Moving House - What is it reasonable to ask the Landlord to do?

RedwoodBrook

This is aimed primarily at Landlords, or those who have worked as them previously.

The OH and I are viewing a property (rented) on Wednesday morning. We've had a quick look through the windows (the house is next door to our best friends) and from the outside it looks OK. But just that, only OK.

The spec in our friends house is fantastic - its amazing what a bit of paint and a white bathroom suit can do for a place. They will be paying more than we will be if we go for this house, however I would ideally like this place to be done-up if we were to move in.

When I spoke to the agent this morning he suggested that we mention anything we wanted doing on Wednesday, but Im just wondering what would class as a reasonable request.

We have made a lot of improvements to our current property but we have done as much as we can. I don't want to spend anymore on a house that isnt ours.

This new house looks as though it could do with pretty universal modernisation. It is not uninhabitable, but looks tired and some lovely magnolia paint wouldn't go amiss. The kitchen units arn't in such great nick and the work tops could also do with being replaced. The cooker is integrated into the units and has seen better days. I can't comment on the upstairs as I havn't been inside yet.
From the outside, the door and windows frames need repainting and although not essential the doors could do with replacing. The garden is a mess but im not so fussed about that. The only other downstairs room I can see is the living room and has laminate flooring which would suit us okay. We have a puppy and are due a baby later in the year so a nice big rug would sort that. Plus, laminate is easier to clean and for all I know it could have underfloor heating...

I wouldn't be opposed to carrying out a lot of the work myself. My dad is a retired builder and has shelled then redecorated many a house in his time. I just wouldn't want to have to finance all the improvements.

Can anyone give any indication of what I could reasonably ask to be done if we said we were keen on moving in. If we suggested paying more than the asking rent if the spec were to be similar to next doors, do you think this would be worth doing? Or if we (or my dad) offered to do all the work if the landlord financed it?

Thanks in advance.

BitterAndTwisted

What's reasonable is whatever you and the landlord can come to an agreement upon. It just depends on a raft of things: what funds the landlord has available; whether they're interested in a long-term let or not. All sorts of things. I wouldn't be tempted to offer to pay for any substantial repairs or renovations in the first instance until you've been in the property for a while. You don't want to commit decent sums of money to what you may anticipate being a long-term rental only to find that the landlord gives you your marching orders as soon as the work is finished and you deliver a much more desirable property back which they can then rent out for a much larger sum.