Is it me or my landlord crazy!!??!!

[cptncrackoff]

Unfortunatly if the LL doesnt want you there anymore there isnt much you can do, they have to give you notice to leave.
It sounds like if you do leave without doint the stuff they've asked for they will try and deduct the monies for the work from the deposit, then it gets messy...

The email is a bit petty(no doubt you'll want to tell them to stick it!!) , but it would only cost you time (which i know is precious) but if the LL supplies the paint it may be easier for you to do as they ask, this will give you a while to find somewhere else.
You never know, somewhere with a bigger garden for less money with a nicer LL!!
keep positive, it makes you feel better..fact!

[Two_Sheds]

Unfortunatly if the LL doesnt want you there anymore there isnt much you can do

Actually tenants have more protection than that. The law is on the side of reasonably, decent tenants, although landlords often try on bullying tactics. He can issue a Notice to Quit, but he can't enforce that without a Court Order. It's in both your interests (and less hassle all round) for him to hang onto you. Point this out to him, in your polite letter.

If you have an assured shorthold tenancy you don't even need to sign a new tenancy agreement: the original one holds in law and 'rolls on' until either party take steps to end it.

I would write a polite letter back, addressing each point in turn: ie, the deposit is already in a secure bond so I see no reason to change that; the tenancy agreement doesn't hold the tenant responsible for redecorating.

Don't get arsey, but be firm. Sign off with a kiss if you think it would help

Oh, and let us know what kind of tenancy you have ~ Assured Shorthold?

[Corris]

There is an excellent board on moneysavingexpert (is that the Martin chaps one?).

However, nice houses are hard to find - he will, no doubt, charge you from your deposit if you don't do as he asks, and having a lovely freshly painted house to live in is nice.

personally, if I was happy, I'd renew. You get a year at that rent (a year and a half possibly) - you can make a new inventory without input from him. You have to get some limelite for the sinks, some of that bagged stuff for the oven and spend a weekend painting - after four years I think that's reasonable. If you owned a house you'd be chucking a paintbrush around after four years......

If you have chickens you can keep, in all other ways he's been reasonable, and it's not going to cost you money to do what he asked, then I'd do it. Being 'bullied' is a matter of perspective. Compromise that doesn't cost what you can't afford, to retain what you want when that belongs to someone else - that's how I'd look at it.

I would come from the perespective that he thinks what he's put is reasonable. £35 isn't that much money really - whether or not it needs paying is strange, and I may ask the question - but I'd pay it to keep him happy. Moving would cost more than that in arrangement fees.

[julesapple]

We've been tenants in our house for more than 10 years. As I've said in other posts, our LL drives us nuts on the occasions we've had to deal with him, even though he is my husband's great uncle.

When we moved in the house was painted, but possibly only looked nice if you were totally colourblind! The first thing we did was to paint everything white (at our expense) and since then we've done a lot of decorating. Our contract states that we are responsible for the internal decorating, and we at least can have the decor to our taste this way without any demands from the LL.

Other aspects have been a problem - the LL hates to spend any money and getting bigger problems fixed always results in verbal fisticuffs but we do get them done. I've recently posted about our bathroom (coming along nicely now, but still being fitted by the cowboy bar the actual plumbing) and I've really had to nag about carpets that needed replacing and maintenance jobs that need to be done - these are often not done as they arise and so, by the time they are done, are much bigger jobs than they should have been.

We treat this house as we would have done any property we had bought, and as we have done in every rented property we've had. It's our home. We do little jobs (like replacing the kitchen unit hinges, and some grotty light switches) ourselves. It keeps the LL off our backs and out of our hair, and if we don't bother him then he's happy to let us do as we please (i.e. garden taken over by chickens) as long as we haven't trashed the place.

We're very conscious that we wouldn't get such a big house so cheaply, with very few conditions, that suits our needs so well, and with this in mind we do try and keep the LL happy. It does sometimes feel like we're being bullied and it is stressful at times (bathroom again) But we did get our LL to admit, the other day, that he is lucky to have us as tenants. He has other properties and we know for a fact that the previous tenants of one of the houses left him with £22,000 worth of damage and repairs to do, and compared to that we are tenants par excellence!!

You could say that you want the assured tenancy agreement renewed before any decorating is done to guarantee your tenancy and explain that you don't want to do the work if you're going to be asked to leave. However, if it's in your agreement that the tenant is responsible for interior decor and upkeep, then he's being very reasonable in supplying paint etc, and it might be better to do it yourselves rather than have your home invaded by tradesmen (and possibly take time off work to be there whilst they are) and you'll know that it's a good job not done by cowboys. Even if he is planning to ask you to leave, you will know that you left the property in good repair and, for that, he cannot deduct anything from your deposit.

