Asking for better furniture in rental

Baralis1

Hi, I'm renting at the moment and I'm half way through my lease. The furniture in my living area is pretty bad. I didn't quite realise when I viewed the place but the couch is really low down and uncomfortable and armchairs aren't great either. I have only sat on the couch once or twice since I moved in. The dining room table and chairs are also of poor quality. Should I ask my estate agent to talk to the owner about upgrading them? And if they say no (which is the answer I would expect, what are my options? Thanks

Duckjob

Could you arrange with the landlord to store their furniture and you buy your own furniture and use it ? When you leave you take your furniture with you and theirs goes back in for the next tenant. That's assuming they have some storage space.

Baralis1

Duckjob wrote: »

Could you arrange with the landlord to store their furniture and you buy your own furniture and use it ? When you leave you take your furniture with you and theirs goes back in for the next tenant. That's assuming they have some storage space.

That's a good idea and in theory makes perfect sense. However given the temporary nature of rentals in Ireland, particularly outside of Dublin, I'm not sure if it would work. I know the landlord doesn't live locally and most likely doesn't have storage space and probably wouldn't be willing to lug that old furniture up the country to his current residence.
Also, the fact is that if I buy furniture, I'm also stuck lugging it around, and if I move to a property which is already furnished, (as 99% of properties are), I'll either have to rent storage space myself or persuade my next landlord to find storage for his own.

Edit: plus I lack the means to transport it!

RATM

I have a similar problem with my place and have thought of buying my own furniture (or at least a decent sofa) but the landlord says he has no-where to store it.

As a result I'll be moving out at the end of the lease. Looking at rental ads and pictures recently on Daft and it really is depressing the crap quality of furniture that is about. It seems like back in the boom places like Cost Plus Sofas and Reids were selling these cheap shiny faux leather sofas to buy to let landlords by the thousands. I see them in the ads and I move on to the next one.

OP I'd suggest trying to do what I am trying at the moment- find an owner occupier landlord who is moving out to emigrate but still needs the rent to pay the mortgage. If you get an apartment / house that was somebody's home before being rented then you'll most likely get a far higher standard of furnishings overall and the place will tend to be better looked after. These types of places are out there but are only a tiny % of the rental market- still though when I find a good one I intent to stay there for at least 2 years till all this madness finishes and I begin to think about buying my own place in Dublin.

Ray Palmer

Very few LL are going to upgrade furniture on a new lease. Tenants are very destructive so it is easier to buy cheap furniture and replace it than buy expensive furniture which will be equally destroyed.

I am happy to replace furniture with good quality for a long term tenant but would not do so for a new tenant that has not proved their worth. I would be willing to do it with an extra deposit due to the increase in possible cost of damages.

You are running the risk of a larger deposit not being paid back would be what most people would think. That is assuming the worst but somebody is going to have to take and the LL doesn't have to do anything unless it is actually broken.

smelltheglove

May I suggest that upon viewing and renting a new place that you discuss these issues before signing the lease. We have been quite lucky in the fact that the first hosue we rented after selling our own was unfurnished, this house we are in now has a garage, a lot of the furniture was old and the landlord was happy to dispose of a couple of beds and even put bunk neds into the little ones room. Since our suite, which we love has been with us for a while the landlord agreed to allow us to dispose of his suite and we included in the contract that we would leave ours behind if we decide to move out. This worked great for us, we do not intend on moving anywhere and now we have freed up a lot of space in the garage.

I would also suggest that when discussing issues with a landlord before signing the lease, if you find the landlord is not interested in changing certain things within the lease you may find them harder to deal with in the long run. Again we have been lucky, very lucky with our present landlord but we have also walked away from potential properties, for example, one int he right location at the right price had a very very old and dangerous fireplace, we requested that we be allowed to upgrade it at our own cost as it would be dangerous for our little one and we were told no so we walked away.

Gilda Fortune

This happened to me in the last place i rented. the sofa was crap. it drove me mad. so i bought a new sofa and told the landlord to remove the old furniture. it worked out well cos when i left the landlord bought the sofa off me for 250 quid. i still miss bertie my lovely brown leather three seater:)

Gilda Fortune

smelltheglove wrote: »

one int he right location at the right price had a very very old and dangerous fireplace, we requested that we be allowed to upgrade it at our own cost as it would be dangerous for our little one and we were told no so we walked away.

some landlords are clueless.
i have a property rented out and 4 lovely tenants. one of them couldnt get used to the wooden floor in his bedroom. personally i like wooden floors myself. he asked would we mind if he put a carpet in. we said no of course not and we would pay for half of it as a courtesy. the last thing any decent landlord wants is to loose good tenants over minor issues.

Graces7

Ray Palmer wrote: »

Very few LL are going to upgrade furniture on a new lease. Tenants are very destructive so it is easier to buy cheap furniture and replace it than buy expensive furniture which will be equally destroyed.

I am happy to replace furniture with good quality for a long term tenant but would not do so for a new tenant that has not proved their worth. I would be willing to do it with an extra deposit due to the increase in possible cost of damages.

You are running the risk of a larger deposit not being paid back would be what most people would think. That is assuming the worst but somebody is going to have to take and the LL doesn't have to do anything unless it is actually broken.

That is a very damning generalisation.

We have always asked that bad furniture be removed, period. Oneplace had a decent wardrobe when we viewed and then when we arrived three more had joined it.

The beds were filthy and ditto the three piece suite so we had them removed too and got chairs from V de P which we left.

We took the present place with minimal furniture and kept the old settee they were going to throw out for the dogs.

