Letting house out - removing mirrors and fixings

antilles

Hi first time landlord post.

I'm about to start advertising a house for rental and am currently emptying it out/cleaning up. I have a number of very large mirrors (think IKEA Stave size) attached to some of the walls with heavy duty fixings behind them. They are using Gripit style fixings - in other words - quite large holes would be left behind if they were removed and they are too unsightly to leave in the wall.

Just wanted to ask - should these be removed before a tenant comes in? It would mean removing the fixings then filling/repainting the walls in question (there are quite a few of them). Also there are numerous picture hooks in the house which would need removing as well.

Just wondered what the 'standard' procedure is in this case - as I imagine the tenant would want to knock a load of new ones in.

Thanks!

AdrianC

I certainly wouldn't bother removing picture hooks - and if tenants fit their own, then they have to make good anyway. Leave the hooks, and a tenant can use them if they're there.

Why remove the mirrors? Just make sure they're on the inventory.

eddddy

antilles wrote: »

Just wanted to ask - should these be removed before a tenant comes in? It would mean removing the fixings then filling/repainting the walls in question (there are quite a few of them). Also there are numerous picture hooks in the house which would need removing as well.

Just wondered what the 'standard' procedure is in this case - as I imagine the tenant would want to knock a load of new ones in.

Why are you contemplating removing the mirrors?

For example, if it's because you are not sure that they are securely fixed to the wall, and they could fall and injure somebody...

... then you should definitely either remove them, or get them fixed to the wall more securely.


Do you think that the presence of the picture hooks will deter potential renters, or reduce the amount of rent you can achieve? I'd suspect it wouldn't, but if you (or your letting agent) think it would, I guess you should consider removing them.

antilles

Thanks for the replies guys. I was just assuming that tenants may not want the mirrors left in there, and may want to hang their own ones up. The current fixings are super strong and no chance of falling down; but the fixings are specifically positioned to hold these particular mirrors. So I didn't particularly want to remove them and have to patch the holes up, only for the tenant to put more in.

As a first time landlord just wasn't sure what the 'usual' thing was.

I guess I shall just ask whoever rents it, then if they want them leaving in, add them to the inventory. If not I'll just remove and make good.

Thanks!

novelty-socks

First of all, I think you're being pretty considerate here, and your tenants might appreciate your thoughtfulness if this is generally indicative of your approach! Most places I've rented have had random nails banged into walls, screws sticking out where old pictures were, etc, etc.

I also think you've hit on the right result. Let tenants see the place as is, and then remove the mirrors etc if they want you to. As a tenant, big mirrors were a pain to own - expensive to buy, prone to breaking during moves - and so I would totally have viewed it as a bonus if they were in situ in a place I rented.

melb

just do like my daughter's landlady has just done. leave the fixings in situ and then accuse the tenant of having put them there and charging them for their removal and making good accordingly!

Just think of it as a little bonus at the end of each tenancy!

By the way i am being totally facetious - you sound like the sort of landlord who would treat tenants thoughtfully so no disrespect meant to you at all.

eddddy

You need to hit the right balance. Some tenants can become very demanding.

If you offer to remove picture hooks at the tenant's request, they might feel able to ask you to do lots of other little changes.

Then, instead of being grateful that you're removing unwanted picture hooks, they become annoyed that you won't make other changes as well.

I guess you need to be very clear at the outset about what requests you will agree to (if any).

LocoLoco

As a tenant I always really like it if a place already has mirrors and picture hooks as it saves me having to do it all and when I move out I don't have to worry about holes and re-plastering

melb

that's what we thought until they said it was my daughter who had put them there. Do you mind me asking were they itemised on your inventory when you moved in?