Anyone know my rights as a landlord

[SanDiegoSunshine]

Hoping for some advice here as I’m so upset. I’m a new landlord. I owned my house and lived in it for 6 years until a month ago when I rented it out to a young professional couple through an approved agency.

Over the past 3 weeks they’ve been in contact with the agent managing it almost daily reporting faults and problems. Some genuine- which is fine as I know it’s my responsibility to ensure the house is maintained and satisfactory repairs carried out- to the down right ridiculous. I’ve even been round there myself to take them through what’s-what to save time. Worth noting they even asked for a rent reduction on their first day for something ridiculous!!!

Now they are claiming the blind in the spare room is broken. It’s a small pull type blind which is fitted to a velux window. When I lived there it was stiff but fully functional and when I was cleaning the day before they moved it it was working as I lowered it to clean it. The stiffness wasn’t picked up by the inventory clerk, infact his description of the blind is wrong. However the agents have contacted him and he’s said it was stiff. This wasn’t recorded however and I have no idea why. My only assumption is this item has been broken by the tenants possibly in their attempt to use it.

Where do I stand here? The estate agents think that I’ll likely have to pay if it’s damaged. I don’t feel this is right…1. It was working when i left it and 2. Any stiffness or possible wear and tear for example that could contribute to it breaking wasn’t recorded.

The tenants are now challenging the inventory and its looking like I’ll have to pay for a bespoke blind to be made as a replacement.

Please can anyone advise me?

You knew the blind was stiff so it obviously wasn't working freely and easily so it wasn't working properly. Up to you to replace. Being a bastard landlord as we are frequently referred to on MN isn't all its cracked up to be, hence why mine is up for sale!

Thanks for your response @Mantlemoose. I’m pregnant and it’s causing me so much stress.

Okay so if it was stiff that’s my responsibility then. Where do I stand with the fact the inventory was wrong? And the fact the tenants are addressing things out with the inventory amendment timeframe? The contract states they must challenge anything on the inventory that’s wrong/or they don’t agree with within 7 days of receipt of the report. I did this…they are now out with this timeframe

You knew your quirks of the stiff blind
As a renter it s a big ask
Replace it

Honestly if you knew it was stiff you should have replaced it.
There will usually be loads of bits in the first few months that gets flagged then usually it quietens down

I’m honestly not trying to get out of paying for a new one. If it needs replaced I’ll have to do that.

My issue is even if it is stiff it was still functional. Don’t tenants have a duty to care for such items? If they have used the item in a heavy handed manner surely it’s the same as any breakage? If I’d rented the house and it was worn then that would be different as that’s wear and tear therefore my responsibility. Do you see where I’m coming from?

Can anyone advise on my above comment on the inventory timescale and my rights around that?

Tbh I feel I’m just at the end of my tether. This has just been the straw that’s broken the camels back so to speak…these tenants have been extremely challenging from the onset

@SanDiegoSunshine but if they had to use it in a heavy handed manner because it was stiff, is it really their fault? Is it really functional if it needs to be used quite harshly to be able to function?

I'd just replace it to save any hassle

Yes but why didn’t they just report it as being stiff thus allowing me the opportunity to come take a look. I could’ve been able to sort it rather than it being broken altogether and needing fully replaced

Replace it

these tenants have been extremely challenging from the onset

Give them notice as soon as you legally can.

They’re going to make your life a living hell

@SanDiegoSunshine do you have to replace it with another blind or can you just put up a curtain instead?

As a tenant who has rented a house the owner had previously lived in, it's a problem for the landlord because they have different expectations from a pure business landlord.

It doesn't matter that it worked before, or wasn't in perfect nick when they took the tenancy on and it's now broken. For me, the very elderly boiler gave up a week after I moved in - nothing I had done to it, but they had also given batshit instructions on how to keep it alive which I'd followed to the letter. They should have replaced it long before I moved in.

You can either replace with an expensive blind or look at alternatives. The issue is that it was present when the house was inventoried, so is part of the fixtures and fittings which as I understand it, you've agreed to provide.

You could opt to be present for the entry inventory completion next time - you can surely challenge it as well?

This is business, it's not personal. It's harder when you have an emotional attachment to a premises. That's not down to the tenant.

@MzHz

Replace it

these tenants have been extremely challenging from the onset

Give them notice as soon as you legally can.

They’re going to make your life a living hell

This.

Check the terms of the tenancy agreement but it may well have a break clause. They generally allow either side to give two months notice after 6 months. Use it.

Was this also your thread OP?

Honestly they sound like PITA tenants but you also sound like you're getting extremely stressed over the process of being a landlord.

If you are paying the agency for full management you need to make them work for their money! This can be as simple as - I authorise you to just take care of maintenance up to a value of X without consulting me. This is obviously an expensive option compared to managing it all yourself but it sounds like it could be with considering? Because realistically are you going to be able to deal with this level of stress with a newborn?

You could also suggest to the tenants, if they are so unhappy, you will allow them to move out without penalty.

If that is your old thread (apologies if not!) it does seem like you need to start thinking about this as a business - you have a second job now as a LL - and act accordingly. When you're a LL stuff gets broken, tenants are annoying, dealing with all that is what you're being paid for ultimately!

You missed your chance to do it cheaply I’m afraid! You knew it was stiff and difficult so should have fixed it beforehand or at least not be surprised that this happened. Your tenants shouldn’t have to pussy foot around it in some special manner, but be able to use it completely normally.

