The tenant had moved into the property and now is stating that there may be moths in the property or larvae and she has asked for Pest Control to attend the Property
She also is asking for new carpets
She was the one who asked me to remove the bedroom furniture and she agreed to pay me from her deposit
Now because the flat was painted before she moved in she wants new carpets for the sitting room and bedroom
I was informed by many not to take this tenant on but I thought it would allow for an income
I am quite worried about this
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Roukaya
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Hi Roukaya, This sounds as if you may have a troublesome tenant on your hands. Sadly, whether she will or won't be, you are now stuck with her for a while, so give her the ground rules now. She presumably saw the carpets when she viewed the flat and will have come to the conclusion that she can live with them, so that's not something to allow on her whim, but I might allow the pest control visit, as that's something she couldn't have anticipated. Do it once and then tell her to look out for her own moths.
Being a responsible landlord does often mean that very little of the rent paid is profit for you. Hopefully this tenant does not have a long contract, so that you can be rid of her in a few months if she's making a lot of unreasonable requests. But of course she is entitled to some essential repairs to be done and to have a habitable home. Maybe she is testing you to see how much you can be manipulated. Be firm if you think her requests are anything beyond reasonable. Hope she settles down.
Hi Roukaya, Well it looks as if you are stuck with this lady for quite a while, so under the circumstances, and given that the carpet in question is so old, it's probably reasonable to change it for her. I've been a landlord as I may have said before, and in my experience you make far less money from renting out property than you think you will, unfortunately. Wiring certificates, gas safety certificates, all sorts of maintenance and decorative issues, tenants not taking care of your property. I sold my house eventually as it was almost costing me money to have tenants.
So I'd definitely treat her fairly but manage her expectations. It might be that you have an expensive initial period but that when she has the apartment as she likes it, she'll be reasonable and settle down with no further trouble. I hope that'll be the case anyway. Take care.🙏
in reply to
Thats it when you get to know the landlords personally you come to realise that they don't make much profit at all from letting.
The pest control requirements are border line. My rental lease requires tenants to pay for all pest control with exception of termites. As for carpet, I also have rental lease provision that tenant agrees rental is habitable as is. All of my inspections must be done before rental can be occupied by a tenant. I also advise people that if you have less than 5 rentals, get rid of them you will lose money on one rental. Blessings.
Did your decorator leave a lot of paint on the carpets then?
Have to say, there seems to be an outbreak of moths! I also have them, so as Callendersgal says, maybe get that done, then she can’t moan, and you can chill!
Could be that a small investment can make all the difference.
Depends on condition of carpet. My own home carpet is 45 years old and in great shape, difference is I put best foam carpet pad under carpet when being laid. Also depends on care of carpet. Painters should have used drop cloths (plastic) to cover carpet before painting and painters should have removed any paint from carpet.
Is the siting room carpet old as 30 year old bedroom carpet is the oldest iv ever heard I to let a property of and at one time 4 bed sits as each tenet left I had them decorated a new carpets as I find after a couple of years it’s nesasry
Is this a wind up ? Who in their right mind has a 30 year old carpet down, especially in a bedroom ? No wonder you’ve got moths and whatever else is breeding in it. Remove it and fumigate the place
Initially I did not agree for the tenant as she asked for all of my bedroom furniture to go including a new mattress and she agreed to remove all of the bedroom furniture and give me £350 from the Deposit
She moved in last Friday and asked for a Professional Clean
As she is removing the old bedroom furniture as the bedroom carpet is over thirty years old I have agreed for this to be replaced
She seems to have discovered moths so I will pay for the moths to be removed
But I will not pay for the Sitting Room carpet to be removed
Firstly the furniture should have been removed before the tenant moved in. By someone of your choice and paid for by you.
On the day your tenant signed up she should have signed the inventory. Which basically states that she is agreeing to taking on the property as seen. ( have you got a signed copy of the inventory)
I agree it was your responsibility to change the bedroom carpet if it was in such a bad state of repair BUT this should have been pointed out to you by the agent before it was advertised for let.
I don’t think you should have to replace the other carpet. If the tenant is unhappy with the carpet perhaps you can allow her to buy another one herself which will have to be left in the property when she leaves.
Your agent is the go between the landlord and the tenant , that’s why the agency gets 14% Of the monthly rent. You should not be having this hassle because all of this should have been sorted out before the tenant signed up and got the keys.
You have a duty of care to your tenant to provide good clean accommodation Roukaya, then, usually the tenancy doesn’t cause any hassle at all. I used to tell my landlords that all a tenant wanted was good clean accommodation, they could have white chip wood walls and heavy duty carpets but if they wanted me to manage a property they would have to get it up to scratch before I let it because no way was I going to have a disgruntled tenant.
I would seriously be asking the agent what they are actually doing to earn there 14%. I would also be asking them if they actually went with your tenant to the property on the day they signed for the tenancy.
