & vinegar/hydrogen peroxide as alternative? She still disputes it is cleaning or lack of windows being open...
We are getting threats about them now having to be resorted to possibly move out as they don’t want to deal with my MiL (I think there is also a personality clash).
We are not sure how to deal with this. If we were to use a letting agent would they be even former with access and inspections, internal repairs? How do we broach the cleansliness issue? They may feel the place is “clean” but I am not the neatest person nor is my house spotless with 3 kids, but I felt it was grotty! How is that not more of a potential health issue + 4 large dirty dogs living in the house? I am worried they won’t clean the mildew on the walls as advised (as “toxic”) and will then use as excuse not to pay rent down the line.
At wits end, feel like calling their bluff on the threat, ignoring messages for now and asking my MIL to keep a very low profile for the next while.