Pays to ask of course.

But the attitude that we tenants will wreck the place is no excuse to put old discards in a rental; we are after all PAYING.

Ray Palmer

Graces7 wrote: »

That is a very damning generalisation. etc..



But the attitude that we tenants will wreck the place is no excuse to put old discards in a rental; we are after all PAYING.

That is exactly the same generalisation you are accusing me of. People take better care of their own stuff then that of other people and it is general human nature.

I still have the same washing machine I bought yet the one in a rental property has been replaced 3 times and they are the same models.

New furniture in a property after every tenant is a waste of money as is high quality furniture. That is experience speaking and I can say with a fair amount of confidence that I have rented to more people than places you have rented out.

odds_on

Graces7 wrote: »

That is a very damning generalisation.

We have always asked that bad furniture be removed, period. Oneplace had a decent wardrobe when we viewed and then when we arrived three more had joined it.

The beds were filthy and ditto the three piece suite so we had them removed too and got chairs from V de P which we left.

We took the present place with minimal furniture and kept the old settee they were going to throw out for the dogs.

Pays to ask of course.

But the attitude that we tenants will wreck the place is no excuse to put old discards in a rental; we are after all PAYING.

You are paying for what you see.
If you don't like it move on to a better quality property and pay more.

MistyCheese

Baralis, you can search on Daft.ie for unfurnished properties. I doubt you will have much success asking for alternate furniture in the middle of a lease. However, there's only person who can accurately answer this question and that's your landlord.

There's no harm in asking. But I doubt he's under any obligation to comply. If you didn't like the furniture you shouldn't have agreed to take the property (and its contents) for 12 months.

I sympathize as, as a renter myself, I understand that things become a problem after a few months that you originally did not realise may become a problem but, unfortunately, I would just put that down to bad luck. You can't really argue "Yeah, I saw the couch, but after 6 months it turned out to be a crap couch." It's a bit of a gamble.

Like how when you first rent a property you don't know for a fact if your landlord is the type to get a problem sorted within a reasonable timeframe or if he is one who will utter the immortal phrase "Leave it with me" and disappear without a trace...

who_ru

renting in ireland is a dreadful experience, amateur landlords everywhere, who are clueless for the most part.

The_Conductor

who_ru wrote: »

renting in ireland is a dreadful experience, amateur landlords everywhere, who are clueless for the most part.

People have good and bad experiences everywhere.
Look at the situation in France- 4 months deposit, 1 month's rent in advance and almost all accommodation is let unfurnished.......
You might think things are bad in Ireland- however with the possible exception of the UK, we are almost the only country where 1 month's rent as a deposit is considered to be normal.......

Graces7

who_ru wrote: »

renting in ireland is a dreadful experience, amateur landlords everywhere, who are clueless for the most part.

And that is the truth..Some of the attitudes expressed on this thread are unacceptable and unbusinesslike.

Many of us cannot upgrade because of financial issues and we see we get taken advantage of all the time.

As this thread shows so clearly.

I repeat; we are paying. In no other area would this kind of attitude be allowed. Thankful indeed for the Tenancy Act which gives us some redress. We should not have second rate old junk foisted on us. Period.

Graces7

odds_on wrote: »

You are paying for what you see.
If you don't like it move on to a better quality property and pay more.

With what? Rents are high. See the Tenancy Act please. No property should have junk for furniture from the start. I repeat; we are paying.

The_Conductor

Personally I think that there is a lot to be said for the model in Europe and the US- where property is let vacant, and tenants furnish it themselves. Yes- there is a lot of crap furniture in use in Ireland and the UK- mostly because in both jurisdictions its a handy way of minimising the taxable income accruing from the rent. Were these furnishings done away with altogether, landlords given fewer means of shelthering the rental income- and tenants made get their own furniture- it would be a hell of a lot simpler for everyone. Of course- tenants might not be happy to use their own furniture and landlords would be annoyed that they'd have to pay more tax, but thats life.

The big reason for not having this- is on the continent and in the US- its almost universal for people to have their own lockup where they can store their own furniture and/or other possessions. The private companies providing these services in Ireland and the UK- do so at such an extortionate cost as to make it nigh impossible for most of us mere mortals to have our own storage units.......

Hmmmm........

BostonB

If people keep renting places with bad furniture then landlords will keep putting it in. They'll only stop if people ask for better furniture or unfurnished. Personally I think unfurnished is a much better way to go.

BostonB

Graces7 wrote: »

...No property should have junk for furniture from the start. ...

If a property has junk property from the start people shouldn't rent it.

The_Conductor

BostonB wrote: »

Personally I think unfurnished is a much better way to go.

I agree 100%
I don't really understand how/why we here in Ireland and in the UK decided to take a different tack than the rest of the world- the norm is to rent an unfurnished property anywhere else in the world- indeed there are whole industries around renting furniture separately (or in the US- cheap lockups where folk can store their own furniture).

How would people feel about renting furniture separately? Just throwing it out there........

antoinolachtnai

I can't see the tax benefit for the landlord in furnishing a rental property.

For less well off, more transient tenants, furnished is a great deal. There's a lot less hassle for them.

It used to be (beforee 1995 or so) that tenants in unfurnished property had stronger tenure rights on the property than those in furnished property, and that may have driven the thing along.

Most landlords would love to be able to rent property without furniture. It would take a lot of the hassle and grief out of renting for the landlord. But at the moment there just isn't the market for it.

You do get some unfurnished at the high end, but amazingly, you often have to pay a premium for it.