Landlord wants to take down shed

csgohan4

Pianoman1 said:

My first and foremost priority in this is to prevent this shed from being dismantled and taken away tomorrow, when we are about to go on holiday and have nowhere else to store the mower and bikes. 

Please can I have some advice how i can prevent this from happening?

OP why did you leave this 9 months later? You neither repaired nor clarified and LL is within their rights to mitigate any health and safety claims from their tenants, given also the shed is not in your tenancy agreement

OP store your stuff somewhere else or repair it yourself. 

Pianoman1

wesleyad said:

Pianoman1 said:

TripleH said:

I think he is wanting it in writing though rather than a verbal agreement

Just in case 4 months down the line you do try and sue. It might be worth emailing him and asking for clarification.

Yes, and i am fine with that. What i don't want is to have to replace the shed and give them a new shed. This landlord has done very little for the property and i don't feel i owe them a brand new shed.

I'd make sure you just have in writing that you are fine to continue with the shed at your own risk. Make it clear the LL has no obligation to repair any more (that's probably what he wants).

But at the same time make it clear that at end of tenancy you are not obliged to provide him with a new shed (this wouldn't stand up in court anyway as he would be claiming betterment, but its easier if its in writing). 

I often will have waivers signed for things left in the house if a tenant wants them. Most recently we had a dishwasher I was going to remove at beginning of tenancy, tenant asked to keep it, and I had no problem with that we just signed a waiver saying I had no responsibility for maintenance and tenant had no responsibility to leave me with a dishwasher when tenancy ends.

Yes, that makes sense except for the betterment. How/why could the landlord claim betterment on the shed?

Pianoman1

csgohan4 said:

Pianoman1 said:

My first and foremost priority in this is to prevent this shed from being dismantled and taken away tomorrow, when we are about to go on holiday and have nowhere else to store the mower and bikes. 

Please can I have some advice how i can prevent this from happening?

OP why did you leave this 9 months later? You neither repaired nor clarified and LL is within their rights to mitigate any health and safety claims from their tenants, given also the shed is not in your tenancy agreement

OP store your stuff somewhere else or repair it yourself. 

I'm not going to explain why this wasn't done, i have my reasons and it's not due to laziness. Also, the builders wrecked a load of the land when replacing the wall and most of my time has been spent sorting out the grounds.

From a bit of research it seems as though the shed may be part of the tenancy, given it's signed in the inventory and the tenancy references the inventory, so i can't rule this out yet.

diggingdude

Just get a keter shed like someone said. I have one for my bins, they are cheap and decent quality 

saajan_12

Pianoman1 said:

1) If I have 3 lawns to maintain, is it reasonable for the landlord to provide something suitable to store a mower?

2) Is it within their rights to remove the shed at 24 hours notice, given I have items inside?

1) No. There's no inherent right to a place for storage for specific items.. the same way there isn't a requirement for a certain amount of cupboards etc. 

2) IF its reasonable to remove, then 24 hours is fine as notice. Even if you argued for a couple more days, it wouldn't be open ended if it takes you weeks or months to make other arrangements. But note this is an 'if'

You're clutching at straws with both these. The point is was a shed included in the 'Property' over which you have a tenancy? So it isn't reasonable to remove at all. You can argue liability to repair, similar to how white goods are often handled - ie provided for your use but LL doesn't maintain, you can return however. 
 

Pianoman1 said:

Landlord just emailed saying that someone is coming to remove the shed tomorrow. I asked if we can keep it because we have a lawnmower and bikes inside. Landlord has responded asking that I make a statement accepting liability for all future maintenance and repairs.

I am happy to upkeep/maintain, but I don't want to end up having to replace or give the landlord a new shed, as it's in poor condition (noted on signed inventory) and they were already willing to write it off..

Your solution sounds reasonable, ie no responsibility on the LL to maintain, you maintain for your usage or remove yourself
Put that in writing and ask them to agree. 

AdrianC

saajan_12 said:

The point is was a shed included in the 'Property' over which you have a tenancy? So it isn't reasonable to remove at all. You can argue liability to repair, similar to how white goods are often handled - ie provided for your use but LL doesn't maintain, you can return however. 

Except the shed was noted as being dilapidated at the start of the tenancy, and the OP was given a choice - they can repair or it will be removed. Nine months later, the OP has not repaired it.

csgohan4

Pianoman1 said:

csgohan4 said:

Pianoman1 said:

My first and foremost priority in this is to prevent this shed from being dismantled and taken away tomorrow, when we are about to go on holiday and have nowhere else to store the mower and bikes. 

Please can I have some advice how i can prevent this from happening?

OP why did you leave this 9 months later? You neither repaired nor clarified and LL is within their rights to mitigate any health and safety claims from their tenants, given also the shed is not in your tenancy agreement

OP store your stuff somewhere else or repair it yourself. 

I'm not going to explain why this wasn't done, i have my reasons and it's not due to laziness. Also, the builders wrecked a load of the land when replacing the wall and most of my time has been spent sorting out the grounds.

From a bit of research it seems as though the shed may be part of the tenancy, given it's signed in the inventory and the tenancy references the inventory, so i can't rule this out yet.

Bottom line OP, you had 9 months, you didn't do anything and the LL is now removing it. There's not much more you can you do.

You had a chance for destiny to be in your hands but decided not to, now it is out of your hands and you will live with that decision, not the LL's fault. 

Tokmon

Pianoman1 said:

csgohan4 said:

Pianoman1 said:

My first and foremost priority in this is to prevent this shed from being dismantled and taken away tomorrow, when we are about to go on holiday and have nowhere else to store the mower and bikes. 

Please can I have some advice how i can prevent this from happening?

OP why did you leave this 9 months later? You neither repaired nor clarified and LL is within their rights to mitigate any health and safety claims from their tenants, given also the shed is not in your tenancy agreement

OP store your stuff somewhere else or repair it yourself. 

I'm not going to explain why this wasn't done, i have my reasons and it's not due to laziness. Also, the builders wrecked a load of the land when replacing the wall and most of my time has been spent sorting out the grounds.

From a bit of research it seems as though the shed may be part of the tenancy, given it's signed in the inventory and the tenancy references the inventory, so i can't rule this out yet.

You should have prioritised fixing the shed with a big hole in it rather than making the garden look pretty when you knew the Landlord gave two options of repair it or get rid and you wanted to keep it.

I think the landlord giving you 9 months to fix it was plenty of time and they can't just let it sit there and get worse when you obviously don't want to fix it.

SavingPennies_2

Pianoman1 said:

Moved into a rental 9 months ago. After moving in, noticed the shed roof had a large hole on one side. Landlord had left equipment to repair and said I could do it myself or they can remove the shed.

I let it go with the view of repairing further down the line, but I didn't say anything or agree anything with the Landlord.

Landlord gave you two options 9 months and you didn't respond. So the landlord probably assumed you had repaired it yourself or didn't care either way, since you didn't come back with the option of them removing it. It seems fair enough after such a timeframe that they want to remove it since the roof hasn't been fixed, especially now we are getting into winter/bad weather. They don't know you have a holiday planned the next day or that you store bikes in there. I'd just contact them and simply ask them to hold off until you have returned from your holiday, then fix or get it removed. Or can the bikes not come indoors while you are away? 

NatNat77

How does the LL know you haven't repaired it?