Should we buy a new carpet?

Crap_with_money.com

Hey all,

My fiance is currently letting out the flat he owns (it's in a different city to where we now live).

His current tennant moved in 2 months ago, and sent a text on Friday to say that the carpet in the small room is smelling of stale urine from the previous tennants and he wants a new one.

We cleaned the flat thoroughly before they moved in, and definitely didn't notice anything.

My fiance is going up to the flat tomorrow (as he happens to be in the area anyway) - so should we buy a new carpet?

We're more than happy to do the right thing by the tennant, my only concern is that I find it a bit odd that we didn't notice any smell before they moved in, and it seems odd to me that it would take them 2 months to mention it? They do have kids of their own, so I'm just thinking that even if there is a smell when my fiance goes up tomorrow, it's possible that it's a new thing?

xx

Fire_Fox

Has the carpet got damp at any point - perhaps it has been cleaned? Some underlays and some glues (used on trainers not sure about carpets) can break down to produce a smell exactly like cat wee when they get wet!

On a side note it is not professional to communicate with your tenant via text, all problems with the flat should be reported to you in writing, barring emergencies which can be reported by telephone. If this or any issue ends up as a deposit dispute you will need the paper trail with the dates and action taken. If you are happy to use e-mail that should be fine, but text messages will be useless as evidence. Keep copies of all letters or e-mails so that you can easily prepare a file for the arbitrators.

G_M

Sounds a bit like the tenants kids were repsonsible and they are trying it on. But that's just a guess.

What does the inventory say about the condition of the carpet? Did the tenants sign the inventory?

Drodough

Tkae a carpet cleaner over and clean it!

Alias_Omega

Hopefully the house is let through an agent, then you need to get them to deal with this.

It will cost about £30 for a Rug Doctor inc Cleaning Chemicals from Morrisons, if they dont have one, then its B&Q etc.

I guess its all about hassle, carpets can be replaced as wear & tear, so i guess you can re-use the underlay and have a new carpet fitted for about £160.

(We had hallway, stairs & landing for £160 fitted, which was 20mtrs sq in carpet).

Drodough

Alias_Omega wrote: »

Hopefully the house is let through an agent, then you need to get them to deal with this.

It will cost about £30 for a Rug Doctor inc Cleaning Chemicals from Morrisons, if they dont have one, then its B&Q etc.

I guess its all about hassle, carpets can be replaced as wear & tear, so i guess you can re-use the underlay and have a new carpet fitted for about £160.

(We had hallway, stairs & landing for £160 fitted, which was 20mtrs sq in carpet).

OP said it was the small room- some carpet shops do roll ends/ cut offs very cheaply. Did our spare room for £10 with foam backed off cut from carpet right . So that's another option

ali-t

Personally I would replace the carpet and as others have said, you can get a roll end or off cut to do it cheaply. As this would be a brand new carpet going in then you have a baseline of perfect for it to be left in. If the tenants ruin it or this one gets a funny smell about it (!) then you can take it off their deposit. I would say it is better to be a nice landlord than be a miser and have them then quibble about other stuff or leave the tenancy earlier than you hoped. the cost of a carpet will be far less than readvertising costs, the use of agency costs and missed rental if you have to relet it quicker than you hoped.

boliston

Presumably by "the small room" you mean the loo!??

I think it's a bit unhygienic having carpet in a loo anyway :eek: which is why they are normally tiled or vinyl floored.

Fire_Fox

Surely it isn't normal practice for a professional landlord to recarpet a room mid-tenancy?

Crap_with_money.com

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Has the carpet got damp at any point - perhaps it has been cleaned? Some underlays and some glues (used on trainers not sure about carpets) can break down to produce a smell exactly like cat wee when they get wet!

On a side note it is not professional to communicate with your tenant via text, all problems with the flat should be reported to you in writing, barring emergencies which can be reported by telephone. If this or any issue ends up as a deposit dispute you will need the paper trail with the dates and action taken. If you are happy to use e-mail that should be fine, but text messages will be useless as evidence. Keep copies of all letters or e-mails so that you can easily prepare a file for the arbitrators.

Thanks Firefox, to be honest it hadn't occured to us about the texting - we'll make sure that if there's anything else in future he puts it either in an e-mail or in writing.

The carpet wasn't cleaned by us, but the tennant did say that he's tried to clean it himself, so maybe that's where the smell's coming from.

Crap_with_money.com

boliston wrote: »

Presumably by "the small room" you mean the loo!??

I think it's a bit unhygienic having carpet in a loo anyway :eek: which is why they are normally tiled or vinyl floored.

Thanks boliston - but no, I mean the small bedroom. We put a full new bathroom suite in last year before he started renting it out, including tiles on the floor/wall - so there definitely shoudln't be an issue there.