Tenants requesting bed removal

duchy

Ring the local Sally Army they'll probably accept it as a donation and collect it or be able to suggest another charity who will-alternatively contact your local council - most have either free or token amount unwanted furniture collections.

For a six year old bed it isn't worth upsetting your tenants over as they are good ones.

TBagpuss

6 years means that the mattress is getting on - isn't the recommendation that mattresses should be replaced evey 8 years?

In your place I would probably be asking the tenants to dispose of the mattress at their own expense (most councils will collect large items for a small fee- in my old home it was £25, where I live now it is £40) and arrange to collect the frame and store it so I could put it back into the property with a new mattress if/when the house is re-let.

I'd also be asking the tenants to confirm in writing that they agree to a variation of the lease to confirm that while the property is let furnished, the firnidhings no longer include a second bed and that you will not be under any obligation to replace it within their tenancy

However, I would balance the cost to me of collecting and storing the frame against the likely cost of replacing the bed if/when the house is re-let - it might work out cheaper to sell or donate the frame.

If you don't want to remove the bed then you could let the tenants know that the bed is part of the furnishingss and that you are willing to dispose of it subject to them paying you the current value now, (or deducting itfrom the deposit at the end of the lease) or that you are happy for them to dismantle and store it at their own expense.

However, if they are good, long term tenants then it may be that it is worth it to do as they have requested in order to maintain an amicble relationship with them.

Guest101

Let's be fair, the bed has had a lot of it's 'use' (and that's not an innuendo!) - it's not worth much now, it certainly wont be by the time they leave.


As for them paying for it now? - they are, by paying rent. If they throw it away, the LL can deduct the value at the end of the tenancy. Which will be double, not triple digits.

tlc678910

We recently had a change of tenant and it cost us 2 months rent (we found tenants very quickly but they had to give notice), the cost of a cleaner £100, carpet cleaning £70 (the tenants had left the place fine but I wanted it spot on so the new tenants were more likely to take care of it) odd jobs of a ceiling repair £300, window catch repair £60. All in at least £1700. And then you have the risks that come with new tenants not paying their rent or not looking after the property (assuming your current ones are).

We also live a long way from the property (Midlands to Cornwall) so everything was organised at a distance with help from a friend and the agents as the cost of petrol and time commitment would make cleaning/providing access myself not worth while.

The cost of a bed in hassle or money is nothing in comparison. Keep your tenants sweet.

I think it would be reasonable to say that as replacing furniture might be a future cost to you that you are happy to do this if they feel able to commit to a new 12 month contract? They shouldn't be asking you to dispose of furniture if they don't intend to stay long but if they do intend to stay you are on to a winner.

Then just ask them to dispose of the bed however they wish (including selling it for their own gain) as it is not worth your time. Do make clear in writing that you will not be replacing this bed for them in the future. If they want a bed in that room in the future they will need to buy their own (that will belong to them).

Tlc

greensalad

You can arrange couriers and such to sort that out for you without having to be there. Post a job on anyvan.com or similar and specify you need them to dismantle and then drop at the tip. It wouldn't be unreasonable to then charge the tenants the cost of the removal.

Or state that they can do it themselves for free.

Herbalus

A mattress is only meant to last 8 years? I'm staggered. What happened to environmentalism?!

Thanks all for your thoughts. I will tell them the problems with removing it and see what they want to do.

Guest101

Herbalus wrote: »

A mattress is only meant to last 8 years? I'm staggered. What happened to environmentalism?!

Thanks all for your thoughts. I will tell them the problems with removing it and see what they want to do.

Your going to tell them the problems?
Or the proposed solutions?

cloo

I removed some furniture from the house I let when it was surplus to tenants' requirements, as they were good tenants.

I likethe suggestion to freecycle the bed as the easiest way to get it out (maybe ask tenants to organise that?) - you can always get another one off freecycle if you need it again, beds come up all the time around here.

nkkingston

That's eight years if you flip it every six months and treat it well. Personally, I've found I usually get ten years, but after that the springs start poking out the bottom! You can get more environmental mattresses, but it' usually in terms of materials, not how long they last.

FBaby

The cost of a bed in hassle or money is nothing in comparison. Keep your tenants sweet.

But of course, accept that keeping them sweet will give you no guarantee that they will give you respect back.

SIL did everything to keep her tenants 'sweet'. She didn't increase the rent for 3 years despite being significantly under market rate. She agreed to them repainting (on condition it was put back to initial state), she replaced things she didn't need, she responded to non urgent requests within 24 hours etc... they said they were happy there, treated it like their home and agreed to sign to another 12 months contract...and then out of the blue, they announced they were moving, at the worse possible time (just before Christmas) and then left the place in a complete state, broken things etc... She tried to negotiate the deposit, they said they expected everything back, ended up having to go to arbitration, and thankfully got the entire deposit, that's how bad things were...

Unfortunately, that experience means that she isn't prepared to play nice to keep tenants 'sweet' just because they are paying on time. She plays by the rules and that's it.