As a tenant - is this being fussy?

Mips

OK am due to move into a property.. however there are so many things that are in my opinion wrong with it.. that I will be seeing the agent on Friday to discuss. I have paid the deposit and full months rent, and have the keys.

1. Two rooms stink to high heaven of dogs and cigarettes. Dog hairs in disgusting carpet with lots of silver slug trails too. My friend who was with me when I went to look, suddenly starting itching and sneezing. :eek:

2. Built in oven is filthy, yellow grime all over the window and oil all over the hood above.. probably about 10 years old.. but there is remains of food inside.

3. En-Suite shower upstairs - shower coil to head is very worn and coming away/starting to unravel

4. Garage is still got personal stuff in, like workbench.. paint tins, tools.. junk..

5. Minging curtains all over the place (can I remove them?)

6. Door step is literally hanging off!!! Compensation claim in on that easily :eek: (not me personally, but I know people who would instantly)

7. Damp in downstairs bathroom which has been painted over badly



Am I being fussy? I expect a place you go to to be completed and empty and immaculate to be honest. I was under the impression that things would have been done by the time I moved in.

I signed agreement without viewing property for a second time...


Now, seeing as I am paid up, signed... and officially a tenant.. what can I do?

There is no way I can move in with these things being like this.. and what do I do in the mean time???

Thanks in advance... and please point out if I am being fussy.. I just want to know my rights and I don't want to be left out of pocket should I want to move in 6 months.. or be blamed for things wrong!

I am a non-smoker/non-pet owner so I appreciate more sensitive - but I know there was a pet, there is pet scratch marks all over the window ledges!

Xaviera

Did/will the agent go round the property with you and carry out an itinerary before you move in?

If not GET IT DONE NOW!! :beer: (take a digital camera and get pictures of every room and the offending items)

The carpets need to be professionally cleaned for the dog smell, the last tenant should have had that taken out of their deposit.

All your concerns are valid and I'd want them fixed before I moved in, especially when we both know how much private rentals cost! :mad::D

I'm a dog owner, and it's usually written in the contract/agreement about the carpet cleaning after, that's if they ever told the agent they had a dog?

Get on to your agent, and I'd also want to check your deposit has gone to one of those holding places yes

Pee

You are entitled to have an inventory and get photos, as Xaviera suggests.

It doesn't sound anywhere near good enough to me BUT I think you were a little naive just assuming that the landlord would deal with it.

Try to negotiate with the landlord or agent. One option would be for you to have a short rent free period to deal with it.

I think as landlord I would prefer to do it myself i.e. get someone in and then have photos after to prove you moved in in good condition. Will a delay in you moving in cause you problems?

Mips

Xaviera wrote: »

Did/will the agent go round the property with you and carry out an itinerary before you move in?

If not GET IT DONE NOW!! :beer: (take a digital camera and get pictures of every room and the offending items)

The carpets need to be professionally cleaned for the dog smell, the last tenant should have had that taken out of their deposit.

All your concerns are valid and I'd want them fixed before I moved in, especially when we both know how much private rentals cost! :mad::D

I'm a dog owner, and it's usually written in the contract/agreement about the carpet cleaning after, that's if they ever told the agent they had a dog?

Get on to your agent, and I'd also want to check your deposit has gone to one of those holding places yes

The agent is doing so now, at my request, he wants to see what I am pointing out to get it sorted out. He has been very good up to now

I would be happy to ditch the carpet and pay for laminate myself, just to get the stinking thing out the property! However, in my agreement I have to ask for permission to fart even.. so not sure where I stand with that! (The carpet is hideous anyways.. so I suppose it's a blessing in disguise I may have a chance to get rid of it!)

The deposit has gone to a holding place, yes.. I would just like to know what the worst case scenario is... do I have a leg to stand on over these concerns? I know my tenancy quotes the 1988 Housing Act or similar... (its not to hand at the moment)..

Thanks for your swift response too

ETA: There has obviously been smoking done outside the window upstairs as the blinds there are nicotine yellow and filthy, and need to be removing.