Jules

[its hilly]

I think the main thing you need to consider isn't paint..but wether the new rent is fair, and is this the only demand your landlord has made? in how long a tenancy?
If he's made endless demands and the rent is extortionate then go. Otherwise? If you like your house and there have been no other problems then you are quite lucky really. Some landlords barely let you breathe.
I'm both tenant in one house, and owner of another which is let via 'Your Move'.
YM placed our tenants deposit into a safe hold as per the law. It sounds as if your moneys holder has possibly changed THEIR terms, meaning that your landlord is having to 'renew'...but I would ask him/her why before doing anything. We didn't pay a fee, nor did our tenant, but it may have been covered in YM's fees..to be honest we never asked.
Ourselves and our tenants are both on ASTs, which are renewed every twelve months.
Our own tenancy and our tenants agreement states that the house must be kept in good decorative repair. As both the house we rent and the house we let were newly decorated at the landlords expense, then that is the order in which they must be kept. That may not be the case with yours, in which case you could complain. But tbh if he/she is providing the materials to bring the house back up to freshly decorated (assuming it wasn't you but him that did it in 2007, and that that was when you took on the tenancy) then I would be happy to do as asked.
Our landlady is happy for me to have chooks in the garden (just some of the time I keep youngsters here) BUT we have had to agree to repair any damage they do to the grass before we leave. Most others I know wouldn't.
But as for cleaning..well that's your business as long as you leave anything of his in the same order as when you took it on. I can understand your anger at his comments. There's nothing smarts more than someone coming in to your clean tidy house and making disparaging remarks.

[mrbadexample]

Re the painting: I'd do one wall. Then he'd ask me to stop.

[Two_Sheds]

That is a worry ^. What if the painting was done and cocked up or not to the landlord's expectations? Then it'd have to be done again at more expense.

If I found a reasonable fair landlord I'd hang onto him: I'm an excellent tenant and have always left a property in better condition than I found it. However in 20 yrs of renting I never did find a fair landlord

[zazen999]

In our last rented house, the agent came round to inspect and said that the landlady had driven past and the conifers were too tall so could we trim them. Mr Z was just about to say 'no problem' when I piped up that we hadn't had training in working at heights, we had no ladders, no tools and no safety equipment. Nor did we have the appropriate insurance. So if they provided all the above and paid us a day's wage for the training; then we'd be delighted to do the work.

A week or so later we came home and the tops of the conifers had been trimmed.

[lizzylemon]

Much I worked as an Inventory clerk until just recently. If he wants a new inventory get a independent clerk to do one for you both and choose the company together, not one he's chosen. That way, you both know the inventory clerk is neutral to you both. The Inventory clerk should be unbiased to either party and they deem what is considered to be fair and tear according to the length of tenancy.

The company I worked for had a list of items and length of times that we trained with, but normally it is the clerks judgement. Walls have a fairly short life span as they take a lot of hard knocks, ceiling have a longer life span as they shouldn't get bashed so much for instance. However, any inventory clerk will notice if the property has been looked after even if it's a bit tired and the oven needs cleaning. I must say the oven cleaning is not something that is looked at unless it is a check out (the tenant has left) as it doesn't matter too much until the tenant leaves and then the cleaning is expected to be like for like, minus fair wear and tear (you can never make some thing look new but thats expected)

The whole point of the deposit being held by one of these 3rd parties schemes is so that you can contest any inventory (within a reasonable timescale - the scheme will tell you) and they will send all the information to an adjudicator who will decide who gets what - obviously this does take time but it not months and months.
The decorating isn't normally the tenants responsibility, in face most agreements say the tenant is NOT to do any decorating or repairs without prior permission. Look at what yours says and take it from there. Normally a tenant must have 3 months notice, even when it is a rolling contract. Again, your old contract will tell you how long he must give you.
Dont worry about the chickens, most landlords would rather chickens than cats or dogs cos they don't damage the house.

[snohare]

Seems to me that this is yet another landlord deciding what "ought to be done" purely on the basis of wishful thinking.
For example, no-one can expect to let out a property and not have it sustain minor damage and wear and tear - that is part of the costs expected to be borne by the property owner. Fair enough, it might be that in your tenancy agreement you have agreed to be responsible for maintaining the decor yourselves, which of course gives you leeway in choice of colours etc - but if the landlord decides what colour etc, then he is changing those terms and conditions, isn't he ? And if he starts to say white, or magnolia, I can see why you might wonder is he thinking of trying to sell.
As for the fee of £35, yes, it might be that he is trying to pass on a fee to you that his bank/whoever are hitting him with - but it needs to be in the terms of your tenancy before you are required to pay it. He cannot, in law, just demand that you do something, because he is the landlord and he says so. (If you look at English case law on rises in allotment rents, I believe you will find they are also covered by legislation which annuls inherently unfair contracts.)
I think you will also find that there is something called the Private Housing Rental Panel (PHRP) or something similar - it operates in Scotland, but also in England, albeit perhaps with a slightly different name - and it can step in and demand actions of landlords where they are being unreasonable. Their powers are pretty draconian - they can get an enforcement order requiring actions such as repairs to be done by a certain date, or a fine and/or other punishment is imposed (even jail ! ) ; and where the landlord's actions are deemed to be with the intent to force a tenant to leave, eg by massive rises in rent, harassment etc, the PHRP can set the rent and ensure that the tenant is not evicted.
That said, I agree with its hilly, even though all that decorating is a pain in the fundament, if you can manage to, it may be better to negotiate about the fee and try to stay, rather than have to move.
And just in case...in your shoes I'd take a detailed before and after video of any decorating, remedial work to damage, etc, and have a look around at what else there is available. If your landlord has cashflow problems, then you want to be prepared for any potential outcomes of that.

