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Original poster

Tenant has changed carpet, door and curtains!!

329 replies

Member786488 · 16/11/2023 21:49

He’s leaving tomorrow as was served a s.21 in July, my daughter is moving in.

he’s just told me how much he’s ‘improved’ the flat - he’s put in a horrible cheap grey fluffy carpet over a lovely, hard wearing, (expensive) and neutral one, he’s put a couple of doors in because he ‘doesn’t like open plan’, and my (again, neutral) blinds and curtains have been replaced with dark red things.

his deposit is £860. I don’t want to have an uncomfortable conversation but I think I’m going to have to. What’s reasonable here?

I can’t believe he did all that without asking!

OP posts:
Littlebitofacold · 17/11/2023 08:40

I wonder if the OPs lack of reply answers the question about the deposit protection

Heyhoherewegoagain · 17/11/2023 08:41

QPWO · 16/11/2023 22:53

You’ve made money from him over however many years. You’ve told him to leave his home now that arrangement no longer suits you. He’s elderly and vulnerable. Maybe just let it go.

That’s kind of how renting works though-no landlord is a charity. OP has given notice to quit, in line with the law , and has gone further in liaising with a housing officer to get him an appropriate home. again

that’s how renting works

TheCadoganArms · 17/11/2023 08:42

Littlebitofacold · 17/11/2023 08:40

I wonder if the OPs lack of reply answers the question about the deposit protection

Maybe she is on her way to work/having breakfast/dropping the kids off as school/in bed/taking the dog for a walk.???

GrannyAchingsShepherdsHut · 17/11/2023 08:43

I'm imagining something like this Confused

I'm not sure why so many PP think the deposit is not protected?!

It sounds like OP has a letting agent, in which case they will have handled the deposit and (one hopes!) put it in a relevant scheme or insured it - both are ok.

The agent has said that OP and the tenant should try to agree between themselves how much deposit, if any, OP should retain. That's absolutely correct, even if it's in a scheme. If the two of them agree and tell the scheme that, then that's fine, it's how it's supposed to work. It's only if there is a dispute that the scheme get involved in looking at depreciation of the carpet / wear and tear etc.

Tenant has changed carpet, door and curtains!!
Littlebitofacold · 17/11/2023 08:43

Oh wow I NEVER thought of that …

EvenBetta · 17/11/2023 08:45

Yet another landlord who has failed to educate themselves in the barest of minimum legalities they’re responsible for. 😴
OP could have simply googled the deposit protection scheme a year ago.

greenacrylicpaint · 17/11/2023 08:46

were the adaptions made by funding from a charity/housing department?

crumblingschools · 17/11/2023 08:49

If there were no landlords who would people rent from if they can’t buy a house?

Dillane · 17/11/2023 08:57

EvenBetta · 17/11/2023 08:45

Yet another landlord who has failed to educate themselves in the barest of minimum legalities they’re responsible for. 😴
OP could have simply googled the deposit protection scheme a year ago.

Maybe you should ‘educate’ yourself and realise that the OP will
have to compile a case to present to the DPS as to why they are claiming from the deposit.

Rosscameasdoody · 17/11/2023 09:00

BabaBarrio · 16/11/2023 22:24

How long was he in the flat and how old would your carpet be? The same for the blinds and curtains?

You can’t change an open plan home to not open plan simply by installing doors. Did he build internal walls as well?

You will have to go through the deposit scheme to claim any money from his deposit. If your carpet, blinds and curtains were at age to replace due to wear and tear if he’d lived with them anyway, they will not let you keep any deposit to put in new carpet, blinds, or curtains as that would be betterment.

The doors sound a bit odd. If all he has done is install doors where you had removed doors, then he has rectified your illegal removal of doors contrary to fire safety code. The DPS will take a dim view of attempting to charge him to make your flat back to being non compliant with fire code. They might fine you the cost of the doors he installed instead.

Edited

You’re assuming a lot here. If he’s taken down blinds and curtains and disposed of them, then he’s liable for their replacement. Similarly with the carpet - OP’s descriptions suggests there was nothing wrong with it, so if he’s damaged it by laying another one on top, or he’s used it to cover up a stain or something on the original carpet, again he’ll be liable to rectify.

And why are you suggesting that ‘open plan’ means the OP has illegally removed doors and is at odds with safety codes ? We had building work done downstairs - some walls taken down and lintels installed, no doorways or doorframes and all perfectly up to code. If the OP’s flat is the same, then he’s had to install door frames to accommodate the doors, which would damage the plastered walls. The fact that he’s done this at all is bonkers, and that he’s done it without permission is even worse. Why should the OP foot the bill ?

Rosscameasdoody · 17/11/2023 09:01

EvenBetta · 17/11/2023 08:45

Yet another landlord who has failed to educate themselves in the barest of minimum legalities they’re responsible for. 😴
OP could have simply googled the deposit protection scheme a year ago.

Why on earth do you think the deposit is not protected ? OP has said nothing to suggest that.

justasking111 · 17/11/2023 09:05

Member786488 · 16/11/2023 23:11

hes been there one year.
initial contract stated one year, agreed with him by agent and myself. It was only ever going to be one year because I knew I’d need it back.