I wouldn't be bothered if I lived alone... I would have more time and energy but the dogs/hairs/stink thing is important as I have an asthmatic child and two allergic to cats/dogs

cherry76

No, you are not being fussy. When I move in my rented flat nearly 11 months ago. I was told there were still works to be done like tidying the place and some paintings. I did not occcupy the flat for two weeks but still have to pay rent. They did nothing whilst the flat was empty as soon as I occupied it they wanted to paint the room and I said no. I am due to leave next month, will be interesting to see whether I will get my full deposit back. I did do an inventory with the EA, the flat was tidy and clean. In your case, you should complain straight away. What was the state of the flat when you viewed? If you are not in a hurry to move, you can ask the EA you want the flat to be clean and tidy when you move in. If EA is doing an inventory make sure you note all the scratch marks, damp etc. The flat has been marked as in excellent condtion and recently refurbished which are not true. EA is using the same photos over and over again. The mattress in the second bedroom is torn & you cannot use it but it is a spare room. I cannot use the wardrobe due to mould damage to my clothes. I cannot wait to get away.Good luck.

peachyprice

If it's so grotty why did you agree to rent it

Mips

Pee wrote: »

You are entitled to have an inventory and get photos, as Xaviera suggests.

It doesn't sound anywhere near good enough to me BUT I think you were a little naive just assuming that the landlord would deal with it.

Try to negotiate with the landlord or agent. One option would be for you to have a short rent free period to deal with it.

I think as landlord I would prefer to do it myself i.e. get someone in and then have photos after to prove you moved in in good condition. Will a delay in you moving in cause you problems?

A delay in me moving wont cause me too many problems right now, no. But I am would like to get moved and settled as soon as possible and my husband would like to get back into this property. At the moment he can't have the children as much as he would like (and hanging around Macdonalds/indoor playcentres is costly and frustrating for him for more than a few hours).

I think the doorstep is a major issue - it is definitely a health and safety hazard and it is due to completely being rotted away. Whoever painted it recently with wood paints will have known this as it would have moved considerably with just the touch of a brush!

Where does the deposit go incidentally? That wont benefit me will it? Surely that just benefits the landlord in case I make a mess?

I mentioned the oven cleaning about 2 weeks ago and the agent said I can make a list and sort things out with the landlord.

It would suit me better to actually move in a few weeks when I have got my test, personally.. and an exam out of the way.. however, I do not want to be paying for a month that I can't be in the property due to it needing repairs/cleaning carried out.


If it were just a case of mopping a few floors and scrapping a few leftover boxes, it wouldn't concern me in the slightest... but where do I store all these belongings that aren't mine??

Mips

peachyprice wrote: »

If it's so grotty why did you agree to rent it

The only things I noticed that I wasn't happy about was stuff still being in the property and a filthy oven - I was told this would be sorted with the landlord, by the agent.

I saw it a few weeks back in the cooler weather - now it has been empty and locked up.. the heat must have made the whole place smell worse!

I will be satisified if I can replace the flooring.. although the floor space of the carpet will probably be approx 18sq ft of floor to pay for. Worst comes to the worst I can pay for a 'landlords carpet'...


I suppose when I was viewing properties I wasn't really inspecting everything so intensely.

Jowo_2

The Shelter website has an excellent section on how to report repairs, keep good records on request and how to escalate matters if they are not done.

pinkshoes

No, you are certainly not being fussy, but as a rule of thumb, the state of the property when you sign on the dotted line is the state you receive it in...

I spent 10 years renting, and generally got all these things sorted out before signing a contract. (With 1 exception - a VILE student house, but the location was great, and it took all 6 of us an entire 2 days to scrub everywhere!!)

Mips

pinkshoes wrote: »

No, you are certainly not being fussy, but as a rule of thumb, the state of the property when you sign on the dotted line is the state you receive it in...

I spent 10 years renting, and generally got all these things sorted out before signing a contract. (With 1 exception - a VILE student house, but the location was great, and it took all 6 of us an entire 2 days to scrub everywhere!!)

Thanks Pinkshoes - interesting.

I should have imagined had I said all of this before though, they would have picked a less fussy tenant!


The door step is a major thing - we rented a shop and within 15 minutes of mentioning that the step was a tripping hazard, a repair man was sent and it was fixed :T.