[Two_Sheds]

^ video evidence, yes. I always used to take before & after photos, everywhere I rented. One flat I looked at seemed beautiful when I viewed it ~ landlady said it just needed a hoover through before I moved in the following month.

Well when I moved in the whole place stank of rotting fish: they'd turned the freezer off but not emptied it. The shower soon started to stink because it was full of hair & gunk and the pipes backed up: the shower tray filled up with black water if you used it.

Turned out the daughter was a prostitute and my landlady her pimp/madam, and my flat had been used for 'services'. I got sick of men ringing the bell all day and night, so I moved out. Landlady kept my deposit so I sued her in small claims for it. I had my photo evidence of the state of the place, and won. She refused to pay up so I had to go back to court again ... it took months to get my money back, but I won.

[Munch]

Thank you for all of your wisdom and knowledge.

Our deposit is already held with the self same company he is saying we need to pay the £35 to place it with! That company have said to me that they do not expect the landlords to pass on that charge and they by no means encourage it, it is a charge to the landlord not the tenant, also the landlord must think I am blonder than I look as I have googled it and the company actually only charge him £30 or less if he makes bulk deposits!! Needless to say I will not be paying it!

My Short term tenancy agreement actually states that we are not to decorate without written permission.

We have decided that (with the wisdom of you lot! ) cutting our nose off to spite our face is not the order of the day!

We are going to paint as he has asked, with pics before and after, but only if he supplies everything and moves the deadline as I am good but I am not wonderwoman!!, we are not going to be out of pocket to pretty his house when we know he is planning on selling in the next year or so!

I will, however, refuse to steam the wall paper from the hallway walls as he has mentioned, he will have to do that himself as this WILL result in the plaster falling off the walls and potentially the wall coming down! ...... not going to be responsible for that one!

As for the rent increase............ cant see there is much we can do but to make sure that we save a deposit and find a new home at the end for the tenancy, if we challenge him too much on it , he will find a way of pushing us out.

Thanks again everyone I will keep you posted on how it goes xx

[perkin]

It certainly sounds a bit odd Munch. If your original tenancy agreement doesn't mention that you're responsible for redecorating then I'd point this out to your landlord. Maybe she/he is hoping you'll just accept the list and do it. I own a rental property and I certainly wouldn't expect my tenants to do any painting - unless they wanted to and asked my permission first. I do that kind of work myself either between tenants or while longstanding tenants are on holiday.
As for the cleaning requests - you can keep things as clean as you want during a tenancy. Thorough cleaning would be expected upon leaving a property (and the deposit can be withheld to pay for professional cleaning if it's not done properly) but I don't see that your LL could insist on it now.
And as it sounds like your LL doesn't use a letting or management agent, what exactly is the 'cost of the new tenancy' that they're graciously bearing??

[zazen999]

It's a bit rich you doing the P&D for free when he should be doing it himself or paying for it to be done. Are you qualified, and have you got insurance? and to work at heights [yes, that means a ladder] you should have training [it's an actual law now http://www.hse.gov.uk/falls/regulations.htm] so I don't think you refusing is exactly cutting your nose off - what would happen if you had a fall and were incapacitated for say, 3 months?

[Munch]

My LL gets the arris if he spots a cobweb in the corner of our high ceilings! and he likes to remind me how to clean the stairs with the hoover nozzle!

I would like to add at this point, I do keep a clean house and when ever he comes round the house is given a full spring clean. When he wrote that the kitchen needed cleaning I nearly cried, the kitchen is the cleanest room in the house, my hubby is a chef, it is pristine all the time!

And Zaz I really dont think my LL gives too hoots about anything like that. He botch jobs everything to save money so he doesnt consider me botching myself!

Just to get you an example of how tight my LL is, the toilet seat broke a couple of years ago, we were going to replce it our selves with a nice fresh white one to try and improve the look of the damp tired bathroom....... anyway the LL happened to come round and spot it and said he would replace it....

He replaced it with a 2nd hand one he found in the garage of another of his properties........ it was black and even had paint splatters on it as well and someone else 'dirt'. He handed it over and asked us to install it......... needless to say we installed it in the bin and bought our own.

He is coming to fit a new shower screen next week.......... 'new'......... he has already said it is from another of his properties dreading it!