Tenant wants to put in new bathroom

[Rzim]

At their expense - have said they will let me approve the bathroom set. This sounds too
Good to be true -
She has only been in for 3 months - is this normal

@Flickflak

Old and shabby doesn’t necessarily mean it needs to be replaced. Gosh when I was renting there were bathrooms that hadn’t been touched since about 1982! Old and shabby, yes, but also functional.

And why should tenants live with horrible dated old and shabby fixtures just because they are technically functional? Landlords have a duty to make their properties habitable to a decent standard. Not just 'won't kill you' standard.

If the tenant pays for it- what is to stop her taking the bath/shower/sink/toilet with her when she moves? Might be extreme but there is a possibility.

And why should tenants live with horrible dated old and shabby fixtures just because they are technically functional?

Because three months ago the tenant accepted the property in its present condition at the rent asked for.

Other properties were no doubt available with nicer bathrooms

Can only imagine how bad the bathroom must be if after 3 months she's willing to replace it.

You should be replacing the bathroom, not her. You shouldn't have rented the place to her if it's that old and shabby. Hopefully her rent has been discounted.

Is the room old and shabby with a bathroom suite that can be left in place or has the whole lot had it? If serviceable just do the walls/floor, update the shower. Either way, you should get it done and ideally before they moved in. As a retired letting agent - Never let a rented house fall into disrepair, you wouldn't let your own house and this is someone's home and your investment.. Also, a tenant doing such expensive and invasive work is problematic for many reasons - do they want rent free period, do they pay rent and then want to be reimbursed when they leave (sliding scale to be calculated), what if they damage it and leave you with something of reduced/ no value, what if they cause damage whilst work being done etc. so many potential problems. I always used to look at the worst case scenario and then plan to have a solution if it occurred but would not touch this one. (See mn some letting agents are worth their commission and work their socks off for their clients and protect the tenant!)

@Pleasebeafleabite

And why should tenants live with horrible dated old and shabby fixtures just because they are technically functional?

Because three months ago the tenant accepted the property in its present condition at the rent asked for.

Other properties were no doubt available with nicer bathrooms

I expect it became clear how shabby and nasty it is once she started using it. Furthermore, just because a tenant has a maximum budget for rent, doesn't mean they deserve to live in substandard properties in exchange. I'm sure the rent this tenant pays still represents a huge % of her income and is considerably more than the landlord pays in mortgage.

@Rzim I think it depends, we’ve done loads in our rental home with the landlords permission and will happily leave it all BUT we have a years notice clause and our rent is well below market so what we’ve spent on the house is actually less than if we’d paid market rent somewhere else and we have chosen everything.

@onedayoranother

Is there just the one bathroom? Having just redone two bathrooms myself they took at least three weeks each - so tenant would have to move out. It's really something that should be sorted between tenants (and they shouldn't have rented the place if the bathroom was so bad). Cost will be thousands.

Get a better fitter!

Bathroom replaced in a flat, ceiling replaced, walls plastered/painted, new suite, lighting etc.. Tenants never without a toilet. A couple of days without a shower.

@Rzim. Can you afford to pay for the basics, but if she wants more expensive she can pay the difference & choose what she likes (within reason) ?

@Rzim

The bathroom is very old and shabby. I trust her to get good people in - what concerns me is if we change our minds in a few months and want the property back (which is very unlikely!)

And this is a why landlords get a bad name. You should be footing the bill for a new bathroom 100%

Replace the bathroom yourself why on earth would you consider letting the tenant pay. What happens if it a botch job who will pay to put it right. Will the tenant want a refund for enhancing the price of the property.

We just had a bathroom refitted and it took a week but the shower was only out of action for one day and the toilet for a few hours.

I’m a landlord and I can’t imagine how bad a bathroom would need to be to have to be replaced because it is shabby.
Have it redone at your expense

Going against the grain here. I rent my property and have spent best part of 5k on new floorings through out and new fixtures and fittings, decor the lot and have also approached my LL about fitting a new bathroom. Nothing wrong with the one we have but it doesn’t have a bath. Just a big shower room. If we were to move I wouldn’t even contemplate taking anything with me.

If the bathroom is old and shabby then you should be paying for it to be done, not your tenant. Surely you know this.

Furthermore, just because a tenant has a maximum budget for rent, doesn't mean they deserve to live in substandard properties in exchange

Then rent something else

Or make a mad offer to upgrade someone else’s bathroom with the money she obviously does have

@Rzim

The bathroom is very old and shabby. I trust her to get good people in - what concerns me is if we change our minds in a few months and want the property back (which is very unlikely!)

Then you do the bathroom. Clearly living with the old and shabby bathroom hasn't been great. Do you feel ok about renting out a substandard properly?

Fucking landlord honestly.

@Fluffypinkt

Going against the grain here. I rent my property and have spent best part of 5k on new floorings through out and new fixtures and fittings, decor the lot and have also approached my LL about fitting a new bathroom. Nothing wrong with the one we have but it doesn’t have a bath. Just a big shower room. If we were to move I wouldn’t even contemplate taking anything with me.

Do you have a long secure tenancy or something? Most people would never do this. Far too much risk.

My DM rented her house for 12 years and replaced the bathroom, carpets, flooring etc in that time. It’s quite normal and understandable if renting long term. She of course didn’t take anything with her when she moved.

I’m more concerned about you even thinking to say “if we change our minds and want it back”- I appreciate you say “unlikely” but the fact you even said it, combined with the fact your tenant is so appalled by it that she needs to replace the bathroom after 3 months - makes me think you are probably a TERRIBLE landlady.

@Rzim

The bathroom is very old and shabby. I trust her to get good people in - what concerns me is if we change our minds in a few months and want the property back (which is very unlikely!)

Surely you have some idea as to whether you'd want the property back if you've gone to the trouble of renting it out? To let the tenant go to the expense of putting in a new bathroom because the current one is 'old and shabby' with the possibility of 'changing your mind' is an outrageous way to behave. It must be awful for someone to want to change it and it's not even their permanent home 😞

I would also want to sort it myself, for the tenants and to keep it uncomplicated

@onedayoranother

Is there just the one bathroom? Having just redone two bathrooms myself they took at least three weeks each - so tenant would have to move out. It's really something that should be sorted between tenants (and they shouldn't have rented the place if the bathroom was so bad). Cost will be thousands.

Why would they need to move out? Soong as when the toilet is done it's a quick swap, they wouldn't have to.

Shame you were renting out a home with an old and shabby bathroom.

I would say to go halves.

@Pleasebeafleabite

And why should tenants live with horrible dated old and shabby fixtures just because they are technically functional?

Because three months ago the tenant accepted the property in its present condition at the rent asked for.

Other properties were no doubt available with nicer bathrooms

Because some aspects of shabby aren’t automatically noticeable. One rental I lived in, all the taps needed to be replaced as they didn’t close efficiently and the taps in the bathroom sink you couldn’t really get your hands under properly. You couldn’t have a shower (most likely a boiler issue) as it ran boiling hot or freezing cold. The kitchen sink you couldn’t get the kettle under the tap.

These were all issues that weren’t noticeable on viewing especially as the landlord had fitted nice tiles but had kept the old naff useful parts.

@CloseYourEyesAndSee

We’ve been here just over 4 years. Good relationship with LL not planning on moving for a very very long time. I do acknowledge we are lucky with our LL.

My bathroom costs £7.5k btw
For a rental I would want high quality sanitary and a builder I know