Potential Problems with Tennant

Kilmaley01

Franklee....

The carpet throughout the house was brand new when she moved in 13 months ago - it was mid price range. It flows though an open plan living / dining room and would look ridiculous if it werent the same carpet in both rooms.

As for the garden, well we asked her on numerous occasions if she wanted us to do it for her and she said 'No' she would do it. I agree, we've done it now and needed to in order for it to look nice for prospective new tenants. She had no intention of doing it, as in my first post she had said "why should I do you any favours".

BitterAndTwisted

I understand why you felt compelled to see to the garden but in a formal dispute, regardless of what she said to your faces, she could claim that she had every intention of doing the garden before she handed the property back and you'd be hard-pushed to prove otherwise.

An argument could be made to replace only the damaged part of the carpet leaving a join at the arch between the sitting-room and the dining-room. It depends on what might be viewed as "reasonable". Is there a possibility that this could be done without ruining the whole look?

socrates

Why make everything so complicated everybody

You can fix the garden with your own time cost and effort - as long as she agrees to give you access.

As for the carpet get a couple of quotes and pursue her through the deposit for the full cost of replacement.

The 'insurance' will pay you and then do their job of chasing her for the money - you do not need to get involved with her directly on this.

alunharford

I don't see that you have a leg to stand on with respect to the garden - she ensured that the garden was cleared before she handed the property back to you. (The fact that you did it because you wanted to show other tenants round seems irrelevant)

Also remember that she doesn't have to let you or other potential tenants into the property. Your post (which might not reflect reality) implies that you entered the garden without permission (ie. unlawfully). Of cause, I'm sure that you didn't and your post was just inaccurate.

franklee

gromit2303 wrote: »

Franklee....

The carpet throughout the house was brand new when she moved in 13 months ago - it was mid price range. It flows though an open plan living / dining room and would look ridiculous if it werent the same carpet in both rooms.

As for the garden, well we asked her on numerous occasions if she wanted us to do it for her and she said 'No' she would do it. I agree, we've done it now and needed to in order for it to look nice for prospective new tenants. She had no intention of doing it, as in my first post she had said "why should I do you any favours".

From your first post it's clear you had permission to enter while the tenant was out to do an inspection. That doesn't entitle you to do anything else while you are there. You should have got her permission before doing the garden, it's certainly not right if you choose off your own bat to do it during the tenancy and then bill her for it unless she agreed to that.

Her text doesn't necessarily mean she wasn't going to do the garden before the end of the tenancy, I take that to mean she won't maintain it during the tenancy. What you should have done is write reminding her to sort the garden before she leaves and if she fails to do so the cost to her will be X quid for you to sort it after she leaves.

As for the carpet, I'd suggest you follow the advice in that link of how to apportion the cost (it quotes ARLAs guidelines). If you wish to replace more than one room to make it look nicer then you pay for the other rooms.

dopester

Does this female tenant have anyone else living with her (partner / kids ect) ?

To my mind, the property doesn't sound ideal for a single person.

Gardens not maintained for 12 months = 22 bags of gardening waste, and you've still got loads more to do?

Kilmaley01

She lives there alone. She has just told us on the phone that she had never wanted to look after the garden. Though she signed a tenancy agreement saying she would and has never mentioned it in previous conversation.

We had her permission to enter the garden yesterday.

clutton_2

in view of the difficulties which seem to be arising, i would only have contact with her by letter from now on

Kilmaley01

Yes we have put a letter through the door today. We dont expect anything from her regarding the garden. We choose to do it before she left the property.

She told my husband on the phone that the carpet "wasnt a real carpet - that it was underlay". I'm sorry, I couldnt help but laugh. She is not the brightest spark when it comes to property! She spends more time having Welsh Dragons painted on her nails than looking after her home! I'm sorry if I sound bitter, I am a little. My husband just spent 30 mins on the phone trying to calm her down and get things sorted so that SHE was happy. She totally yelled all over him and was completely irrational. Made accusations that we only wanted access to the property to cover up the signs of damp or damage before she had time to photograph them etc! Quite what or why she intends to photograph and what she intends to do with these photographs is beyond us.

We have a damp proof report that was done on the property before she moved in showing that there was no damp....we are giving her a copy of this tomorrow. She claims that she will sue us for damage to her clothes where the said 'damp' has marked them. We had two specialist damp people in about 8 months ago. Both agreed there was a bit of damp in the kitchen (which we have now had fixed) where the roof wasnt sealed properly. The 'damp' she claims in the bedroom.......they told is not damp but condensation because she NEVER opens a window, drys wet clothes on radiators and doesnt put the heating on so as to save money.

At the end of my tether.....all we ever did was try to be helpful to her.

clutton_2

do not give her a copy of the damp report - you are only being sucked into her dramas. This report will mean nothing to her, and may well be useful evidence for you later on down the line.

I assume that you did an inventory when she moved in, so do one when she moves out, taking photos of everything in dispute.

in fact, IF you can get an independent person to do the check out inventory - it will be to your advantage in the long run

I would then go into the Dispute Resolution service which is part of your deposit scheme when she leaves.

Condensation is a major problem with tenants who will not open windows and who dry their washing indoors.

As she is leaving soon, it is pointless getting into arguments with her, if you have to talk to her then just listen on the phone and hang up as soon as you can.

Do you have a leaving date for her ?

I have 2 houses which were alleged to be "hellish damp" by tenants. The previous tenants in each property opened windows and also used washing lines - no damp at all - the next set of tenants did the same - no damp.