Tenants redecorated

kwmlondon

Halle71 wrote: »

As I posted earlier there is a clause in my AST saying that tenants cannot decorate withot our agreement. While I am happy for them to put up pictures etc. I see no reason why they should paint over our newly painted neutral-ish (Malt Chocolate if you're interested!). We paid £2000 to create a lovely fresh, inoffensively decorated home and that is what I expect to get back at the end of the tenancy to appeal to a greater number of tenants.

I have to disagree with your clause insofar as you can't define how they use the house while they live there. If your tenants used the same professional company to re-paint the property before they leave with the same paint as used now then you'd have to be content with the outcome.

What's not acceptable is if it's not returned to the condition it was when you let it out. You, as a landlord, can expect to have the property back in the same state it was let, taking into account reasonable wear and tear.

If they've put cheaper or different carpets in then they should replace them before they leave. It DOES sound like they are making a mess of your house, but you need to be detached about it and when you communicate with them calmly and clearly explain your concerns that they may not be planning to return the property to it's original state and ask for a commitment from them to undertake this to your satisfaction.

I really hope this doesn't turn into a nightmare for you.

19lottie82

Halle71 isn't the OP

CharlieRabbit01

Halle71 wrote: »

As I posted earlier there is a clause in my AST saying that tenants cannot decorate withot our agreement. While I am happy for them to put up pictures etc. I see no reason why they should paint over our newly painted neutral-ish (Malt Chocolate if you're interested!). We paid £2000 to create a lovely fresh, inoffensively decorated home and that is what I expect to get back at the end of the tenancy to appeal to a greater number of tenants.

Malt chocolate would not be to my taste to be honest (assuming we have the same colour in mind). So there would be a reason to repaint it in a colour that I preferred (with of course the LL's permission).

If that is what you expect to get back then as long as the tenant agrees again I see no reason not to let them change the colour and if they don't charge them through the deposit.

CharlieRabbit01

Halle71 wrote: »

Precisely my point ( that you omitted when quoting me but here it is again: 'I don't think anyone who has responded would deny them the right to 'make themselves at home' but any damage they cause doing so needs to be rectified. There is a reason for the inventory - the house should be left in the same state as when they moved in less wear and tear').

I clearly said they should make themselves at home (although they are at home so that's a bit of an unnecessary statement), just that any change must be rectified as per the agreement signed by tenant and landlord. And some things can't be put back - for example I refuse to have a Sky dish in our period properly because I've seen such botched jobs in friend's houses.

And in reality I do practice the middle ground. Our tenants saw our BTL before we had completed and wanted it as was. It was in fair but not perfect decorative order so we told them that if they wished to decorate we would pay for materials. When we completed we decided a couple of rooms needed decorating but as we did those the others started to look worse, hence the £2k paint job. Our tenants were thrilled and we are proud of our house.

Anyway, back to the OP.
I do hope they make good the changes.

you spent £2k on repainting a couple of rooms?? not very MSE.

Halle71

CharlieRabbit01 wrote: »

you spent £2k on repainting a couple of rooms?? not very MSE.

No, the couple of newly painted rooms made the others look shabby so we painted a 3 story, 4 bed house top to bottom

And the malt chocolate looks great in our house and the tenants had commented on it so we replaced the existing magnolia and lilac with something we were all happy with.

CharlieRabbit01

Halle71 wrote: »

No, the couple of newly painted rooms made the others look shabby so we painted a 3 story, 4 bed house top to bottom

And the malt chocolate looks great in our house and the tenants had commented on it so we replaced the existing magnolia and lilac with something we were all happy with.

So you did say that. Apologies it was the shock of 2k on redecorating that got me. I'm hoping to do my 2bed flat for a lot less.

Your colour is still not me but I like white which I know a lot of people don't.

My place is already white but its looking tiered and skirtings yellowing so going to ask if we can spruce it back up.

couponqueen123

thesaint wrote: »

Use proper words, and I will address you.

so none as i though;)

Farel01

Though I totally agree that completely redecorating is not done, as a tenant you do want to feel at home in a house. I don't agree with the poster who said she/he would never hang any pictures without approval; if you live in a place for 5+ years you do want a place to be at least slightly yours.

My last LL docked my entire deposit because I hung some pictures and added a few shelves in the kitchen. She agreed when we moved in that it was no problem if we hung stuff and as long as we did not paint strong colors we could redecorate a bit as well even though we did not. Unfortunately it was privately let without a rental agreement so didn't have a leg to stand on. So, so happy I own my home now!

J_i_m

I think we'd agree that everyone should feel at home whether they're a owner or tenant.

But I think there are limits to what is acceptable.

For example, the phrase "The tenant can do what ever they want". I take issue to that. Because where do you draw the line of what is acceptable?

What if the tenant decides they don't like the look of the kitchen cabinets and decide to replace a perfectly serviceable kitchen with one of their own choice?

What if they don't like the look of the open fire place, brick it up and install a gas heater?

What if they decide to erect a partition in a room to effectively create an addition bedroom?

What if they rip up the garden lawn and replace it with paving?

All these would be fairly major changes to make, ones which most landlords would inevitably refuse permission. But wait, that's all okay because "The tenant can do what ever they want" and will go ahead anyway?

At the very least, it's good manners and practice to talk to the landlord first.

19lottie82

J_i_m wrote: »

"The tenant can do what ever they want". I take issue to that. Because where do you draw the line of what is acceptable?

I think a lot of people would take issue with it, but that doesn't mean the tenant can't do what they like when they are in the property, as long as they return it to the original condition when they leave.

J_i_m wrote: »

What if the tenant decides they don't like the look of the kitchen cabinets and decide to replace a perfectly serviceable kitchen with one of their own choice?

What if they don't like the look of the open fire place, brick it up and install a gas heater?

What if they decide to erect a partition in a room to effectively create an addition bedroom?

What if they rip up the garden lawn and replace it with paving?

All perfectly legal, as long as they restore the property back to the original condition it was in when the LL handed it over.

J_i_m wrote: »

At the very least, it's good manners and practice to talk to the landlord first.

Of course it is, no one is denying that.

However I think a lot of people, including yourself, are confusing moral guidelines and legal ones.