Very messy tenant wants me to replace old kitchen

Very messy tenant wants me to replace old kitchen

17:23 PM, 11th July 2014, About 10 years ago 13

Text Size

Hello Fellow Landlords Very messy tenant wants me to replace old kitchen

I have a tenant for over 4 years. He is a single dad with three teenage boys and has been a good paying tenant however; he has the house in a absolute tip.

He has requested three times for me to replace the existing kitchen and I have ignored his plea, so the question is, do I replace the existing kitchen costing about £3,500 (its a fairly large kitchen) or do I give him notice to vacate due to the state of the house?

I have told him on previous occasions that the house is untidy, but his reply was that his boys are very untidy and always having their friends in the house, he finds it difficult to keep on top of cleaning.

I would like to add that normally I would have a new kitchen but I am afraid that the money I will be spending will be wasted by the time he is ready to leave, and I would need to spend a further XXXX amount on the kitchen for the next tenant.

I’d appreciate your thoughts

Thanks

Fay


Share This Article


Comments

Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

11:04 AM, 13th July 2014, About 10 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "John Davis" at "13/07/2014 - 09:46":

That's a bit OTT John don't you think?

We all have our own definitions of what untidy actually means. Does it mean a few socks thrown on the bedroom floor or does it mean living in a property in a way that would make Kim Woodburn and Aggie MacKenzie from TV's "How clean is your house" want to throw up?

Given that Fay owns the property then she has a say in who lives there and is well within her rights to evict her tenants whether they really do live like pigs in a unhygienic property or whether she really does suffer from OCD. It's her investment, her choice.

I'm guessing that you are not a landlord yourself but apologies if I am wrong.

This forum exists to facilitate the sharing of best practice amongst landlords, letting agent and indeed tenants. If you have a look around you will see just how supportive good landlords can be to tenants who have bad landlords. They provide good advice.

Good landlords don't want their reputations to be tarnished and will go out of there way to help tenants who are victims of bad landlords.

The very fact that Fay has posted her question here to seek the advice of her peers, who are good landlords, is testament to her desire to do the right thing.

I hope that she does manage to reach a compromise with her tenants, it is in nobodys interest for her not to at least try.

The attitude of Fay's tenants will doubtless be reflected in her ultimate decision. If you are a tenant yourself, you may want to bear that in mind in regards to the relationship with your own landlord.
.

Ian Ringrose

21:40 PM, 13th July 2014, About 10 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "John Davis" at "13/07/2014 - 09:46":

If only most deposits where enough to cover the cost of a new kitchen!

amarni

13:54 PM, 16th July 2014, About 10 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "John Davis" at "13/07/2014 - 09:46":

No doubt the deposit would not cover this and my concern would be the casual stance to concerns raised taken by an otherwise good tenant (the single father). Also the fact that the 3 x teenagers (growing and seemingly unable to be under tenant's control) and having lots of other teenagers visiting quite likely means that 'reasonable wear and tear' will not be the norm.

Fay needs to take steps to take control of this situation and give herself 'peace of mind' as the landlord.

Leave Comments

In order to post comments you will need to Sign In or Sign Up for a FREE Membership

or

Don't have an account? Sign Up

Landlord Tax Planning Book Now