General Maintenance to rented property.

babyfruitella

We currently rent privately. The Fascia boards on the house we're renting are really grimey. I believe its our responsibility to get them cleaned, as is the case with windows, my husband believes its our landlords. Can anyone offer any advice?

poppysarah

How grimey are they?

Windows you do (or windowcleaner) but I don't know anyone who cleans the fascias. If they're wooden then they might need painting.

Got a piccy?

GAH

Its not your responsibilty to clean the fascia boards, I don't know many many that would bother to do this.

The windows are up to you to clean. I don't partucalrly like heights, so have a window cleaner round once a month to do them for a £10.

casper_g

While I can't cite anything in law that would make this the landord's responsibility, it wouldn't have occurred to me as a tenant to clean fascia boards on a house I was renting. I don't believe the vast majority of landlords would expect a tenant to clean these, and I don't think it would be reasonable if they did: you need specific equipment to work at that height, at the very least a long ladder that would be difficult to store in most properties.

Does the inventory specify that the fascia boards were clean when you moved in? I'm willing to bet it doesn't, so forget about it.

pmlindyloo

What does your contract say?

Generally the maintenance of the property is down to the landlord.

You could write and tell the LL/LA that the boards are grimy (have they noticed during an inspection or don't they do inspections?) but this may 'get up his/her nose'.

However, I wouldn't have thought that it would be a priority for the LL unless they are damaged and maybe not then!

If it is a concern for you, you could just make a quick phone call to the LL/LA and ask if you can do it yourself (no idea of cost) and he/may offer to have it done/go halves.

Considering the threads on here about major repair issues I wouldn't be too worried myself!

babyfruitella

They're UPVC. There are loads of those little midgey flies hovering around the top of my little boys window where the fascia boards are which I believe is because they're quite mucky. This means we can't open his window because the flies all come in. The contract doesn't say anything about fascia's tbh. The landlords have never been and done an inspection or anything. They pass the house most days though because its en route to their childrens school. They only seem interested in us keeping the driveway tidy because they get on well with the neighbours. So much so that they had us rip up a load of weeds (they weren't weeds, they were bluebells or something) last year because the neighbour had said the drive looked untidy (it didnt)

pmlindyloo

Any chance of opening your boy's window and washing the fascia from there?

If it is such a nuisance I would just telephone the LL and mention the problem and see what he/she says.

GAH

Hire a window cleaner and ask them to do the fascias while they are at it.

abankerbutnotafatcat

Personally, I'd probably just do it myself/get a window cleaner to so that the place I was living was nice. As a LL I do all this sort of thing on change of tenancy or if the tenancy was on-going like OPs i'd do as required.

I thought bluebells were protected? Maybe not.

G_M

If the fascia boards are damaged - LL is responsible for repair. Cleaning them? No. Up to you if you want them cleaned.

Windows too - though no obligation other than to leave them as you found them - were they clean when you moved in?