New mattress!!

deebee08

Need some advice!! I bought a brand new mattress for my tennants at the beginning of last month and they are now saying that it's not suitable as it's hurting their back.
As far as I can tell, I've provided them with a new mattress so there is nothing wrong with it, they just don't like it. Any advice as to how to proceed with them over this??

djimi

Did you buy the cheapest mattress you could find, or have they some special requirements for a mattress that should have been brought to your attention and addressed?

D3PO

yep you tell them if they are unhappy with it to go buy there own. If its only a month old its not a wear issue its a comfort one and that's not a LL's problem.

foggy_lad

deebee08 wrote: »

Need some advice!! I bought a brand new mattress for my tennants at the beginning of last month and they are now saying that it's not suitable as it's hurting their back.
As far as I can tell, I've provided them with a new mattress so there is nothing wrong with it, they just don't like it. Any advice as to how to proceed with them over this??

Tell them that if the mattress you provided is not suitable they are entitled to buy their own at their own expense, you have fulfilled your obligation!

Citizenpain

Is it a reasonable quality mattress? would you sleep on it yourself - If yes let them replace at their own expense

djimi

D3PO wrote: »

yep you tell them if they are unhappy with it to go buy there own. If its only a month old its not a wear issue its a comfort one and that's not a LL's problem.

It depends on what the mattress is. If the OP has gone out and bought the cheapest mattress that they could find and its like sleeping on a bag of straw then I think the tenants have a right to complain tbh.

If the landlord doesnt want to provide a decent mattress that they themselves would be happy to sleep on then be up front and say so.

Im not suggesting that this is the case of course...

Pawwed Rig

Citizenpain wrote: »

Is it a reasonable quality mattress? would you sleep on it yourself - If yes let them replace at their own expense

It doesn't matter whether the OP would sleep on it themselves. A mattress sold in Ireland has to meet certain standards. The cheapest one is deemed suitable for anyone to sleep on as it meets these standards. Now I certainly wouldn't sleep on a cheap mattress as I value my back and a good nights sleep too much which is why the day I moved into my apartment the landlords mattress went into storage.
Would I spend €1,000+ on a mattress for one of my tenants in a rented house? Not a hope.

Citizenpain

Pawwed Rig wrote: »

It doesn't matter whether the OP would sleep on it themselves. A mattress sold in Ireland has to meet certain standards. The cheapest one is deemed suitable for anyone to sleep on as it meets these standards. Now I certainly wouldn't sleep on a cheap mattress as I value my back and a good nights sleep too much which is why the day I moved into my apartment the landlords mattress went into storage.
Would I spend €1,000+ on a mattress for one of my tenants in a rented house? Not a hope.

Fair enough - I didnt realise that there were minimum standards -- matresses in ours would be €200 - €300 and decent enough - I'm not sugesting paying €1,000s

deebee08

Pawwed Rig wrote: »

It doesn't matter whether the OP would sleep on it themselves. A mattress sold in Ireland has to meet certain standards. The cheapest one is deemed suitable for anyone to sleep on as it meets these standards. Now I certainly wouldn't sleep on a cheap mattress as I value my back and a good nights sleep too much which is why the day I moved into my apartment the landlords mattress went into storage.
Would I spend €1,000+ on a mattress for one of my tenants in a rented house? Not a hope.

That's what I reckoned myself. I rent myself and I certainly wouldn't expect my LL to replace a new mattress just because I didn't like it. I'd prob just ask them if they could store it and buy a new one myself, either that or buy myself a good quality mattress topper that's mine to bring with me when I leave.

djimi

Pawwed Rig wrote: »

It doesn't matter whether the OP would sleep on it themselves. A mattress sold in Ireland has to meet certain standards. The cheapest one is deemed suitable for anyone to sleep on as it meets these standards. Now I certainly wouldn't sleep on a cheap mattress as I value my back and a good nights sleep too much which is why the day I moved into my apartment the landlords mattress went into storage.
Would I spend €1,000+ on a mattress for one of my tenants in a rented house? Not a hope.

