Landlord Makingn unreasonable requests premove inspection

[paulmorfett1983]

Friend of mine had her pre move out inspection last monday and the landlord had noted that the living room had been decorated and the front bedroom had been decorated with new carpet fitted. The letting agent is now requesting that the other bedroom with pink walls and pink carpet (little girls bedroom) they are willing to keep the pink carpet which is 6 months old but are demanding the walls MUST be put back to magnolia?? Also the kitchen walls which are a lemon colour they are requesting they go back to cream. Painted the kitchen due to a kitchen flood some days after moving in. The ceiling has a dome in it and the paintwork is good. They are requesting the following before the final move out inspection:

1. Walls in Bedroom 1 MUST be back to Magnolia from Hot Pink
   
2. Kitchen MUST be returned to cream from Yellow. Its Lemon not bright yellow and it has white cupboards with black worktops
   
3. Bedroom 3 MUST be turned back to White walls from Lilac. The carpet moved in with is still down and well worn as noted on the inventory so that'll need replacing anyway by the landlord.
   
4. Carpet on stairs and landing needs replacing due to an iron burn - Friend admits this and will borrow money to replace before inspection
   
5. Front and Rear yards must be free from weeds - The gardens had weeds present on moving in the property but will try to remove
   

The point i'm trying to make is the living room was decorated and the front main bedroom and they've not requested a colour change there. They state its in the original agreement however friend misplaced now they want to charge £15 for a signed copy. They stated walls must be returned to original colour before leaving so it would appear because they are happy with the front bedroom and living room theyve ignored that but because the other 2 mentioned rooms arent to there taste they want them changed. Were does my friend stand on getting her deposit back?

[LaughingGirl]

I imagine it's due to the colours. It's easier to rent a property decorated in neutral colours than 'hot pink'.

 

You can buy a huge tin of magnolia paint from Wilkinson's for less than a tenner - for that and half a days work, is it really worth arguing over? If it is in the contract, your friend could end up getting charged for labour costs as well.

 

I don't know...I just personally don't see this being worth a battle. I'd sooner pay the £10 for the paint than £15 to check the contract and discover I have to do the work any way.

[The Carpet Cleaners]

If the LL is happy for the walls in the front bedroom and living room, then that is a bonus as your friend does not have to paint them as well as the others.

 

LL is perfectly entitled to have the walls the same colour as when your friend moved in.

 

She should not however replace the stair carpet, how long was the original down? was it worn before the iron mark? yes she should pay something towards the carpet, but not replace it with a new one..

 

If she does this she should get her deposit less the amount deducted for the iron burn.

[mariner51]

I think you will need more than 1 of magnolia to cover up shocking pink & lilac.

Friend is lucky this was raised at pre-inspection, giving her time to rectify. I suppose she didn't have LLs permission to change colours either!

[paulmorfett1983]

In repsonse to your comments which feedback is appreciated. The condition that majority of the walls were when she first moved in was shocking as it was. On the inventory is does state "Tenant has permission to decorate from the landlord" She got the keys a month before moving in to decorate so the letting agent knew she had two girls and the house would be decorated. The carpets pink so why put back to magnolia is the next tenant has a girl for them to put it back or have to replace the new carpet laid. Also the kitchen was painted due to the leak she went through in the bathroom causing the walls to stain. She used her initiative and painted the walls a warm yellow colour to hide the stain and make the kitchen warmer. I just believe that what they are asking is unreasonable based on the these circumstances. The fact there was no gas inspection until 8 weeks after she moved in then when it was carried out the 2 gas fires were codenmed. Also took her a year to get them to put just one fire back on then the rent went up by £45 a month. Also the fact the glass at the side of the door has a hole in it making it easy to break in when this was reported a contractor came took the glass out replaced with wood an painted it. One side now white board the other stained glass. Why would a tenancy have that the walls required to be decorated when the inventory states clearly she has permission to decorate. Also the carpet shes agreed to replace the whole lot as it was her fault she caused the burn

[The Carpet Cleaners]

Sorry but if you come on here and ask for advice, you should be prepared to hear things that you don't want to.

The people offering the advice have knowledge of how the tenancy system works, from 1 angle or another, but your argument is not with us, it is with the LL.

We only say what we think from our experience of the situation.

[paulmorfett1983]

Please bear in mind that I dont object or criticise anyones comments if you read my post it states that feedback was appreciated. So its not a case that I dont want to hear the comments I simply wanted to let people know the situation and response accordingly. Your comments are in relation to the thread at all

[LaughingGirl]

Honestly, just weigh up the pro's and con's. If your friend doesn't rectify the issues identified at the pre-inspection, there's a good chance she's going to have some of her deposit retained, and she could be looking at additional costs for labour. Is it really worth the aggravation?

[mariner51]

OP I accept T had LLs permission to redecorate and some may say he can use whatever colours he wishes whilst he lives there but LL has right to expect original colours reinstated at end of T, esp if noted in the move in inspection.

 

The next T could be a butch HGV driver!

[assisted blonde]

Got to agree if you dont keep it nuetral then you will have to repaint before leaving, very few landlords would want pink bedrooms and yellow kitchens. The easiest thing to do is repaint do the weeding replace the burnt carpet (how on earth did the stairs get burnt with an iron?) and get the deposit back. If she dosent then the landlord will deduct the cost of redecorating from the deposit (and it will be more than if your friend does it herself) and the weeding (have you seen how much gardeners charge?) also she may need the deposit back for her new property and she will get it sooner if there are no disputes. The landlord is within his rights.

[LaughingGirl]

As far as the issues with the fires and door are concerned they were eventually resolved (even though the time scales seem unreasonable). Your friend can't really use resolved issues as a bargaining chip, to be honest.

 

Having been a tenant for my entire adult life, I usually see things from the tenants point of view. In this case, though, even I have to come down on the side of the landlord. What is being asked isn't a big deal - unless the house is the size of Buckingham Palace, I'm pretty sure I could repaint two rooms and weed the garden in a day. I'd do it the day before I left when everything is packed up. Also, if she does it then, the weeds won't have time to come back through (I've been caught out like that before!).