House inspection.. should I worry?

[shouldofgotamortage]

Been living at the property for nine years, and have a house inspection next month.
The carpets on stairs & upstairs are frayed by the doors, carpet must be at least 15 years old as they werent new when we moved in as already had the start of being frayed in places!
The floorboards underneath are gappy and some have broken off in small places so some floorboards need replacing anyway. Our place was to replace all carpets this year anyway, couldn’t do it last year due to a very close breavement and before we knew it was christmas!

whats the chances they will moan about the carpets on house inspection? They will be cleaned by my carpet washer so its not a cleaniness issue, just a case of wear & tear (very cheap carpet & underlay!) or would they be more understanding if I say we are changing all the carpets & underlay anyway?
I am really stressed!

Pictures?

Im.confused as it sounds like you are renting because theres a house inspection but usually in the UK the carpets are a landlords responsibility to replace and a tenant just has to maintain them well - but they will wear out over time - and you say you are planning to pay for the replacement.

Are you renting?
Are the carpets your responsibility to replace?
Do you have pictures from when you moved in of them already starting to fray?
Are you in the UK?

Have you damaged the carpets or isn't just wear and tear?

It's the landlords responsibility to replace carpets and wear and tear is a normal thing which they are responsible for. Unless you ha e actually damaged them?

You are renting? Then it isn't up to you to change the carpets. If they are fraying, its wear and tear, which would be expected after 15yrs. The landlords should replace them for you.

I had a house inspection last week, but I have one twice a year. He walks around checking I haven't turned the house into a drugs den or painted giant penises on the walls. He checked the smoke alarms are working .... notes any comments I have ... then buggers off again.

Please excuse the mess I am currently sanding down the woodwork to gloss! Our plan was always to paint & then carpet all in one go at the end.

I can’t see a picture but could just be me!

Yes renting in the UK. Had a issue with old lettings who never did anything repair wise so I ended up refusing to decorate. New lettings took over and renewed my tenancy a week ago for a year, and seem good on repairs so decided it was worth decorating.
nobodies ever really mentioned the carpets, i am happy to pay out of my own pocket thats not the issue its more I dont want them having a go at me for it.

There there, refresh if you can.

Ive never had one in nine years so i dont know what they are like! Had the guy who owns the lettings turn up a while ago to introduce himself and he can a quick nosey but didn’t mention the carpets either.

You're lucky. I absolutely hate them as I find them intrusive, but they are (I think) a legal requirement as you need working smoke alarms both downstairs and upstairs. You also need your boiler serviced annually.

I was also told when I moved in, that any item in the house when moving was the home owners. So if my cooker or fridge dies, its the landlord who has to fix/ replace them. The same will go for your carpets. If they were there when you moved in, they aren't your responsibility.

I think the LL wont be happy to replace as they are f*cked, don’t know if you can see the photos but thats the worse spot. I have been living with french doors in the kitchen for the past nine years that have large gaps at the side & underneath the doors that lets cold air in & slugs/spiders etc. so i dont see him replacing the carpets as well.
Got a cracked bath panel, they did repairs once and sent in a bodge job guy who essentially put sealent tape around the bath and said it was fixed but the bath panel wasnt even touched. 😒
also lived with my front door handle that wasnt fixed to the door… it came off every time it was touched. Refused to change the door handle and I had to gorilla glue the door handle on!

They do have an obligation to maintain your house to a good standard. You aren't in a 1930s slum. You raise all these concerns to the letting agent when they come around so it is on record. He/she will then raise them to the landlord and tell you if anything will be done and when. DO NOT offer to replace things out of your pocket. They are not your responsibility

Your front door handle! That's awful, what a safety risk. A big yes to getting issues on the record. They shouldn't penalise you for normal wear and tear, of course a carpet isn't going to be in mint condition after all this time and let's be honest, things are going to get a bit run down if he's not getting them repaired. There's some really good info around, like this, just for starters https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/repairs/landlord_and_tenant_responsibilities_for_repairs But maybe look up your specific issues so you know what's the norm ahead of the inspection? There's loads of detailed advice out there.