So you wouldnt sleep on a bottom range mattress because you dont want to hurt your back and value a good nights sleep, but you think that its okay for a tenant to sleep on something like this?

Like I said, if a landlord doesnt want to provide a decent mattress then be up front with the tenant and tell them in advance that they are only going to spend the bare minimum. Dont arrive at the house with some heap of garbage and expect that the tenant will be okay with it.

Pawwed Rig

Personally I have my own bed and mattress that I bring with me wherever I am renting. I provide the storage myself for the LL's stuff so there is never really an issue. Asking the LL to store something might be trickier though as they are under no obligation to do so.
I would recommend everyone to buy a decent mattress. People pay thousands on their car which they spend max a couple of hours in the day sitting in whereas they scrimp on a mattress where they spend a third of their life. Mine was €1,500 but has lasted 10 years already and is still more comfortable than any hotels I stay in.

Plus in rented accommodation you have no idea who or what has been in the bed before you.

D3PO

djimi wrote: »

It depends on what the mattress is. If the OP has gone out and bought the cheapest mattress that they could find and its like sleeping on a bag of straw then I think the tenants have a right to complain tbh.

...

Makes no difference. IF the mattress is sold in this country it meets the standards for sale and is therefore perfectly fine for use.

The LL has no obligation to get anything more luxurious for a tenant. If they want something better that's for them to buy themselves.

Pawwed Rig

djimi wrote: »

So you wouldnt sleep on a bottom range mattress because you dont want to hurt your back and value a good nights sleep, but you think that its okay for a tenant to sleep on something like this?

The tenant can sleep on whatever they like but the LL has provided what is deemed adequate by Irish standards.
I wouldn't buy a tenant a mattress of the quality of my own. Same as I wouldn't buy them a TV of the quality of my own or surround sound system or a collection of DVDs. These are things you work hard for and are luxuries to reward you for your hard work. The tenant can have these things if they want but I'm not going to buy it for them.

That said I wouldn't buy the cheapest mattress for a tenant anyway as they do not last any length of time. So I usually get a decent enough one. As they say you buy cheap you buy twice.

djimi

Im not talking about buying luxurious or spending in excess of €1000. I simply mean not buying the absolute cheapest available, when a small outlay more will get something that will not only last longer but will be of an entirely more satisfactory quality to sleep on.

Or at the very least inform the tenant in advance that you will be buying the cheapest, and let them make up their own mind rather than have them expecting something of half decent quality.

Mrs OBumble

Pawwed Rig wrote: »

I wouldn't buy a tenant a mattress of the quality of my own. Same as I wouldn't buy them a TV of the quality of my own or surround sound system or a collection of DVDs. These are things you work hard for and are luxuries to reward you for your hard work

Yet another reason why it would be better if most rental accommodation was unfurnished.

As it stands, tenants are stuck with whatever cheap cr*p landlords buy them, as most have no reasonable way to put the landlord's property in storage.




OP - in fairness, is there any chance that the new matress you bought could be faulty? It's a manufactured item, after all, sometimes these things happen.

deebee08

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Yet another reason why it would be better if most rental accommodation was unfurnished.

As it stands, tenants are stuck with whatever cheap cr*p landlords buy them, as most have no reasonable way to put the landlord's property in storage.




OP - in fairness, is there any chance that the new matress you bought could be faulty? It's a manufactured item, after all, sometimes these things happen.

They've had it a month now, surely it would have shown up as being faulty by now?
To be honest, I'm not sure if they're just trying to see what they can get out of me. I rent myself so it's not like I'm being the big bad landlord here. The mattress I replaced was only a year and a half old and while I didn't pay big money for it, I made sure when buying it that it was a decent quality supportive mattress and previous tennants had no issue with it. Also, I had to replace the electric hob for new tennants as 2 rings weren't working (which is fine) and they were looking for a gas hob to be installed instead. Told them no way as they're a lot more expensive.

