my tennants have requested ........

kunash

My tennants have requested that the front garden, should be concreted over and used as a car park, due to poor on road parking I guess. I am fine with this idea, but is it something the landlord should have to pay for if the work is carried out? ( obviously it is not necessary maintenance,and falls outside the normal boundaries of landlords responsibility as far as i see - paying wise )

I have asked if they would be happy to make a contribution, and am waiting a reply.

so, should i have to pay for it all? should i say yes go ahead, but you pay for it all, or what contribution would be fair? they are not dss tennants, and earn a decent wage.

terryw

kunash wrote: »

My tennants have requested that the front garden, should be concreted over and used as a car park, due to poor on road parking I guess. I am fine with this idea, but is it something the landlord should have to pay for if the work is carried out? ( obviously it is not necessary maintenance,and falls outside the normal boundaries of landlords responsibility as far as i see - paying wise )

I have asked if they would be happy to make a contribution, and am waiting a reply.

so, should i have to pay for it all? should i say yes go ahead, but you pay for it all, or what contribution would be fair? they are not dss tennants, and earn a decent wage.

No, this is not something that the landlord should pay for. You might chip in if it is something that you want done but bear in mind that the next tenants might want a garden.

terryw

PasturesNew

If you're wanting to park vehicles off the road, you need to contact the local Council to get the kerb dropped. And you need to use an approved contractor.

Before you go agreeing anything or thinking about who would pay it, get in touch with them to find out if you are allowed and how much it will cost.

Paddy_Charlie

I think the landlord should pay for this sort of work as it will be a permanent fixture at the property. But you might be right in adjusting your rent slightly as the property would then have an parking facilities.

But I think Terryw is right in that some people might prefer a garden if you are to rent it out to other tenants in the future

emmy05

personally i wouldnt make any changes unless you want them changed, bear in mind that to put a driveway in, they still have to notify the council, as well as get written confirmation from utilities incase they will ever need to get to any pipe work that might be running through your front garden, so concrete might not be allowed, worth looking at if your parking isnt any good where you are at the moment, but youd have to also pay for drop kerbing etc, its not a cheap and go option, i would say if youre going to get it done, get it done properly. tenants dont have to pay for major things, just ripping the fencing down and making something thats easy to get a car onto is something they can get away with doing, so make sure things are done properly.

tbs624

May depend on your local council's view: http://www.haringey.gov.uk/spg_1b_-_parking_in_front_gardens-2.pdf

Are your tenants long term? Future tenants may also view the provision of parking space as advantageous so you may recoup some of your costs further down the line?

Doozergirl

Eh? You can say no. Otherwise if you want a drive, you pay for it. Perhaps you could up the rent slightly for the added benefit to the tenant.

If they want to pay for it and you agree, then perhaps that is okay but I wouldn't trust a tenant to carry out such major work to a high enough standard. Drives cost quite a bit of money!

pinkkaz

Plus it's concreting over all these front gardens which leads to flooding. I think I read somewhere that people might have to apply for planning permission to do this in the future?

http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/environment-forum/24356-paving-over-front-gardens.html

Taxi_2

Unless you are using gravel or porous slabs, then get it done soon otherwise you'll need planning permission (I think the changes come into effect in the autumn, but they maybe already there, you'll have to check)

Its to help flood waters soak into the ground instead of running off and flooding the drains.