Will Landlord Make These Repairs?

[PerpetuallyStuckWatchingPeppa]

Hi all -

We moved in to a rented house a few weeks ago, and have the property management team coming round this week to do a more detailed inventory and also look closely at some of the issues I highlighted to them after our first week of living here.

We intend to be in this property for a long time, as the size is the perfect, the rent amount is fine and the location is great for us, however, if the issues I’m about to list are unlikely to be sorted, I’m not sure how long we’ll wind up being here.

Which of the following things do you think we reasonably stand a chance of having sorted out -

Our front door is an old wooden door, it’s split externally and the split has obviously started migrating all the way through to the internal side, and if you look closely, you can see sunlight through the door! We have three young DC’s so the thought of having a split/cracked front door is putting me on edge regarding security.

Next to our front door, there’s a lovely stained glass, single pane window, but about two thirds of the way up the window, a part of it is cracked. I suspect if you were to poke the cracked piece, it would likely pop right out the other side!

Our lounge features a large, single pane bay window, which, even though it’s been warm the past few weeks, we’ve noticed is incredibly drafty, I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like in winter! And again, like the panel by the front door, there’s a crack and split in the top area of one of the stained glass panes.

Several of the windows throughout the property have succumbed to severe condensation between the double glazing itself - most notably in the conservatory (there are several panes where you can barely see through) and in one of our DC’s rooms.

The wooden flooring in the conservatory has blown considerably. There are entire planks that move and bow when you walk across them, as well as several others that are badly chipped, dented and scratched. By the conservatory doors, there’s a piece of wooden flooring that lifts clean up!

The bath panel is cracked - there’s a hole around two inches long, and the entire panelling itself moves where it’s not screwed in properly.

There are two tiles next to the bath that are practically hanging off the wall, meaning when you have a shower, all of the water just falls down behind the back of the tiles, and I assumed is then pooling on the floor underneath the bath?

Also in the bathroom, the grouting is terrible! It looks as though the previous tenants never once thought to clean the grouting, as 90% of it has black patches which won’t scrub off. I actually got so sick of looking at it (after only a few days) and took to some of the tiles with a grout pen and it looks so, so much better, but again, not exactly something I feel should be our responsibility given we haven't done anything to cause the black marks.

The pull down (borderline paper-like) blinds in the conservatory all have mouldy patches.

The side gate has barely any life left in it, it’s falling apart. I reckon if someone leant on it, the entire thing would fall down.

There are a couple of other incredibly minor things which we won’t mind living alongside/managing ourselves, but the points listed above are our main concerns.

Which do you think the landlord has a responsibility to sort out?

Please no comments on ‘why did you move in to a place with visible issues!’ - not only had we been looking for a house to rent that was in our price range, the right size and the right area for almost a year, but we kept getting turned down by virtually every single estate agent due to DH’s credit history.

When this house came up, we fell in love with the size, the layout, the location and the fact we could actually afford it!
When we viewed it, the viewing wasn’t very long (I think 10 mins due to Covid), so although we spotted the obvious things - conservatory flooring, condensed windows, poor side gate, bath panel etc, the others kind of slipped through the cracks, it's only now that we're actually living here, that we're noticing the other issues.

I'm generally a bit of a door mat when it comes to asking estate agents/landlords for repairs and have a tendency to stick things out and manage them myself, but our rent isn't exactly cheap (£1200 per month), so we would like the security issues, the flooring and the windows to be put right at the very least.

Thanks in advance for any insight you may have!

The drafty window is the only thing I think the landlord may baulk at if there's nothing actually wrong with it.
Some of the stuff I'd replace myself, like the blinds, unless they are made to measure, and the tiles seem a quick and easy fix.
But regardless of the short viewing (and no reason for it to be short due to covid), all these things should have been in the checking in report, and you should have made it clear that they needed repairing. Do not feel that you can't make demands simply because you found it hard to find a place, you are there now, and it needs to be safe.

I would probably tackle what I could myself, particularly if it's cosmetic, then approach the landlord for important others.

@Livingintheclouds We were sent a somewhat small inventory check the day before we moved in, but it had no photos, just a kind of check sheet listing a few things the estate agent had noticed. We then had 7 days to add any other things to the list that we came across, which is what I did and why the property management team are coming to us this week.

Regarding the blinds, there are 21 separate blinds in the conservatory, I'll be a bit miffed if the onus falls on me to replace 21 mouldy blinds! We're using the conservatory as our DC's play area, so don't really want them getting too close to mouldy items if it can be helped!

The grouting I will likely manage myself if needs be, however I don't feel confident enough to put new tiles on - the two that are hanging off the wall (they're literally being held in place by a fragment of sealant at the very bottom) I wouldn't know what to do about, but I don't mind dealing with the grouting if the landlord can make peace with the fact I'll likely do it a little messier than a professional would.

Yeah, I suspect we may be pushing our luck with the drafty bay window, but the crack at the top is quite noticeable and quite large, so not sure where we stand regarding broken windows really.

@FindingMeno truthfully I'll make my peace with the grouting if needs be, as although it looks unsightly, that's about all it is. The two tiles that are falling off need dealing with, however.

Aside from the grouting and perhaps the mouldy blinds (which I do think should be replaced), I'd argue the rest isn't cosmetic.

The wooden flooring will end up becoming more and more damaged if it isn't fixed, as it's going to be a high traffic area, and I can't see ill fitting planks and pieces that lift up and how lasting too long.

Obviously the front door ought to be looked at, as surely that's a security risk? If someone were to kick it, it would probably cause a giant hole and easy access.

I'd say the bath panel has perhaps 6 months to a year left on it before it caves in entirely, it's wobbly as hell and the crack/hole is only going to end up getting bigger and bigger.

I feel awkward asking for repairs as I never really know where tenants stand and at what point it becomes us 'taking the piss' and that we should just 'live with these things'.

I’m a landlord and would certainly do all of those jobs.
Apart from anything else, and from a purely self interested POV, my property would be suffering.I’m not sure I would be able to afford to do everything at once, but would certainly prioritise the front door and bathroom tiles

@PerpetuallyStuckWatchingPeppa don't get me wrong, I think everything should be done.
But I'm always mindful of asking too much at once because of the precarious nature of renting, so I've often put up with sub-standard conditions.

I don’t think it’s reasonable to say we can’t say ‘why did you move to a house with these issues’ - it’s actually really important to raise issues before signing and moving in. I appreciate that has been difficult recently but it’s really important.

As a LL I expect to do work between tenancies and to budget for it. Then, I expect to do repairs as they come up during a tenancy but not major replacing works usually. I wouldn’t be thrilled with a big list of requests immediately.

That said, a number of the issues you mention should have been sorted before you moved in. They sound like long term decline and lack of maintenance issues….and the fact they are there and so many doesn’t bode well for you with this LL. LLs who allow property to deteriorate are often reluctant to spend money and more likely to be resistant when tenants raise issues. So I suspect you won’t have lots of joy with raising the issues, especially with so many….although you’re quite right that the vast majority really need doing.

Again, your time with leverage is before moving in and signing. Shabby and poorly maintained properties speak volumes about the landlord. Yours has let the property decline and felt that was acceptable. So I wouldn’t be surprised if you have a lot of trouble getting this all sorted. The agents will probably prioritise several issues and ask the LL to sort them out, but often they abdicate responsibility and say it is up to the LL and they cannot compel them to do work.

I hope I’m wrong and the LL jumps into action and sorting out all the problems. But I’d be surprised.