D3PO

djimi wrote: »

Im not talking about buying luxurious or spending in excess of €1000. I simply mean not buying the absolute cheapest available, .

LL's are trying to make money on their investment. If they think buying the cheapest is the best way to do that then I don't think anybody can argue with their approach.

Personally I wouldn't do it but that doesn't man there is an issue with them doing it. Ultimately if the tenant isn't happy they can go buy their own.

godtabh

djimi wrote: »

Im not talking about buying luxurious or spending in excess of €1000. I simply mean not buying the absolute cheapest available, when a small outlay more will get something that will not only last longer but will be of an entirely more satisfactory quality to sleep on.

Or at the very least inform the tenant in advance that you will be buying the cheapest, and let them make up their own mind rather than have them expecting something of half decent quality.

thats arbitrary. If it meets the standards it doesn't need to do anything less.

The Gride

The house next door to my brother was up for rent over a year ago. The letting agent took a deposit from a young couple on conditions that there would be some beds and furniture put in. The agent agreed but then the landlord put rubbish stuff in. The couple came back and asked for their €600 deposit back. It's over a year now and the house is still vacant. The landlord is down about 8k over a spend of less than 1k. There is so much choice out there in certain parts of the country that tenants will not take crap stuff and rightly so. If These are good tenants then give them a better mattress or you could loose much more than what ye are arguing over. You will get a good enough mattress for €200 or €250 If you look in the right places.

ABajaninCork

My friend's Nan always told me. 'Always buy a good bed and a good pair of shoes. If you're not in one, you're in the other!'.

Very true, and I've always tried to follow that advice. When we moved into our rented accommodation, the landlord did put in new mattresses. One was so hard, we woke up with bruises. The other was like sleeping on straw.

Luckily, we were given a bed as a wedding present, so we asked the LL if he could let us move the bed in. He agreed, so win win!

If I were the OP, I'd be investing in a new mattress and ask the LL to collect/store his. If the budget doesn't stretch, then buy a decent mattress topper which'll be easier to lift and shift too.

deebee08

ABajaninCork wrote: »

My friend's Nan always told me. 'Always buy a good bed and a good pair of shoes. If you're not in one, you're in the other!'.

Very true, and I've always tried to follow that advice. When we moved into our rented accommodation, the landlord did put in new mattresses. One was so hard, we woke up with bruises. The other was like sleeping on straw.

Luckily, we were given a bed as a wedding present, so we asked the LL if he could let us move the bed in. He agreed, so win win!

If I were the OP, I'd be investing in a new mattress and ask the LL to collect/store his. If the budget doesn't stretch, then buy a decent mattress topper which'll be easier to lift and shift too.

Em, I'm the OP and I AM the landlord!! I've suggested they buy themselves a new one that better suits them and I'll remove the new one that's there already.

The Gride

Do you mind me asking what type you supplied to them and the cost ?

murphaph

djimi wrote: »

So you wouldnt sleep on a bottom range mattress because you dont want to hurt your back and value a good nights sleep, but you think that its okay for a tenant to sleep on something like this?

Like I said, if a landlord doesnt want to provide a decent mattress then be up front with the tenant and tell them in advance that they are only going to spend the bare minimum. Dont arrive at the house with some heap of garbage and expect that the tenant will be okay with it.

Sorry but I spent a good bit of time recently researching mattresses to help my back and a huge number of people with back trouble report that expensive orthopedic mattresses aggravated their back problems whilst mid range mattresses worked a charm. There simply is no perfect mattress for everyone. They are an extremely individual item. Heck, the wife tenant might find the mattress uncomfortable and the husband tenant find it great...what should the landlord do then??

Tenants should buy their own bed & mattresses and take them with them like in most civilised countries. Sleeping on a used mattress is disgusting but so long as Irish tenants want their landlords to provide everything then that's what they can expect.

