LL installed new kitchen

[Casperthefriendlygh]

We experienced significant disruption despite the promise of no 'lack of function':

• 3 days no oven, 3 days no hob
• 6 days no dishwasher, 6 days no washing machine
• 9 days no sink, 9 days of high noise
• 14 days of reduced living space due to storage
• This has led to health risks, unlivable conditions, and a breach of the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018, with issues like damp, drainage problems, and difficulty maintaining sanitation.

I see your frustration, however in the grand scheme of things that's minimal disruption for a job like that when people are still living in the property.

I'm a landlord and will always try and do works in gaps between tenancies or if the tenant is away etc, but it doesn't always work that way.

You should have pre agreed a discount on rent (if you felt that was appropriate) or arranged a stay with someone else if possible over the most disruptive part of the works.

You've got a new kitchen now, be pleased and move on.

Congrats this is the first time I have ever sided with a landlord

I’m pretty sure a couple of months after your request for a £500 discount, you’ll find that your LL gives you notice or when the time comes puts the rent up more than they had originally intended. Your kitchen is improved, is that not a good thing?

Completely frazzled? Affected your mental and physical health?
Are you serious? It was two weeks of renovations and the three of you have struggled that much? I think before you worry about 'compensation' you should be looking at having therapy and perhaps starting medication as your resilience for normal life activities is shockingly lacking.

Lord help us all

i didn’t have a kitchen for 4 weeks which a baby and a child

morning wrong with a good quality pre loved kitchen. You sound a tad dramatic. We managed, and like I said - with a baby and a child. You’re three grown women? Meh

I thought that as well...particularly given what Labour are almost certainly going to do re. Section 21.

If OP has been as difficult a tenant in other areas and complains about home improvements, she'll almost certainly find herself without somewhere to rent in a few months

Did you let your landlord know about the disruption at the time? No hob or oven for three days seems fine and she offered you an airfryer. Was she aware than washing up needed to be done in the bathroom sink or that you were struggling with no washing machine? I think money to cover laundrette costs would have been a fair thing to request. And sometimes when wfh you just can't unfortunately, and that's only an issue if you are fully remote.

I have rented since 2006 and know it can be shit. Our first place took us two months to get a fridge replaced as the landlord just kept sending someone round to 'fix' it, even though he was telling him the thing just needed replacing. Our last house leaked down my youngest dds wall when it rained. A new kitchen with secondhand units but everything else new, in two weeks which you then get to use with no worry that mould is spreading through the units doesn't seem that bad.

You can ask but what if she says no? It might cost you money to pursue (legal advice/suppory) and cause ill will between you and the landlord which might then have repercussions for tenancy renewal when the time comes. It's not easy to find rentals in London.

The OP said this in response to being asked why she didn’t accept the air fryer or take away offer…

So we could ask for a bigger reduction when the work is all finished as we're completely frazzled by having a builder there every day plus trying to WFH plus having to wash up in the bathroom sink and dealing with dust and noise

So they deliberately didn’t accept the offer of an air fryer, which would have made cooking easier, so that they could ask for a bigger reduction.

What do you expect
surely you understood to have a new kitchen, that the kitchen has to be ripped out, completely gutted, then electrics rerouted, plumbing rerouted, plastering, drying time, flooring levelled, that can take a week alone and it would be like a shell!
following this you’ll have carpentry, tiling, flooring, decorations = dust
pulling and reconnecting appliances are more likely to cause them some damage which if you aren’t getting new ones you obviously don’t want.

@mathanxiety

Yes, I think she thought she could avoid paying for storage for the second-hand cabinets she had bought, and took advantage of the report about the leak. It was cheaper for her to redo the kitchen now and not at the termination of the lease, but disruptive to you.
So you would prefer that the LL just left it? Or butcher the kitchen to remove the broken appliance and not refit?
There was mould. Presumably you think the mould situation should have been left for the current tenants to put up with and only rectified when the contract was over. That's what you've said in effect. That the LL should have done the works at the end of the tenancy.

How did this affect you mentally and physically? Can you detail this on each piece of no functioning kitchen item

you knew the work was going to be carried out therefore could have made arrangements to work elsewhere for the duration, got desk, coffee shop, library - that what most people would do when arranging work on the home

I would want to remedy mold before it can do too much damage to become more extensive. If the only time to do that is at the end of the tenancy, I wouldn't renew the contract so I could do essential work. It's not like it's hard to find tenants. (Not that I'm a LL).

@Casperthefriendlygh If you had been having this done in your own house, the disruption would have been just the same!! i am a landlord and I have not had any complaints from tenants when I have done major updates to flats. you are lucky you have a landlord who does this!! many landlords do no updates from one decade to another!!

So the LL offers a solution and you deliberately turn it down, to make your life harder to subsequent ask for money for the hardship

ffs you’re a grifter

I think you are overreacting. It is not ideal but you have to suck it up. There was a leak and your landlord has fixed it. I’m sure your landlord wouldn’t have trouble replacing you as tenants. The North London rental market is competitive.

I've not long had my kitchen re done. For the second time. Each time was about 2 weeks of having no oven no hob no access to dishwasher, meals out of a microwave, or takeaway, or sandwiches. No access to the back garden. It goes with the territory. If you have any work done, it's likely to cause some disruption.
What did you think would happen if the kitchen was replaced? Did you think it would just be over in a day?

Ironically the flat will be extra desirable to tenants due to having a nice new kitchen.

OP & her flatmates may be alone in seeing that as a bad thing.

A £500 reduction is way too much!

Why didnt you take her up on the offer of takeaway or air fryer?

I think its reasonable to claim for:
Cost of takeaway for 3 days
Cost of a couple of loads at launderette.

All this "health risk and difficulty maintaining sanitation, physical and mental impact " is quite dramatic. You had a few cabinets stored in the lounge and no washing machine, dishwasher or cooking facilities for a few days...you weren't exactly living in squalor.

Its done now, you have a new (preloved) kitchen and no leak.

I agree you shouldn't be out of pocket but I dont think the circumstances warrant hundreds of pounds in compensation

I also say all that as a previous renter...yes its a pain and awkward having work done on a rented property but it is what it is .

I liked my landlord when I rented and didn't even claim costs back (obviously that was my choice) when we had similar work but like I said, I don't think you should be out of pocket

You now have a new(ish) kitchen for the remainder of your tenancy and at least you know your landlord fixes issues, many don’t. It’s possible that the kitchen fitters told the landlord that there would be no loss of functionality. You could ask for a reduction in retrospect but don’t withhold rent.

Who cares. Tell this to your LL.

If the LL did want to compensate you this is how they should calculate it.

£2.9k x 12 / 365 = £95 per day
Kitchen and laundry is, let's say for argument, 30% of the utility of the house.
So 9 days @ 30% of £95 is £256

I meant to add that both my kids, now adults, have disabilities. One has multiple disabilities including T1 diabetes and visual impairment, and the other has ASD. Try coping with that and renovations to property.