I would have liked to explain that the tenant moved into the property within a week of viewing the property and this is why my bedroom furniture was not removed
I will not trouble you any more ad you have been kind enough to answer
I would think if the living room carpet is in good repair and she wants it changing to her taste, she should pay for it. Obviously if the carpet was damaged beforehand, you would have had it changed during the recent renovations. If it is not a reasonable request, stand firm and tell the letting agent your decision. 😊🌸🌼
I have to say from all of your recent posts you seem to be experiencing a huge amount of stress from renting out this property.
I don't mean to upset you but is it really worth it because you seem to be troubled by this on a daily basis and that can't be good for your health?
As someone has pointed out you are paying an agent 14% to manage the property which they don't really seem to be doing and I have to say that I am surprised that you signed a contract with a tenant who you were warned about for so long, especially without a 6 month break in the contract.
I don't want to sound unkind or upset you but I think you need to think about getting the letting agent to do their job otherwise the anxiety that this tenant is causing you will dominate your thoughts and take over your life.
I really hope it is sorted soon and your tenant can leave you in peace .
well,i understand your concern and its never easy dealing with tenants,and this tenant saw the property beforehand and is now kicking off,it does appear that the tenant took it as seen,but now causing trouble...huh.
You worried about not getting a tenant for months,but i would rather wait months rather than getting the wrong tenant,and we actually waited almost a year for one of our flats to be taken and we are glad we did.
Regarding a 30 year old carpet,well,surely that should have been replaced anyway.?
I would like to explain this tenant came with acceptable references and alarm bells rang when she said to remove the bedroom furniture which she agreed to do
Once the wardrobes were removed she could see the old frayed carpet which she thinks could be moths
I have agreed for the old carpet to be replaced and to have pest control to remove the moths
I have signed a Tenancy fir two and half years without a break clause but I do have rent guarantee insurance in place
So if she causes me problems with the rent I will be able to enforce this
I could not leave the flat empty for months as I am not working and this is my main income
Hi Roukaya, you have my sympathy, I went through hell & back renting a property!!
The property was my Mothers, & it was beautifully kept in every way , well maintained, & decorated fully furnished with excellent good quality furniture!!
My Mother being elderly, but physically & mentally well, decided it would be a good idea to move in with me , as I also lived alone we actually got on extremely well
My Mother gave me her property as a deed of gift all legal & carried out by a Solicitor
I let the property to what I thought was a very nice person!!
It was soon evident that she was a con artist first it started by not paying her rent than moving undesirables men in , complaining about everything & demanding everything possible ....., then out of the blue I received a solicitors letter informing my tenant was suing me has she had fallen down the stairs due to a faulty stair carpet etc etc this went on for two years & the rent was never paid... she was in arrears of rent to the sum of over £3,000 by the time the case got to court!!!
I won the case as it turned out she had fallen but not in my property the ambulance picked her up miles away, so I was awarded all rent owed plus court & solicitor/barrister etc
She abandoned the property soon after which was left in a disgusting state, she never paid the the rent owing , but fortunately her legal team was one of those where she didn't have to pay so they payed all her court case debt,not her rent arrears or the vast amount of money I had to spend to clean up the disgusting filthy mess she left ..... I sold the property after that & my Mother lived peacefully & happily with me until she passed away at the age of 104 years old.
I wish you good luck with your tenant ... but my advice is as soon as you are able to evict her for a valid reason like rent arrears get legal advice & evict her
Yes I would be wary. She sounds a bad one. We have been tenants for five years in the same house. It’s been good here but when we moved in a lot needed doing to the property. Our landlord don’t get involved much and he has a few of us tenants. He plays the Manopoly game I think. But we got most of the things done ourselves but he was happy with the changes. This won’t help in your case but we’ve been very good tenants, there are some good ones out there
Carpet beetle larvae, known as woolly bears, destroy wool carpet and other natural fibres. It would be wise to get a professional pest controller to asses the problem.
Renting a place and finding an infestation would really upset me if I rented a home, so do yourself and your tenant a favour and get it done.
Good for you! I think though, she had the nerve to complain after signing the lease. If anything was not to her liking, she had the choice of asking if changes could be made or go find another place.
I have a sneaking suspicion that this person has a history of antagonising landlords.
I think because she works for the beauty industry she would like the flat to reflect this
But I will do what is reasonable
You will have a agreement on how long she is to live there just give her notice to move out this may shock her and stop her complaining look up your rights I don't know much about this kind of thing but if there are moths breeding you don't want them good luck
Red Flag 🚩 did she sign a agreement with you already? You’re going to have to put your foot down. She’s seen the apartment and the condition it was in, she should have said something then?
I agree there might be larvea in the carpets because that's where they would lay their eggs. I agree about not taking on the tenant as she sounded prior to moving in that she wanted quite a few things attended to. However she is in now and the moths will continue if you don't deal with it.
Once pest control come in and you replace the bedroom carpet - maybe put add on Ebay , Gumtree or neighbourhood next door if bedroom isn't that big ...looking for cheap carpet or someone who would do it for you that doesn't charge the earth.
Lounge carpet can be spruced with cheap rug ..try Wayfair , IKEA , Argos .