(Nice) carpet and curtains were new.

it’s a flat in a listed building, designed without doors where he has placed them.

thanks to those of you who have given me useful info, but I’m certainly not going to go to arbitration or anything. If we can’t sort it out tomorrow I’ll just let it go and write off the cost.

With DPS I called them explained what the tenant had done and the price of replacement. They said that I would need to provide invoices if there was an argument. That was in the morning. They contacted the tenant who must have agreed because I had an email the same day the deposit was in my bank account a few days later.

Contact the deposit provider

pam290358 · 17/11/2023 09:06

Stroopwaffels · 17/11/2023 08:38

I swear that a tenant could come on here and post that they had thrown out all of the landlord's antique furniture, or smashed up the bathroom, or had a bonfire in the living room and it would STILL be the landlord's fault.

Of course he can't just take down her curtains and put up his own, unless he has the originals safely stored. Of course he can't put up sliding doors or bifolds or whatever. Of course he can;t just decide he doesn't like the carpet and get a new one. His age is irrelevant here - it might be his home but it is not his house to make changes to.

This. All day long. MN hates landlords. Simple.

EvenBetta · 17/11/2023 09:07

@Rosscameasdoody obviously I didn't write that. OP doesn't know how it works, which is pretty embarrassing for her.

KingsleyBorder · 17/11/2023 09:08

Member786488 · 16/11/2023 23:17

@AlltheFs what do you mean ‘allowed it all back’?

Dont you have a say? The agent who holds it said he gets back the amount he and I decide, unless I’ve misunderstood?

If you are using a reputable agent they should ah e sent you information about the independent third party deposit protection scheme that they and you are obliged to use. Go back through your emails and you’ll probably find a pdf leaflet about it.

Wetblanket78 · 17/11/2023 09:09

Has he kept your curtains? Open plan is a fire hazard anyway. I had a fire safety check on one of the house's I rented. The landlord was contacted and made to put a kitchen door on. Has he left your old carpet underneath? You could easily take it up and he could take it with him.

EvenBetta · 17/11/2023 09:09

@Dillane 😄 cool, maybe the OP should have known that before getting a tenant. Finding out how basic stuff works is, as I said, a bare minimum.

FlipsSakeMum · 17/11/2023 09:11

Littlebitofacold · 17/11/2023 08:40

I wonder if the OPs lack of reply answers the question about the deposit protection

She has an agent. The deposit will be in a deposit scheme.

BaronessEllarawrosaurus · 17/11/2023 09:11

What the op said is how the deposit scheme works. The tenant will get back the amount they agree between themselves. If they don't agree the dps would act as an arbitrator and she doesn't want to bother with that so will write it off. The agent sounds like they have informed the op correctly

andymary · 17/11/2023 09:12

Legomania · 16/11/2023 22:00

It's not for the tenant to decide as it doesn't belong to him.

Show quote history

Sometimes it has to be. The state that some landlords let out their property is disgusting. They have their blinders on thinking it's immaculate, when it's actually a dirt-stained mess - it's very common.

When I was renting an apartment, there was nasty worn, green carpet everywhere, you could see where the traffic area was as it was worn down where it had been most walked on. There was mold on the walls and a messy unkept garden etc. We paid the money ourselves to recarpet most of it, paid to have laminate put down in the entrance/hallway, and redecorated. So yes, we left it in a much improved state as to what is was like when we moved in.

However - we did ask the landlord permission first. 99% of the time they're not going to say no to a free overhaul of their property.

KingsleyBorder · 17/11/2023 09:17

Wetblanket78 · 17/11/2023 09:09

Has he kept your curtains? Open plan is a fire hazard anyway. I had a fire safety check on one of the house's I rented. The landlord was contacted and made to put a kitchen door on. Has he left your old carpet underneath? You could easily take it up and he could take it with him.

So you think that all the millions of open plan homes designed and built in accordance with building regulations are fire hazards? Just because yours was doesn’t make it a universal rule!

HarrietStyles · 17/11/2023 09:18

All these people saying oh just let him keep his deposit, evil landlords making money from tenants……… would you all do your job for free if you were self employed? If you were a builder would you be ok with people saying oh you evil builder providing people with a service and then making money from it, you should let them have the work discounted/free?

MargotBamborough · 17/11/2023 09:20

SweetBirdsong · 16/11/2023 21:58

Not gonna lie @Member786488 it sounds a bit like you're trying to come up with an excuse to keep this tenant's deposit. Sounds like he has done nothing wrong. The doors being put in sound like an improvement! Will help with noise levels and keeping the warmth in. And is his carpet really any worse than the drab private-let hard-wearing one you put down? Let it go. Give him his full deposit.

Edited

But surely the tenant should have asked permission before making these changes?

Unless it says in the tenancy agreement that he can make these kinds of changes without consent then he needs to leave the property in the condition it was in when he moved in.

MrsSkylerWhite · 17/11/2023 09:20

It’s over your carpet, just ask him to take it up. Also doors and put your curtains and blinds back. No issue.

bluebird3 · 17/11/2023 09:21

Our tenants damaged our kitchen countertops. They looked awful. We got quotes to fix and it was £300 for that one section but would have cost us more as the kitchen counters need to match. We requested that from the deposit but the tenants objected so it went to arbitration. As they were 7 years old (although perfect condition before) we were only awarded £50. 🙄