ABajaninCork

deebee08 wrote: »

Em, I'm the OP and I AM the landlord!! I've suggested they buy themselves a new one that better suits them and I'll remove the new one that's there already.

Fair enough...

syklops

Im curious what prompted the OP to buy the new mattress?

The Gride

murphaph wrote: »

Sorry but I spent a good bit of time recently researching mattresses to help my back and a huge number of people with back trouble report that expensive orthopedic mattresses aggravated their back problems whilst mid range mattresses worked a charm. There simply is no perfect mattress for everyone. They are an extremely individual item. Heck, the wife tenant might find the mattress uncomfortable and the husband tenant find it great...what should the landlord do then??

Tenants should buy their own bed & mattresses and take them with them like in most civilised countries. Sleeping on a used mattress is disgusting but so long as Irish tenants want their landlords to provide everything then that's what they can expect.

When you stay in a hotel you have no idea of the history of what you are sleeping on.

Perhaps if both parties had of spoken in advance of purchase then the landlord could have indicated how much they were prepared to pay for a mattress, let the tenants search around for something at the budget that they were happy with or add some extra money to the budget themselves.

deebee08

syklops wrote: »

Im curious what prompted the OP to buy the new mattress?

They asked for one, said the existing one hurt their back, which was a decent orthopaedic one that I bought less than 2 years ago for previous tennants.

syklops

deebee08 wrote: »

They asked for one, said the existing one hurt their back, which was a decent orthopaedic one that I bought less than 2 years ago for previous tennants.

So the 'old' one hurt their back, now the new one hurts their back. You can't win with some people.

The Gride

syklops wrote: »

So the 'old' one hurt their back, now the new one hurts their back. You can't win with some people.

But if they are been genuine then you run the risk of losing your tenant. How long have you rented to them/ how well do you know them ? Are they complaining about other things also ?

ScottStorm

syklops wrote: »

So the 'old' one hurt their back, now the new one hurts their back. You can't win with some people.

Hmm, Perhaps they have a bad back?

deebee08

The Gride wrote: »

But if they are been genuine then you run the risk of losing your tenant. How long have you rented to them/ how well do you know them ? Are they complaining about other things also ?

They only moved in end of Nov. Had to get a new electric hob for them too as two rings weren't working which is fair enough but they wanted a gas one instead which would have cost a fortune so I told them I'd only replace it with a new electric one. I'm making a huge loss on my house as it is so any spending is coming out of my own pocket. It's not an investment property, I bought it as my principal residence but due to various reasons had to move out.

syklops

The Gride wrote: »

How long have you rented to them

Going by what the OP said so far, less than 2 years.

The Gride

ScottStorm wrote: »

Hmm, Perhaps they have a bad back?

.............. or a bad mattress. I'm not saying which or taking sides but you can't buy a mattress for someone else. It's a very personal thing.

deebee08

ScottStorm wrote: »

Hmm, Perhaps they have a bad back?

Maybe. I don't mean to sound nasty here but that's not my problem. I rent myself too and if I had a bad back I wouldnt expect my landlord to fork out for expensive furniture for me, I'd bring my own. The sofas in the apartment I'm renting are not the most comfortable or supportive but I just bought a load of scatter cushions and a footstool which do the job.

deebee08

syklops wrote: »

Going by what the OP said so far, less than 2 years.

Less than 2 months.

The Gride

Ask the shop that sold you the mattress if they can help in any way. If the mattress is clean they may be able to sell it as a slightly used mattress to someone. That way you won't lose out too much and consult the tenant and get it sorted as there are lots of empty houses in different parts of the country.

murphaph

The Gride wrote: »

.............. or a bad mattress. I'm not saying which or taking sides but you can't buy a mattress for someone else. It's a very personal thing.

Like underwear, which is why tenants should buy their own.

