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

If it works, I’d say no. As a pp said, what if the plumber wrecks something? Who pays? She was happy to move in knowing what the bathroom looked like.

If it’s old and shabby you ought to do it 🙄

@StellaGibson118

Why drip feed and then tell us we are unreasonable? We didn't have all the information. Lots of people here (myself included) have had bad experiences with landlords who seem to think because we can't afford to buy that we should live in mould, damp, shitty conditions.

Exactly this.

I do judge, OP - even with the major drip-feed. The worst thing about living in the UK was the damp rooms and the bathroom that was so grotty. The attitude to renters is often pretty awful.

i'm in a rental property and the landlord refuses to replace the shabby carpet despite it being around 15 years old. depressing. and to think that we pay more in rent than the cost of a mortgage. landlords should sometimes consider their tenants wellbeing and happiness even if that means spending a little money.

@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.

I've just had my bathroom done. The plumber managed to make sure I had a functioning bath and toilet every night. It took two weeks, but would have been less if the tiler hadn't double-booked himself and they'd been able to do stuff in the best possible order.

I did have to wee in a bucket in the garage a couple of times though!

Mine came in at £4.5k.

If the bathroom isn't fit for purpose, then fucking replace it.

@Rzim

Gosh I forget what a judgemental lot Mumsnetters are!!

It's a second home for the tenant - she has got a below market rental rate due to the second bathroom - which is perfectly clean and works very well - just an '80s vibe and she wants something brand new and up to date!

Thank you for some of the useful advice above though without the judgements!

you stated it was shabby!

You need to be upfront with the tenant that you may not be letting long term. They may not want to invest if they may not be staying.

I have an 80’s bathroom - lovely gold taps! Nothing wrong with it !

I know someone whose tenants asked to put a new bathroom in. Landlady said yes. Tenants started and then decided they couldn't be bothered to finish and everyone was left with a half-finished bathroom.

OP, spend the money and do it up yourself. You'll need to do it eventually and you might as well do it now rather than after something leaks and breaks.

Cant believe a landlord will not put a decent bathroom in. You should be ashamed

The bathroom is very old and shabby

Then you should be replacing it.

Keep your rental property in better condition? It must be dreadful if they are willing to pay for it.

The tenant has only been in there three months. If they didn't like the state of the bathroom they didn't have to take the house.

The rent will have been set at a level to reflect the age and condition of the fixtures and fittings. So long as the kitchen and bathroom are hygenically clean and properly functional there is no obligation to make sure they are shiny and new.

The 80's was 30 plus years ago. So while it may not be in date, its also likely to have some problems given its age.

Just replace it yourself and negotiate a rent increase. You are the one that will benefit long term.

OP, you won’t get much sympathy or constructive advice here - Mumsnet (generally) hates landlords. I am one and you have done nothing wrong, new bathrooms cost thousands and contrary to popular belief on here most landlords don’t have buckets of cash at their disposal

My tenant’s bathroom is an early 80s one but it is in great condition and functional and clean. If I forked out for an ultra modern one then I would be forced to put the rent up to the current market rate, which I have avoided doing as my tenant is a lovely person and I don’t want to place them under any financial strain, especially in the current climate.

I would be wary of allowing the tenant to arrange and pay for it themselves. Even if they do a great job, it will make it more difficult to deal with any issues that may arise in future. And what if you did need the property back for any reason - would they expect reimbursement?

I agree with @CloseYourEyesAndSee They would only need to move out if all the pipes needed refitting (this happened to me in the summer and was a nightmare) If just fitting a new bathroom set/tiling should be able to stay there and only take a day or two. Depends what state the bathroom is in.

Wondering if this is just a chance to start a bun-fight.

Drip-feed which muddies the water further and a situation which has everything which could cause conflict;

• shabby facilities
• later turns out there are 2 bathrooms, below market rent
• suggestions of perhaps giving notice

I’d expect there now to be mention of a month the tenant didn’t pay rent, or an undeclared pet, or perhaps LL not registering the deposit, or wanting to show prospective buyers around, or turning up at property unannounced and letting themselves in.

Just seems to be a scenario to provoke tenants and LLs.

Again, obviously the right thing is that LLs always maintain their properties and get to them to good standard BEFORE letting. Tenants shouldn’t need to have complaints about decorative order and applicances etc should be serviced so break-downs are very unusual and unavoidable rather than the norm. And tenants shouldn’t need to or expect to be replacing kitchen or bathrooms because they are already perfectly good and workable, and understand that it is the LL not them that makes such changes and usually between tenancies.

Muddied waters creep in when LLs offer sub-standard places for below market rents. Muddied waters creep in when there is a suggestion that the tenant can or should do work on the property, with or without reduced rent to compensate for it. And much more than muddied waters creep in when LLs do t understand their responsibilities or stick to them, or when tenants don’t understand their own rights and responsibilities and stick to them.

@Songoftheseas

OP, you won’t get much sympathy or constructive advice here - Mumsnet (generally) hates landlords. I am one and you have done nothing wrong, new bathrooms cost thousands and contrary to popular belief on here most landlords don’t have buckets of cash at their disposal

My tenant’s bathroom is an early 80s one but it is in great condition and functional and clean. If I forked out for an ultra modern one then I would be forced to put the rent up to the current market rate, which I have avoided doing as my tenant is a lovely person and I don’t want to place them under any financial strain, especially in the current climate.

I would be wary of allowing the tenant to arrange and pay for it themselves. Even if they do a great job, it will make it more difficult to deal with any issues that may arise in future. And what if you did need the property back for any reason - would they expect reimbursement?

Landlords that make an empire out of loans and mortgages are the worst.

just an 80's vibe
Is it just a vibe or is it a bathroom that's not been replaced since the 80's? I was born in the 80's and I'm nearly 40 years old, I'd consider that VERY old for a bathroom and would say it needs replacing.
I don't know who asked about where people live where tenants would move in to unfit housing (or however it was worded)....where I live there is a huge housing crisis, tenants are being served their notice so landlords can put the property as an Air B&B because the surge in "stay cations" has pushed prices to phenomenal amounts, and there are 60-80 applications per property. People are applying for properties without even viewing (mainly because viewings are closed after 24 hours of advertising due to the numbers of viewings).

@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!)

Of course it is. I bet you're charging them, a fortune as well aren't you? Pay for it yourself you miser.

We had a LL like this. We had a toilet that wouldn't flush upstairs if you put any paper down it and was very very shabby was told it was functional as there was another cloakroom downstairs we could use

if we change our minds in a few months and want the property back

You should probably tell her of this possibility before she forks out money, and so she can find another place. I mean, were you just going to spring this on her?

God I wish I could do this, or our landlord would. We do, granted, have 2 bathrooms - but we pay accordingly. One is entirely unusable, despite us reporting the issues with it repeatedly throughout the two years we've lived here. It's actually quite upsetting and embarrassing the state of one bathroom - the plumbing is so defective we have to keep the door shut as it stinks.

Replace the bathroom, OP, FFS.

Ignoring the moral rights and wrongs of this (LL's are always a divisive thread) I'd be tempted to do it myself, particularly if by your own admission it's not great. I wouldn't want them to replace it and it cause any potential issues down the line (not that there may be any, I'm not a LL but it just seems cleaner to do it yourself).

Why do landlords so often make themselves out to be "victims"? Just say sorry no but we can offer to put a new one in ourselves.