Landord replacing carpets when tennants don't want to... advice please

clutton_2

""quiet enjoyment"" -just say no

"" it's a personal choice for someone to take on the bad points of any job""

then dont moan about it

barnaby-bear

clutton wrote: »

""quiet enjoyment"" -just say no

"" it's a personal choice for someone to take on the bad points of any job""

then dont moan about it

I don't think they were - they were explaining why the OP may not want additional stress and that they weren't sitting around watching richard and judy in their PJ's on 8 week holidays like you were implying...... and even if they were moaning who made you the anti-moaning police..... :rolleyes: you moan about tenants who take you for a ride and your bad days at work - should we tell you to get another job....

clutton_2

""you moan about tenants who take you for a ride and your bad days at work - should we tell you to get another job....


fair enough BB - am having a bad day today - in case you had not noticed !!!


but i do think that anyone who is entitled to 8 weeks holiday shouldn't moan about not having half term breaks ... as the rest of the working pop certainly dont qualify for such long holiday - whether taken or not. ......

kunekune

Though many of them have some choice when to take them.

But I wasn't moaning, if you look carefully, I was just pointing out that the supposed massive holiday entitlement may not be the whole of the picture. Yes, I guess some frustration came through - many parents of young children would also be frustrated if they were unable to even go for a day out together during half-term, despite having weeks of holiday entitlement untaken. And that's not just one half-term - it is every half-term of every year for the foreseeable future, and the problems also affect 1/2 of each Easter holiday and 2/3 of each summer holiday. In my fit of temper this morning, I did a calculation. I found that if I took every day off in 2009-10 when I didn't have other duties then I could just about fit in my holiday entitlement. But of those, only four weeks could be spent with the children. If nothing else, consider what a financial drain that is: for most of the school holidays I am paying for childcare, even though on paper I have enough annual leave to cover it. What's the point of qualifying for leave on paper if you can't take it???? Also, even the time we take isn't exactly a break. Most of the rest of the working population didn't have to take their laptop on holiday because they weren't permitted to be out of contact during the run up to exams. And those who did may possibly be paid a bit better than us!

As for getting another job ... no, that isn't a realistic option at my age.

kunekune

And yes, this has taken things a bit off beam, so let's leave the issue of academic life more generally alone. The real point was that OP was absolutely correct when they said they couldn't just take time off. THis is someone who is mostly likely currently working a 14 hour day 7 days a week, and with massive worries about whether there will be a job at the end of it. Stress? Too right.

franklee

I am at a loss here the landlady has good tenants that are on friendly terms with her so why not listen to them? At issue is a new kitchen, bathroom and replace the carpets. That's a heck of a lot of disruption and I'd expect any landlord to consult the tenants over the timing of this. For her to disregard the PhD deadline is maddening. I'd say a definite no and get flat mates to do the same, although having individual contracts probably makes the communal areas tricky. Even so if all tenants request the same then she would be pigheaded to do the communal areas against all wishes. I'd bet she is wanting to sell or something.

OP do you have internal door locks, if not there is the Uni-Lock, developed by Mathew Price at Bournemouth University, which a goggle finds. For internal doors it reads it can be used with all standard door levers, and requires no holes or anything done to the door, it fits over the handle.

Fire_Fox

kunekune wrote: »

Though many of them have some choice when to take them.

But I wasn't moaning, if you look carefully, I was just pointing out that the supposed massive holiday entitlement may not be the whole of the picture. Yes, I guess some frustration came through - many parents of young children would also be frustrated if they were unable to even go for a day out together during half-term, despite having weeks of holiday entitlement untaken. And that's not just one half-term - it is every half-term of every year for the foreseeable future, and the problems also affect 1/2 of each Easter holiday and 2/3 of each summer holiday. In my fit of temper this morning, I did a calculation. I found that if I took every day off in 2009-10 when I didn't have other duties then I could just about fit in my holiday entitlement. But of those, only four weeks could be spent with the children. If nothing else, consider what a financial drain that is: for most of the school holidays I am paying for childcare, even though on paper I have enough annual leave to cover it. What's the point of qualifying for leave on paper if you can't take it???? Also, even the time we take isn't exactly a break. Most of the rest of the working population didn't have to take their laptop on holiday because they weren't permitted to be out of contact during the run up to exams. And those who did may possibly be paid a bit better than us!

As for getting another job ... no, that isn't a realistic option at my age.

I do sympathise which much of this as most of my family (both parents, both aunts, only cousin) are or were teachers/ lecturers. But the only thing stopping you retraining for an alternative career is your attitude NOT your age.

I work in physical activity and have known people in their sixties (and have read of one in his seventies) qualify as a personal trainer and carve out a successful (and indeed flexible) career working with their peers.

clutton_2

""I only had one 4-day holiday (in England) during that time."" -

you would most certainly be much better off with a proper job then - 3-4 weeks hols per year plus Bank hols guaranteed !

IlonaRN

clutton wrote: »

""I only had one 4-day holiday (in England) during that time."" -

you would most certainly be much better off with a proper job then - 3-4 weeks hols per year plus Bank hols guaranteed !

I deleted the post, since it was off-topic.

Yes, I am now in a "proper" job, and financially (and time-wise!) things are a lot better than when I was doing my PhD. The UK holiday was actually after submission and viva, but before corrections were completed. While doing the PhD, I had neither time or money for anything other than a weekend with friends.

You don't start a PhD because of the pay (or at least you didn't when I started mine). You start it because you enjoy the subject. Whether you enjoy it or not by the end is a different matter, but for many I met, it really was a case of just needing to get the d*mn thing finished by the end.

Luckily I now have, and managed a 12-day holiday in the sun this year

The fact is that the OP is finishing his thesis and doesn't want the hassle of having to move everything in order to accommodate a landlady that doesn't understand his situation.

I would suggest that the OP and his housemates contact the landlady and say that the upgrades are not wished, but if absolutely necessary, they can take place after xx date (i.e. after expected submission). I would ask for a confirmation in writing that the rent will not rise for at least 12 months after the work has been carried out (possibly sign a new contract before the work is done if they know they don't want to leave).

If the landlady doesn't want to do any of the above, I would suggest that he refuses to let anyone in to his room (and/or the house, if all the others agree), and expect to receive notice (which will give him at least two months' breathing time), after which the landlady will have full access to the house without needing to take his wishes into account.

If she insists on doing the kitchen/bathroom without the tenants' agreement, make sure that adequate alternatives are available for cooking/bathing, and/or suggest that a reduced rent for the time that the disruption takes place would be appropriate.

Certainly, I wouldn't have wanted to move all my thesis stuff during my last months of writing up, and I wouldn't have let anyone else touch it either!

Sorry, this post has ended up much longer than I imagined!

asharon

As someone else mentioned it most likely is that she's planning on selling. If you have tenants that are happy you'd save the money until the left or were leaving and do any work then.