landlord's responsibilities??

marlborogirl

Hi, I'm moving out of my rented house next weekend but I'm a bit unsure as to what my responsibilities to the property are and what the landlord should be required to do - aside from, obviously, the cleaning.
He's written me a letter stating that he expects the house to be 'fully redecorated to a professional standard' including the ceilings. However, the tenency agreement is extremely vague and only covers 4 sides of A4...it DOESN'T state that I'm responsible for redecorating, but it DOES forbid me from painting the interior in any colour other than magnolia (which I have done in a couple of rooms, so I'm happy to paint these back.)
I'm also unsure as to what repairs he can reasonably hold me responsible for. He has stated that he expects the house to be in the same condition as when I moved in, which it pretty much is, however I had a 5 year tenency (which I couldn't get out of without paying huge penalties) so, as well as the redecorating, there are a few things which will need fixing before new tenants move in. Off the top of my head these are: loose taps in the bathroom, a loose bannister, broken hinges on oven door, flourescent strip light which needs replacing, oven light bulb needs replacing, extractor hood light bulb needs replacing, I live in a 3 storey house and have fire doors throughout the house - 2 of the mechanisms came out of their bearings within the first few months that I lived here & I never bothered telling the landlord as my daughter was very young at the time and had trapped her fingers in them several times.
I'm on an EXTREMELY tight budget, so basically I need to know whether these are my responsibility or his as I can't afford to have any of my deposit held back!
(Also, my agreement states that I must pay £25 out of my deposit at the end of my term to cover professional cleaning services - I'm sure I've read somewhere that he's not allowed to do this - does anybody know?)

marlborogirl

thanks aussie! That's pretty much what I thought. If I DON'T replace the bulbs before I leave though, is my landlord actually entitled to take it out of my deposit? The cleaning fee doesn't bother me too much, except that he's also expecting me to get the carpets professionally cleaned. To be honest they do need it, but after 5 years in the property shouldn't that come under wear and tear?

Tassotti

marlborogirl wrote:

H but it DOES forbid me from painting the interior in any colour other than magnolia (which I have done in a couple of rooms, so I'm happy to paint these back.)

The reason why LL's specify that you can't redorate is that you are not a professional decorator, and he will have to pay for a professional job to cover your bodge job (everyone thinks they can paint, but really cannot) If you bodge the cutting in on a wall, then the walls, ceilings, and woodword need to be redone.

The rest of things you mention are the LL's responsibility

We are talking legalilities here, and speak to the LL and see how the land lies

Tass

lynzpower

Is a 5 year tenancy legal?

I didnt think it was??

maninthestreet

On the day you leave the house, take numerous photos of each room, or better still, hire a video camera. This will put you in a strong position if the LL tries to make out the house is in a worse condition than you know you left it in.

thesaint

Hi marlborogirl,
the landlord can expect the property in the same condition as when he originally let it, but you have no obligation to give it back in thatcondition. As others have said, he has to account for fair wear and tear.
In effect, in four years I would expect that the landlord would have to replace everything that you have mentioned out of his pocket. As well as the advice about taking photographs, write him and point out the things that need doing and say that you have taken advice that he is responsible for them, so you will not tolerate him trying to levy a charge on you for them. Also give him a firm date that you expect your deposit back.

Gorgeous_George

I paid £90 to have the carpets cleaned. Dirt is not covered bu fair wear and tear. It's the tenant's dirt.

1. loose taps in the bathroom
My view: Landlord
2. a loose bannister
My view: Landlord
3. broken hinges on oven door
My view: Whoever broke the hinges
4. flourescent strip light
My view: Tenant
5. oven light bulb
My view: Tenant
6. extractor hood light bulb
My view: Tenant
7. 2 of the mechanisms came out of their bearings within the first few months that I lived here & I never bothered telling the landlord as my daughter was very young at the time and had trapped her fingers in them several times.
My view: Sounds like you may have removed them to avoid DD trapping her fingers. If so, you should replace/repair.

If you don't replace the bulbs you may end up being charged for someone to replace them for you (incurring a labour cost in addition to bulb cost).

I think the LL is havingh a laugh if he expects professional redecoration after 5 years.

Best wishes



GG

silvercar

As a new landlord, I was told by letting agent to pay for carpets to be professionally cleaned for new tenant and then I could charge tenant for professional cleaning when they leave.

abaxas

silvercar wrote:

As a new landlord, I was told by letting agent to pay for carpets to be professionally cleaned for new tenant and then I could charge tenant for professional cleaning when they leave.

Incorrect. The condition of a property is hard to prove and this leaves you open to small claims.

It's a punt with odds stacked against you.

Gorgeous_George

I recently paid £90 to have carpets cleaned and replaced 4 carpets that were damaged beyond repair. The bond was not enough to cover this and all the other damage.

If this happens again, I would not be replacing the carpets without the new tenat's explicit agreement taht they are responsible for leaving the property in a condition suitable for new tenants.

It is not my responsibility to provide new carpets for each tenancy and it is not my responsibilty to pay for tenant's dirt to be removed.

I'd happily attend a small claims court.



GG

Ebany

The lightbulb in my oven has gone, and I mentioned it to our agent and they have agreed with the landlord either I can fix it and they will refund me the cost of the bulb, if its simple, or I can wait til something else needs doing (as I said it doesn't bother me at all, so its not worth paying a call out fee just for that) and they will get it done. I agree that must lightbulbs are the tenants responsibility to sort, but bulbs in ovens are a bit of a special case, so if you heven't specifically asked about it then it may be worth it.

However, I am lucky to have a very nice agent and landlord, whereas yours sounds a bit more troublesome, so I might just be lucky.

Other than that, I generally agree with whats been said, they are allowed to ask you to leave the home cleaned to a professional standard, but they can't make you pay someone to get it to that state, if you can do it yourself with your own or hired equipment then that is enough.