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Can a tenant add clauses to letting contract ?

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  • FBaby
    FBaby Posts: 18,367 Forumite
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    You can ask anything, the question is what will you do if they say no, taking in consideration that the likelihood of them agreeing is about 0.
  • Cakeguts
    Cakeguts Posts: 7,627 Forumite
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    The problem with your idea is that a house can be in very good condition and then some idiot drives a car into it or a big lump of ice falls off an aircraft onto the roof and the landlord has to make a big repair. No one with a nice property is going to agree to your ideas because they can get tenants who don't want these extra clauses in the agreement.
  • AnotherJoe
    AnotherJoe Posts: 19,622 Forumite
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    coffeehound wrote: »
    Is this realistically doable?

    I'm currently looking at a domestic let as a tenant and would like to include contract clauses such as no major works to be undertaken while I'm there, no people other than the LL or agent to visit while I'm out, and the house should not be put on the market during the let.

    Would I get laughed out of the office for requesting these?

    Water gushing through ceiling due to holes in roof; Landlord .. "sorry I'm bound by the extra conditions you imposed, no major works and no other people so the roofer and plasterer can't get in, so live with it. Heres a tarpaulin. I'd advise not touching the electrics either. You still need to pay rent of course. "
  • aneary
    aneary Posts: 921 Forumite
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    Why do you want these conditions
  • chucknorris
    chucknorris Posts: 10,786 Forumite
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    Cakeguts wrote: »
    The problem with your idea is that a house can be in very good condition and then some idiot drives a car into it or a big lump of ice falls off an aircraft onto the roof and the landlord has to make a big repair. No one with a nice property is going to agree to your ideas because they can get tenants who don't want these extra clauses in the agreement.

    That is easily dealt with, just add another two clauses:

    - No idiots allowed to drive cars into the property
    - No aircraft (or Santa) allowed to fly over the house
    Chuck Norris can kill two stones with one birdThe only time Chuck Norris was wrong was when he thought he had made a mistakeChuck Norris puts the "laughter" in "manslaughter".I've started running again, after several injuries had forced me to stop
  • coffeehound
    coffeehound Posts: 5,674 Forumite
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    Thank you for your replies. Why do I want the clauses? As a single person renting in the south for ~20 years I was ripped-off and messed about in just about every way imaginable.

    By 'major works' I was intending to imply elective building improvement works rather than remedial work. That said, you'd hope that the state of repair would have been properly sorted before the start of any let. The double-glazing installation mentioned is a good example of something I wouldn't want a LL doing during my let.

    To give you an idea: At one place, a LL gained entry under false pretenses saying he wanted to bleed the radiators. Instead he had tradesmen in taking up floorboards. I happened to know that the place had been unoccupied for months before I took it on but obviously he preferred to do the work while he had the cashflow of a tenant. Anyway, I came home to find my possessions chucked in a pile. A cherished £500+ item was scratched in the process.

    At a different place, the LL said he would supervise a tradesperson while futzing about in my place. I knew damn well he wouldn't, so left my laptop recording on the webcam. Sure enough it got footage of the unaccompanied tradesperson poking around through my stuff. Lucky for him he didn't actually nick anything.

    People have said I shouldn't make myself look like a difficult tenant, but
    I disagree with that. Sure, if you come across as so difficult that they just bin your application then that's counterproductive. But it is good to show that you aren't a passive pushover who can be taken for a mug.

    So anyway, that's why I would want the clauses. But you're probably right that successive governments have succeeded in stacking the cards so much in favour of the LL/LAs that despite paying for everything, the tenant still has little leverage in the marketplace. What a great country. As a poster said, buying is probably the only way to have a decent level of privacy and dignity in Britain.
  • Cakeguts
    Cakeguts Posts: 7,627 Forumite
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    I am a landlord and we don't do major works while the tenants are in occupation unless they become needed. When you have tenants who live in the house for 15 years you can't guarantee that you won't have to do some work while the tenant is living there.

    It sounds as if you have been renting from not very professional landlords. Have you always been trying to get the cheapest accommodation that you can find? It seems to be extremely bad luck that you have always managed to get these bad landlords it makes me think that it is the type of property that you are renting?
  • shortcrust
    shortcrust Posts: 2,697 Forumite
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    You may as well wear a t-shirt with 'Here Comes Trouble!' on it.
  • FBaby
    FBaby Posts: 18,367 Forumite
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    Again, it's up to you what you ask and how desperate you are to be the chosen tenant for that property. A desperate LL will agree to anything, but if they are desperate, there are more likely to be a poor LL whereas a good LL will assume that these clause are unnecessary because they would never do what you are trying to protect yourself again, but might become suspicious of other requirements you might start making during the tenancy. If they get to pick tenants, all ticking the boxes, they might decide to go with some else who isn't starting the business relationship with demands.
  • 00ec25
    00ec25 Posts: 9,123 Forumite
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    coffeehound wrote: »
    But you're probably right that successive governments have succeeded in stacking the cards so much in favour of the LL/LAs that despite paying for everything, the tenant still has little leverage in the marketplace. What a great country.
    oh bla bla

    the usual one sided nonsense from someone unable to see things from both sides of a fence

    yes lettings legislation is not perfectly balanced and utterly neutral to both parties, try evicting a tenant ...
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