Midnight Sundance

Op to be honest I think it's time you explain firmly but clearly to them that the new mattress you provided is of good quality and if they don't like it then they should provide their own.
I've rented and had to buy my own furniture and never thought twice. The LL provided a wardrobe n bedside locker but it wasn't enough so i bought drawers etc. I didn't like his iron or ironing board so bought my own, likewise with his cutlery etc.
To me it was there if I needed it but it was my choice to get better quality , like it's your tenant's choice to get a new mattress if they don't like yours . You sound reasonable taking the old one for storage, what more can they expect

McDook

murphaph wrote: »

Tenants should buy their own bed & mattresses and take them with them like in most civilised countries. Sleeping on a used mattress is disgusting but so long as Irish tenants want their landlords to provide everything then that's what they can expect.

Totally agree. A mattress is the most disgusting thing that I always encountered when moving. I always had a good look at them and there are always sweat or piss stains on them. It makes my skin crawl.

Bought our own bed and mattress to take with us where ever we go but sometimes LLs cant store their own bed and mattress so you either dont rent the place or store the old bed and mattress in there anyway.

It would be much easier if the standard was either unfurnished or at least no bed when you rent.

McDook

The Gride wrote: »

Ask the shop that sold you the mattress if they can help in any way. If the mattress is clean they may be able to sell it as a slightly used mattress to someone. That way you won't lose out too much and consult the tenant and get it sorted as there are lots of empty houses in different parts of the country.

Shops dont take mattresses back at all. Same rules as underwear or electric blankets.

Rosier

McDook wrote: »

Totally agree. A mattress is the most disgusting thing that I always encountered when moving. I always had a good look at them and there are always sweat or piss stains on them. It makes my skin crawl.

Bought our own bed and mattress to take with us where ever we go but sometimes LLs cant store their own bed and mattress so you either dont rent the place or store the old bed and mattress in there anyway.

It would be much easier if the standard was either unfurnished or at least no bed when you rent.

I have always put a solid mattress cover on rental beds. just cannot afford to buy new mattresses. the one I have now was clear of those filthy stains; not limited to what you wrote either
:eek:
a lot re comfort depends on the bed base; slatted wood or a board under the mattress can make all the difference, rather than a divan base.

murphaph

Rosier wrote: »

I have always put a solid mattress cover on rental beds. just cannot afford to buy new mattresses. the one I have now was clear of those filthy stains; not limited to what you wrote either
:eek:
a lot re comfort depends on the bed base; slatted wood or a board under the mattress can make all the difference, rather than a divan base.

The problem with mattress covers in my experience is that ultimately to block liquids they must be waterproof and this leads to an uncomfortable sleeping experience as (at least in high summer in Germany) you tend to sweat more or at least your sweat can't be absorbed into the mattress to you feel sweatier.

My partner and I removed the mattress cover we bought as a result and will just let our mattress accumulate stains instead. It's our own mattress anyway so those stains don't really bother us, we just assumed a mattress cover would enable us to keep the mattress like new, but it was just too uncomfortable.

Rosier

murphaph wrote: »

The problem with mattress covers in my experience is that ultimately to block liquids they must be waterproof and this leads to an uncomfortable sleeping experience as (at least in high summer in Germany) you tend to sweat more or at least your sweat can't be absorbed into the mattress to you feel sweatier.

My partner and I removed the mattress cover we bought as a result and will just let our mattress accumulate stains instead. It's our own mattress anyway so those stains don't really bother us, we just assumed a mattress cover would enable us to keep the mattress like new, but it was just too uncomfortable.

ah I see

you can get more permeable ones; I was raised always to have a thick blanket under the sheet for warmth anyway so that acts as a good barrier both ways. stops me adding stains when I spill coffee too in bed.

Blizzard

As with many others here, I would definitely advise the op/landlord to advise tenants that if they're not happy with the mattress that they can replace themselves (sort the storage details between yourselves) and hopefully that will solve the problem. They may be chancing their arm to see what you will do but at the end of the day you've supplied the basics which they accepted upon signing their lease.

