Money spent on our landlords bungalow.

speednut_2

Hi All.

We currently rent a bungalow from a private landlord (no agency involved) and have been here for about 16 months. When we moved in, the garden was a mess and we expressed to her that we wanted to landscape it so that we and our daughter could enjoy the outside space. She seemed excited at the prospect and we paid for the materials (around £400 worth) and did the labour ourselves, expecting no reinbursment as we would enjoy using it.

We carried out the work a few weeks ago, so that it would be ready for summer - laying turf and slabs etc. We also replaced rotting fence panels and did repairs to the patio that was already there. Since all this has been done, the landlord has given us 2 months notice to quit, stating that she wants to move back in, knowing the work has been done, previously saying "i bet it looks really nice" and despite initially saying we could stay as long as we wanted.

Is it reasonable for us to claim the cost of this work back from her when we move out, as we didn't do it for her benefit obviously, or should we not have spent it in the first place? I know it's not our property, but we do have pride in what is essentially our home.

Thnaks in advance.

woody01

It's her house.
If she gives you notice to vacate there is little you can do.

Unfortunately, if you decide to spend money on someone else's house, this isn't her problem.

Fiddlestick

speednut wrote: »

Is it reasonable for us to claim the cost of this work back from her when we move out, as we didn't do it for her benefit obviously, or should we not have spent it in the first place? I know it's not our property, but we do have pride in what is essentially our home.

I don't believe that you have any legal recourse here, sorry.

speednut_2

Ok, thanks.

My mum works for local council in housing and said that they have to reimburse tenants who do improvements to their houses if they leave and ask for it.

Didn't know if it was the same with private houses?

drc

This happened to a friend of mine. She put in a new kitchen in a rented place and as soon as the landlord saw how nice it was and how he could now push up the rent he gave them notice. My friend removed their kitchen and put the old crappy one back in.

If she's not prepared to at least be decent enough to give you some money back so that she has a nice garden when she moves back in, then I would just remove as much stuff as you can that you paid for and sell it. You only bought the stuff so that you could enjoy the garden, you won't have that pleasure anymore so just return it to the state in which you found it.

welshy_2002

agree with drc.. I'd just put it back the way it was before..

speednut_2

It had crossed my mind to remove all the materials, but i'd have to replace them with something else as there was gravel thinly coating the mud when we moved in, so financially, there's no point.

Jowo_2

A verbal agreement is worth the paper its written on...Private tenants simply don't have security of tenure and can be served notice without any justification for it.

If your landlord had agreed to fund this work, and you could prove this, I think you would have a case.

The best option I can see is if you politely ask for a contribution towards it, perhaps a rebate on your last month's rent? You could offer the receipts for the items if you still have them so the landlord could submit them with their tax return if they are considered valid deductible expenses (yes, for maintenance, no for improvement, is the general rule of thumb).

Jowo_2

speednut wrote: »

My mum works for local council in housing and said that they have to reimburse tenants who do improvements to their houses if they leave and ask for it.

Really? I assumed that social housing tenants had to ask permission to make changes and there could be a requirement to remove features they'd fitted or that they'd receive a bill for any changes they'd made without authority?

speednut_2

I don't whether or not thats the case, it's just what she told me. I assume it's different for different local authorities?

speednut_2

She does work in a specialised area of housing, dealing with disabled and elderly people who have special needs and have to have adaptations fitted. Maybe it's something to do with that?