Rented property needs updating?

dmm82

Hi I was just wondering if anyone could help me with some info. I am renting a house the last ten years and in that time it has been painted once. the carpets, lino etc have never been changed and the property in general is in dire need of some updating eg the kitchen was put in in 1992, the sticker with the date is still in one of the presses.

I am wondering is there anything in place that says how often landlords need to do work on updating their houses? The house is getting me down bigtime, no matter how much I clean it it never seems to look nice, the carpets stink etc. Any info much appreciated!!

PS I have asked in the past for improvements to be made and was fobbed off/ told it was too much work. Also the house is a RAS house so I cant just up and leave.

D3PO

there's no law that means they have to assuming the carpets etc are still in good order.

Why don't you go buy some paint and paint it yourself with the LL's permission ? You have been there 10 years so surely its in your interest.

dmm82

hes very funny about letting me do anything to the house... but suppose i could ask him again. Although should he not have to buy the paint?

hawkelady

Your obviously there long term so as the other poster said . With the ll's permission go and do some work on it yourself , put some of your money into it seeing as it will be you who will benefit from it , you can get cheap enough carpet from des Kelly now.
Has that thought even entered your head ?

jam_mac_jam

I would buy the paint yourself, he is much more likely to let you do it and its not that expensive.. It will look much better then

D3PO

dmm82 wrote: »

hes very funny about letting me do anything to the house... but suppose i could ask him again. Although should he not have to buy the paint?

No but if you were to talk to him let him know you wil paint would he pay for the paint he might be agreeable. If not hes just a slumlord doesn't want to invest a penny just wants to cream in the rent.

we don't know the condition of the carpets etc but you could always ask the council to inspect the property as (and I stand to be corrected here) they can compel the landlord to do certain works following this.

dmm82

Yep I have asked in the past about doing things myself but probably not in the last year or two. Ill ask again fingers crossed it won't be a problem. I am planning on staying for the forseeable future so have no problem putting money into the house. Was just wondering where I stand as regards what landlords should/ shouldn't have to do before I bring it up with him.

Ray Palmer

D3PO wrote: »

No but if you were to talk to him let him know you wil paint would he pay for the paint he might be agreeable. If not hes just a slumlord doesn't want to invest a penny just wants to cream in the rent.

we don't know the condition of the carpets etc but you could always ask the council to inspect the property as (and I stand to be corrected here) they can compel the landlord to do certain works following this.

Slum lord claim is extremely harsh. If everything is working and some decoration is the only problem that is sooooo far from a slum lord.

The council are more about general regulations and not really about aesthetics like worn carpet and paint.

If there is nothing wrong with any fittings I don't see why any LL needs to replace anything. A 20 odd year old kitchen might not be stylish but why would it need replacing unless there is something wrong with it? I know lots of people who have kitchen older than that and rented places with much older stuff.

Carpets and lino I doubt could hold up so probably need replacing. I would have painted by now but in a non-smoking environment it might not be that bad. Surprised any LL would object to paying for paint. I let tenants paint if I agree the colour and agree they did it right. Bad painting can be a nightmare to rectify.

djimi

Suggest that he buy the paint if you do the work. If you were to move out because of this he would have to redecorate entirely at his own cost and then find new tenants, so perhaps remind him of this.

The kitchen probably isnt going to be as easy to resolve, and honestly, unless the presses are falling off the walls, I would not even bother bringing it up as it is only going to muddy the water and make it less likely that you will get the other decoration work done.

D3PO

Ray Palmer wrote: »

Slum lord claim is extremely harsh. If everything is working and some decoration is the only problem that is sooooo far from a slum lord.
.

Did you even read my whole post or just focus on one word :rolleyes: clearly the latter

The Spider

New kitchen can cost between 4000-10000 depending on the size of the house, this is a sizeable outlay for anyone, and I doubt it's a runner, depending on where the place is, if it's an easy rental he might want to wait and see if you move out then do the refurb and push up the rent to the next tennant.

If it's in a location that isn't as easy to find tennants then yep he'll probably replace the carpets etc, but doubtful he'd do anything on the kitchen, you may be able to get him to have the house professionaly cleaned which should cost no more than 500 euro.


Not nice I know, but it's a business.

Ray Palmer

D3PO wrote: »

Did you even read my whole post or just focus on one word :rolleyes: clearly the latter

Which word did you think I focused on "slum" or "lord" and answering your misbelief on the council doesn't count to showing you I read your post?:P

noodler

D3PO wrote: »

No but if you were to talk to him let him know you wil paint would he pay for the paint he might be agreeable. If not hes just a slumlord doesn't want to invest a penny just wants to cream in the rent.

we don't know the condition of the carpets etc but you could always ask the council to inspect the property as (and I stand to be corrected here) they can compel the landlord to do certain works following this.

I think this is an important point.

Some stuff is essential and the place cannot be rented without it.

If you've been there ten years and he will not even seriously consider your requests then I'd consider that extremely bad form.

byronbay2

D3PO wrote: »

Why don't you go buy some paint and paint it yourself with the LL's permission ? You have been there 10 years so surely its in your interest.

jam_mac_jam wrote: »

I would buy the paint yourself, he is much more likely to let you do it and its not that expensive.. It will look much better then

God almighty, surely if OP is willing to paint the LL's house, the least the LL could do is pay for the paint/brushes/rollers! Also paint has become much more expensive in the last 5 years so painting a house (either interior, exterior or both) can be an expensive undertaking - don't underestimate how expensive the materials alone will be.

Regarding smelly/dirty carpets, you can rent a carpet washer quite cheaply (again at LL's expense, if I were you) and this will make a big difference to your carpets.

Unless the kitchen is decrepit i.e if the only problem is that it looks "dated", I would not ask the LL to replace. Lots of 20yo kitchens are in perfect nick.

L1011

byronbay2 wrote: »

Also paint has become much more expensive in the last 5 years so painting a house (either interior, exterior or both) can be an expensive undertaking

Really? Because its not particularly dear right now; and while trying to confirm something else to myself from here I was looking at archives of the local rag and found ads with prices that'd suggest it was significantly dearer n the past, in direct figures not even adjusting for inflation.

March 1990, 10l of white or magnolia was £17.95 on offer which I make to be €22 or so; and significantly more than the €10 Woodies have done offers on 10l of white for... €16 currently.

If its gone up that much how cheap was it?


I'd still say the landlord should be paying for it, though. Unless they're intending to do a full repaint at no cost to the tenant when they eventually leave and hence give them carte blanche to do what they want, that is.

murphaph

byronbay2 wrote: »

Regarding smelly/dirty carpets, you can rent a carpet washer quite cheaply (again at LL's expense, if I were you) and this will make a big difference to your carpets.

Why on earth should the LL be asked to pay to remove the dirt from the carpets that has accumulated because of the tenant's occupation of the house? It's their dirt, not the landlord's. It's they that has to live in the house, not the landlord.

Owner occupiers don't have someone from the mortgage lender come around and clean their carpets/wash their windows/wipe their arses for them. Why on earth should tenants? Rent doesn't include maid service!