Why on earth would you pay for new carpets and paint for someone else's property? The LL is responsible for repairs relating to wear and tear in a rental.
You need to control your anxiety levels and speak to them calmly about how worn the carpets are in your home.

Im happy to paint, it doesn’t cost much and its the norm for renters to decorate and at least it’s of my own choice & taste, rather than the LLs choice. I have been here a very long time and know he will never offer to paint.
I will speak to them at the inspection and see if he will replace all the underlay & carpets when they fix the floorboards, should do really cant see them wanting to put new floorboards down & then leave a crappy carpet.

Thank you, yes you are right its expected to be run down if hes bothered to do anything. I think i’m just overally anxious!

It's not the norm for renters to decorate in the UK.

Exactly! Also you would need to get permission to paint and re-carpet otherwise they could take the cost of redoing it out of your deposit.
Eta you can't just paint and recarpet to your own taste as it isn't your house. It is up to the landlord to choose with input from you only if they choose to.

Exactly this. It is not normal. Your Landlord should keep on top of property maintenance. If they won't paint and you really want to then you must get permission in writing.
Absolutely do not replace the carpets, that is the landlords responsibility. You have been there nine years so unless you have properly damaged them, fraying and so in is 'wear and tear'.

Okay… literally everyone I know who rents which is a lot of people just paint? I do have the LLs permission I also asked back then about carpets, again he gave me permission said hes happy for whatever long as I don’t go knocking down walls or replacing kitchen/bathroom.
when I moved in it was covered in poly filler on holes etc i wasnt prepared to just leave it looked at filled in holes for nearly a decade. Besides the the point this is about the carpets. I wont mention replacing them and see what they say! I have never known a LL to come while someone is renting and decorate it.

After reading your last update then it doesn't seem to matter if they moan about the carpets as you can just tell them they are being replaced by you with the LL's permission.

The thing is, a landlord would love you to do a makeover on their house. New carpets and fresh paintwork. It doesn't cost them anything and it makes their asset more desirable. But it really isn't your responsibility to do these things. And especially after many years of living there, it would be expected that carpets would need replacing by the landlord. You aren't asking for the world.

I have only lived in my house for a year, and the stairwell is painted a dark blue colour. It really makes the already dark lounge look much darker - so I asked if I could paint it. They readily agreed, but only if I paid a professional to do it. Hmmmm no, its fine exactly as it is thanks.

What are you going to do if you re-carpet the house and the landlord serves notice on you a month later?! I don’t know which area of the country you are living in but it truly is not the norm for tenants to redecorate, re-carpet etc. We are landlords with a number of properties and currently we can barely get departing tenants to clean properties to the state they were in when they arrived – which is always professionally cleaned. We unfortunately now live some distance from our apartments but seem to constantly be having callouts for issues such as a faulty window catch, a loose door handle, a smoke alarm which needs replacing etc. It’s costing a fortune, but it’s just part of being a responsible landlord! We certainly would not expect, nor would we be particularly happy, to find that tenants had repainted or redecorated to their taste. I hope that your deposit is protected in a proper scheme, and that the landlord has been meeting his responsibilities with regard to electrical/gas checks etc?

Is the landlord an individual or more of an institutional investor? It seems that for whatever reason they have now changed from the previous letting agents who have been very lax and unprofessional, to a more switched on agent who has realised that the landlord hasn’t been meeting their responsibilities. The visit could be a good thing as you can easily prove (or rather the landlord can’t prove) that any redecoration, carpeting or any major works have been done on the house for years. A general rule of thumb is that rental properties need to be repainted every five years and carpets replaced every 10 years, although this may depend on the turnover of tenants. Any which way, you are definitely entitled to have your carpets replaced and redecorating done now.

It sounds like you have a better letting agent now - take this opportunity to make a list of what needs doing. Maybe a new front door!

Of course the landlord is happy for you to fix things and paint, it's his asset you're improving. You would be mad to buy new carpets, he could serve you notice tomorrow.

He cant, i just signed a year tenancy and that brings us over the new rules. Definitely taking the opportunity though to get everything fixed.