Moving forward I would only let for 1 year max to anyone - even 6 months with review ...I am puzzled by 2.5 years but maybe you could increase rent in keeping with guidelines later on .
After this episode is over the person may be OK . I wouldn't like to live with any pests - common or not .
Hi - I am sort of getting used to it . I may get over annoyed when I go out and see groups just huddled together then I wonder why I am leaping out of every ones way but I suppose I am protecting those who are also being like me .
I am now back doing some paid work . Before that I was living on savings but my son and his new wife to be are struggling with childcare and just as I am seemingly back on my feet they want me to stay with them for 2 weeks to look after my 11 month old granddaughter - a sort of nanny / housekeeper whilst they work then she will go to nursery in August . Puzzled as there is another grandmother , sister and several friends who live nearby and although my son is going to drive to pick me up I still feel a bit put out to miss work and be 200 miles away but I know if I said NO then it wouldn't easily be forgotten .
It's in your own interests to keep the property up to spec as it is your income and investment long term. Unless she is an unclean tenant it may be worthwhile to work with her, although it might cost some money you will eventually get the reward. De-stressing over this will benefit you in the end.
I have been a tenant myself and I agree that the bedroom carpet has to be replaced and the moths to be treated
But the sitting room carpet is only five years old
I have just renovated the flat after the exit of the last tenants
I have this unforeseen expenditure to deal with
But these things need addressing
I realise this
How are you
Thank you for answering my post
How are you managing
Happy123 has given you some excellent advice. I think you should read it again. 14% is a percentage that the agent should have offered a better service, otherwise what is the point of having an agent? You should have left that agent when you had the chance.
Others have also given you some useful advice (e.g. like Callendersgal) over other issues. Try to take them in in order to benefit from it.
Life is full of hurdles to overcome. It does hurt like Hell at times especially to the sensitive soul. However, if we only accept the comforting words and make no changes, it'd only prolong the suffering.
Yes you did post something really good. I particularly like the post "Learning our ability to believe is what can make us or break us".
Just deal with one problem at a time, understanding that's life. I don't know anyone who has a trouble free life.
BTW, is it possible to get rid of the old carpet and restore floor boards ? Or change it into some (low maintenance) durable carpets.
Did she do a visual inspection prior to signing the tenancy if so, did she sign the agreement after t the inspection then she has accepted the house the house as it is. If she’s been in less than 28 days you can ask her to leave
I think you may have been somewhat naive to take a tenant on for so long. Normally most tenancy agreements are for 6 months and then they roll over after that
You really should have thought carefully before taking on this tenant they are long term in the end you won’t here the end of it now with repairs and so forth
moths are very common especially in a property what’s been standing empty and the windows have been open a few times a week they can get in without realising.laminate is much better for rental properties I feel but that just may be personal experience my dad rents many properties but carpets need to be changed all the time compared to a well made laminate though who’s to say you will get a tenant what likes it there’s always someone who wants to change everything then move out.the tenant sounds indecisive.
That's terrible! Sometimes it happens that you find out what people have advised you about kicks us in the behind! I don't know you're renting laws, but where I'm from things like putting carpet in a room where there wasn't carpet they'd have to do at their expense, after asking for permission.
We had a tenant similar, when we were in the house as resident we had no problems, as soon as the people moved in every month something went wrong and estate management had to come out and put things right so it was costing every month so we never managed to get the full rent, eventually we took a section out and were given notice, we sole the property they moved out on a Friday and the new owner walked in on a Saturday.
I am guessing there is not a contract involved (Might consider using one for your next tenant. 🙃) From my perspective:
You are not responsible for installing new carpet for this tenant UNLESS this was discussed prior her moving in/moving bedroom furniture out. You could always tell her that if you did install new carpeting you would have to raise the rent ___$.
Also, as far as the Pest Control people - you’re going to have to eat that one. Oh, one more thing - don’t forget to smile when dealing this woman. (It may leave her wondering what you were thinking!) Good luck!
Hi Roukaya..well u got a lot of advise. I have a couple of rentals n understand yr situation. maybe u can compromise wwith the tenant a bit. for sure get rid of the moths. then maybe deep clean the sitting room carpet again aftet the moths are gone. if they r still not happy maybe an area rug can be put on top. or let them knw u can't afford to get a new carpet now but perhaps in a few months. also let them knw u want to work it out with them step by step. Hopefully they pay their rent ok. wishing you peace with this. most of all try not to stress n take care of yourself. Rose
she sounds like a right troublemaker I ve never rented a house from a landlord -but going off friends in a situation -I hough the rules were that the new tenant wasnt allowed to redecorate the landlord's new house & that if they did they had to put it back the way it was when they first moved in
Hun you are a landlord and you have to keep the property up to a certain standard and by getting a new bedroom carpet and the pest control in I'd say to the tenant if she wants a new living room carpet you will pay twenty five percent of bill provided she lives it in property when she leaves in a tiidy state and on e you've made a decision stick to it and let your agent deal with her not you directly send emails and don't stress by doing what you have done you've met your responsibility so chill if she doesn't pay rent your covered by your insurance chill!xx
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