Would you challenge a landlord replacing Miele with a cheaper dishwasher?

[sermat]

We rent a pretty expensive flat in London. The yield is very low and the landlord struggles to break even. That said, the flat has appreciated over the £1m in the 25 years the landlord has owned it.

The flat is a little bit dated but the rental price is commensurate. The kitchen would have been pretty high spec when it was put in around 2012. This includes a (not built in) dishwasher, fridge, oven, washing machine etc all from Miele.

The dishwasher broke and the landlord joked to me how expensive Miele ones were. So I joked back that the Miele appliances were why we rented this place (partly true).

Landlord fits new dishwasher and it’s a £250 one from China. I was expecting a Miele one or something of similarly high quality. Would you argue about this? DP thinks I’m precious.

Is it a Beko? They're surprisingly good so I'd give it a chance- had one in an air bnb.

What can you possibly say which will make him return the cheap dishwasher and replace with a high spec one?

As long as it cleans your dishes it should be fine

I think a working dish washer is what you’re entitled to, not a specific brand. Also not your problem if it breaks or needs replacing again at some point in future, it will be the landlord who has to deal with it and who might regret his choice of using a low quality product.

I think you’re being precious
Miele is not as good as it used to be and there’s loads of great brands out there that perform really well
if you don’t like the option he’s given then feel free to ask him to return it and you buy a new one to your standards (which you can take with you when you leave)

You rented an expensive flat because of the brand of appliances? That seems wild to me, so yes, pretty unreasonable to complain if one breaks down and is replaced with a different brand. In any case the difference between Miele and other brands isn’t what it was in 2012. Complain if you like but if you have decent rent and you get on with the landlord why bother?

Fairly certain you have no right to demand like for like brand in a rental. That being said it'll probably need replacing in a year or so because its cheap.

I'm not usually on the landlord's side but if you complain about a cheaper dishwasher I wouldn't be surprised if he came back with - actually I've decided to sell up. 😂

Miele appliances are crap!!!

You rent a flat with a working dishwasher, you have a working dishwasher. You can’t dictate how the landlord spends his money. You might end up liking the ‘Chinese’ one more.

Probably you have no right to a Miele but you could check the original description and contract.

Miele is shit quality these days. Hth.

My 20 year old Miele dishwasher died and we replaced it with another Miele. I hate it! It feels cheap, has a smaller capacity (despite saying its the same in the specification) and doesn't wash nearly as well. It developed a fault after 6 months, was repaired twice under guarantee and when it broke again I asked for my money back... They gave me a new machine and I still hate it. I have plans to replace it with a different brand.

Unless your lease specified the make of the dishwasher, you don’t have recourse. And, yes, you’re being precious.

We had a miele washing machine delivered that wouldn't even switch on! But the replacement has been excellent for 4 years.

If you want a specific appliance…buy it.

No I wouldn't challenge it and yes you are being precious. As long as your dishes are clean that's all that matters.

I think it’s acceptable to replace it with a cheaper one.

I assume this is a joke because otherwise YES, you are precious OP. If its so important to you, buy your ow Miele and take it with you when you move out!

Years ago Miele had (I think) a 10yr warranty and were indeed long lasting and good quality. Now, they only have a 2yr warranty- some other brands offer more than this.

We renovated 5yrs ago installing all miele products. They work fine and clean things, but I really don't think the extra £££ was worth it at all!

I mean presumabably if it breaks he will replace it again (like the Miele broke), so I'm not sure what your ask is? Sounds like you will always be with a working dishwasher?

I am going against the grain here. I would not expect a Miele necessarily but I would expect a decent quality dishwasher. In my experience the cheaper ones are fine but noisy and often have less features eg delay timers etc.
Have you tried the dishwasher?

You have acknowledged that the LL is struggling to break even. The new extra 2% income tax for LLs is coming in, plus an annual registration fee for each property. I think a lot of LLs who have one or two properties that they keep in good condition will sell up. I wouldn't complain tbh because the appliance has been replaced promptly and it works.
The LLs who never spend any money on maintenance or decent appliances will be the only ones still in business.

Does it clean the dishes ?

Miele main advantage certainly used to be longevity and vfm that way - and that’s the landlords problem

Given he'll be the one replacing it in 2 or 3 years time, I wouldn't stress over it. We spent over £1200 on a Miele dishwasher and had 4 years out of it, including 3 repairs. We replaced it with a Zanussi that was £260 and had nearly 10 years out of it. Brand names no longer equate with quality, sadly.