As a tenant it can be really stressful to use something that’s not working properly. You worry about breaking it every time you touch it and then worry about how the LL would respond.

It can be really frustrating too as lots of times if I’d owned the house I wouldn’t have to live with broken or poorly functioning things but as a tenant most of the time you get what you’re given and tough shit.

Have they signed the inventory? As LL you also have a duty to check and confirm the inventory too and amend anything you know to be wrong otherwise you cannot rely on it. If you don’t think the inventory is good enough then you need to take this up with the inventory clerk too. It is always best to be there if you can.

As LastQueen said there’s bound to be snags in the first few weeks so it doesn’t mean that there will be endless conflict. You say that they have been challenging from the start, and i don’t know the history obviously, but could it be that as a novice LL you have been naive and/or not easy to work with either? Perhaps spending some time getting things right can repair the relationship.

I rented out my house that I had lived in for years. I had decorated it to a high standard as it was my home for years. I had all these problems with my first renters as most don't treat the house the same as you would.
After my first renters left I stripped the place of anything that wasn't absolutely necessary. So I took out all the white goods I'd left and took all the curtains and handmade silk blinds. I only put up cheap blinds in the bedrooms and nowhere else and changed out the vintage light fittings for supermarkets pendant lights.
Funnily enough no more complaints!
Everyone always slags off landlords but most of us just want to provide a nice home for someone but get worn down by all the complaints and none payments.
I managed to sell up in the end, it was too much hassle.

Also remember you only need to replace it if it stops their enjoyment of the place so blind to a bedroom. If not just take it out and leave it.

As a landlord you are in a better position if the fixtures and fittings are newer OP.
If you replace the blind now and there is a problem with it at the end of the tenancy (a years time is usual) then you will be able to claim something back it is no longer working. For a 5 year old blind this wouldn't be the case.
Fixtures and fittings last a much shorter time in a rented property than in one which is owner occupied.

@Ohjustboreoff

Also remember you only need to replace it if it stops their enjoyment of the place so blind to a bedroom. If not just take it out and leave it.

But you have to allow the tenant to have some kind of window covering! So would need to fit a blind or curtain pole. You can’t expect them to have nothing.

For further background info…this is my original post giving further info on the situation

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/property/4364777-Landlord-here-looking-for-advice

Did you tell them it was stiff?

If I was a tenant the landlord telling me "oh the blind is a bit stiff but you do xyz to pull it down" wouldn't wash with me.

When family come to stay you may teach them certain hacks to use things in your home but if someone is renting it they should just be able to use things as they normally would and not expect them to break.

Should have replaced before they came especially since you knew it wasn't working properly. While the blind may still have been able to work I wouldn't call it fully functioning.

@Xanaduyourenotthatfar yes that was me. Unfortunately the situation is just dragging on and on. Perhaps as a new landlord am I naive but equally I rented many years ago as did many people around me and I’ve honestly not come across anything like this.

Could it be a consideration they are finding/looking/creating faults to justify the rent reduction they have previously asked for? I appreciate this is difficult to prove

You have to distance yourself from the fact it was your home and treat it as absolutely functional. That means everything needs to be in good working order.

Unfortunately you knew the expensive bespoke blinds were stiff, in other words they were not in good working order.

As pp have said, you are better off stripping the place down to absolutely essential and do not put expensive luxuries as part of the inventory as they will be considered part of the rental cost.

@Tee20x I didn’t tell them as I have an agent managing it for therefore wasn’t present at the inventory. On the inventory it wasn’t recorded as being stiff either so wasn’t picked up by the clerk or was but wasn’t recorded

Oh OP. I could have been you 7 years ago. I've learned the hard way too. I don't use letting agents, I like to meet people before I let to them, and I usually get a very good idea of the type of tenants they are. These sound like one particular tenants I had once, they complained twice weekly about non issues, that things were broken, when in fact they just weren't using them correctly. I ended up using their break clause and gave notice to them (I was also pregnant!)

Not all tenants are like this, but sadly there are enough around to make landlords quickly become very jaded and hard. it's a business transaction pure and simple. Just fix the blind or replace it, with a curtain pole and hope they don't find any more things to moan about before they leave..

Hmm, I’m with your tenants OP.

A shower holder on the wall is pretty damn basic and a must if you have long hair or a health/ mobility issue. Blinds or curtains are a basic necessity too. The leaky radiator should have been fixed as you must have known it was a problem already. Obviously the windows need to open! The boiler is just a normal misunderstanding or miscommunication but coming on top of the other issues perhaps the tenants were at the end of their tether wondering what the hell they had got themselves into.

It’s totally different to be a homeowner and choose not to have or not to repair things. I’d have been pissed off to move into your property and discover those pre-existing issues and would be cursing the unfairness of the housing market.

I think get things sorted now though and there’s every chance that the rest of the tenancy will go smoothly.

I wouldn’t bother to hassle a landlord over a “stiff” blind but if it broke because I had to tug it because it was stiff I’d be arguing against paying it.

IF the tenant paid for the broken blind, you aren’t entitled to ask for the cost of new blind anyway , that’s considered betterment. They would only pay for the worth of a blind of that age. So unless the blind was brand new when they moved in I would just let it go.

Shouldn’t the agent be resolving the stupid questions/cheeky requests for you?