I would, however, love to know what imbecile came up with the idea of furnished houses/flats in this country. It's a nightmare. It would be so much easier for both tenant and landlord to rent unfurnished - as a clean sweep of the house/flat could be done at the end/beginning of each tenancy making things easier for the tenant moving to take everything and for the landlord to paint/repair the actual house (not contents). A previous post mentions that young people don't have money to furnish a house/flat, but I myself was young when I rented my first apartment (in NY) and had to furnish it completely myself - obviously this was done bit by bit--this is the norm there and no one gives it another thought in the US; and I believe it's the same in Australia.

Here though, we've found that some tenants renting a house can love it when viewing and once they're in nitpick over things. We had a tenant once try to deduct money from the rent for flowers she planted in the garden - absolutely ludicrous! I am definitely in favour of renting unfurnished but as McDook says - most won't look at unfurnished places - it would be great to have a united front of landlords renting only unfurnished to change this.

The Gride

McDook wrote: »

Shops dont take mattresses back at all. Same rules as underwear or electric blankets.

All depends on the shop it is. Firstly, it could be faulty and if so they have obligations. Secondly, the shop (which is well known on here) that I have bought all my stuff off have a policy with everything they sell ( including mattresses) that if you are not happy with it that they will take it back, no quibble once it's in the same condition as you bought it and I know people that bought items and they did exchange them for other items a short time later.

Pawwed Rig

Potatoeman wrote: »

That because most are.

Exactly. Unfortunately most LL do not have to facilities to store furniture where the tenant does not need it.

Potatoeman wrote: »

The matress thing could be back related. Soft matresses can be sore for people with back issues but they should have mentioned this to you if you were replacing it.

If someone has a back issue it is their own responsibility to look after it. More reason to buy their own mattress.

FiveSive

My friend is renting and has same issue with uncomfortable mattress, the mattress does not look old and the rest of the furniture in the house is lovely. She didn't even think to request a new mattress from landlord, as she felt it wasn't his issue. She just bought her own. If its not broken or faulty, I think you shouldn't have to replace it.
If it is a really really cheap one though I would replace it!

Tzardine

I rent and would never in a million years sleep on a landlord provided mattress (Unless I knew that it was new) God knows what is in it

The tenants in this case should be given the phone number for the nearest furniture store and told good luck to you, find your own.

The OP sounds like a genuine landlord who has done more already that he has to.

Michael D Not Higgins

The mattress in my current flat is rubbish. It didn't really bother me as I could sleep anywhere, but the OH insisted we do something about it. Since I wasn't prepared to buy a new mattress, since we're likely not to be in the UK long term, we got a mattress topper made of memory foam. Fantastic buy, much more comfortable bed now and we don't have to worry about the size of a mattress if we move.

aido79

Michael D Not Higgins wrote: »

The mattress in my current flat is rubbish. It didn't really bother me as I could sleep anywhere, but the OH insisted we do something about it. Since I wasn't prepared to buy a new mattress, since we're likely not to be in the UK long term, we got a mattress topper made of memory foam. Fantastic buy, much more comfortable bed now and we don't have to worry about the size of a mattress if we move.

You do know Ireland isn't in the UK don't you?

I will be putting a house up for rent later this year and had considered trying to rent it unfurnished because I live in Australia and that is the norm here and it works really well for most people. But the general opinion here seems to be that it wouldn't work in Ireland. I wonder if I offered it a little cheaper would I maybe get a family that may have their own furniture.

whiteandlight

aido79 wrote: »

You do know Ireland isn't in the UK don't you?

I will be putting a house up for rent later this year and had considered trying to rent it unfurnished because I live in Australia and that is the norm here and it works really well for most people. But the general opinion here seems to be that it wouldn't work in Ireland. I wonder if I offered it a little cheaper would I maybe get a family that may have their own furniture.

Put it up, it's no harm. I'm renting semifurnished and love it. We're able to purchase as we go along while saving over the next few years for a house. There's more of us now with the housing market the way it is