Would you Landlords out there do this ?

I

ice

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We are long term renters of our property (4 years and plan to be here for at least another 4 years )......when we moved in only one room was freshly painted (at our request).

The whole house now needs a paint job and possibly the carpets cleaned (again this was not done when we moved in).

As a landlord, if your tennant came to you with such a request would you comply ?
 
Maybe you should consider cleaning the carpet yourself, you dirtied it, likewise the paint job whynot get a few cans of paint and rollers.
 
Isnt the landlord responsible for normal wear and tear maintenance rather then some of the horror stories of tenant abuse? much the same way if for e.g., an electrical item just gave up due to normal use and needed replacing (e.g cooker).

Ive friends who approached their landlord and offered to decorate if the landlord paid for materials and a nominal sum for decoration which he agreed to. you could try same and you then get it to look the way you want it rather then way he/she does. Thats assuming of course you want to bother.
 
jem said:
Maybe you should consider cleaning the carpet yourself, you dirtied it,
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That's a mean approach. Surely the rent paid should cover this form of standard maintenance. it's not as though the place was trashed over a series of all-night parties.

It must also be in the landlord's interests to have the place maintained properly.

I'd be coy however to outwardly commit myself for the next four years. It might weaken your hand in extracting a better deal.
 
As a landlady, I would definitely be agreeable to this request and have done so in the past. As previous posters point out, normal wear and tear is to be expected, and to help maintain the value of your property, maintenance is a must.
Unless you have been a particularly dirty tenant, the landlord should pay for the work and ensure it is done. You have no obligation to do this yourself.

Threshold may have further information on this.

as for the comment re 4 year committment, where you mention not getting a good deal if you show your hand upfront - I would much rather have a long-term tenant who's keen to keep the place looking nice. I'd certainly be more flexible on rent in exchange for this long-term security, than have to go through the hassle of changing tenants each year.
 
As a landlord, if your tenant came to you with such a request would you comply ?
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If you are a good tenant - pay on time, generally look after the place, long term, etc. - I would certainly oblige as it's in my interest to maintain the property. You should have asked for it to be freshened up before you moved in, although after 4 years it's a reasonable request.

If you had kids or I felt there was a lot of 'traffic' on the carpets, I might suggest wooden floors with rugs.

If you were to vacate the property now, the landlord would have to carry out this work anyway in order to secure a new tenant, so there's no reason why he/she shouldn't do it for you if you're planning to stay for a further 4 years.

If your landlord is approachable, have a chat with him/her about it. If it's managed by an agent, put your request in writing. Good luck!
 
Yes, once you were a good tenant I'd have no problem with your request. I have the same tenants for 3 years now and have offered a couple of times to repaint/freshen up the place for them but they've always declined up to now, I got a call a few weeks ago asking me would I mind if they painted it themselves if I provided or paid for the paint, I've no problem with that and they are good tenants so I would like to hold onto them. (I'm obviously hoping he's okay at painting and doesn't make a shambles of it but it still saves us doing it). Good luck with your request.
 
Thanks for all the replies...you all sound like great landlords to have....except for jem who sounds like a big meanie ;)
As the carperts weren't cleaned when we moved in I feel we are due at least one landlord paid carpet clean

I would consider us to be very good tennants and we see this house as our home and want to keep it well maintained, gardens in good order etc...I hate it looking like a 'rented house'.

Ideally I would LOVE wooden floors...nothing fancy, the laminate kind would do, as there is a patch of grass right beside where we get out of the car and in the winter its impossible to keep the carpert clean.....we''ve actually had the carpet cleaned a few times ourselves ..I didn't think a landlord would agree to this but maybe I'll price the cheap ones....

Thanks for all the replies.....they've been very helpful
 
Ask the landlord to visit the property and state the property is in need of painting and the carpet replacing. Again you state that your intension is to be long term tenants which is obvious at this stage. You will have considered in advance that perhaps not all the rooms need painting and that perhaps the carpets need cleaning and not replacing. You could get quotations for replacing and cleaning the carpets, and for painting the property or the landlord supplying the paint and the tenant doing the work. Having the quotes and a time frame for when the work would be done is good. If the landlord has any brain he will meet you half way at least, rather than risk having the property vacant for a length of time, finding new tenants that care, finding long term tenants which is very difficult etc. There is so much new properties available to good tenants that you should be able to come to some agreement.
 
I've been a landlord for about 8 years now with a number of properties. It seriously pisses me off when someone acts the way you landlord does - it basically reenforces all the stereotypes about greed landlord B**tards.

This guy is presumably getting tax relief for "wear and tear" if he get the place painted he can claim the costs against his income..... in my view if you are there 4 years and playing fair with him he should DEFINITELY do his part -my own view is that my tenants pay a good rent and they should expect a good service so they will stay and ultimately make the investment good for me and good for them... everyone wins.

Bottom line .... I would give him notice that you are leaving unless you are paying some king of ridiculously low rent.

Roy
 
Again, I would say the same as OneKeano, as a Landlord I would want to keep a good tenant. If you moved out I would have to redecorate and probably put in wooden floors downstairs, (dishwasher/tumbledryer) its now a standard request from new tenants and no more then they deserve. Check to see what is available in your area and the rents payable. It a tenants market at the moment and there is a load of very good property available. Just have a look on Daft.ie.

Then approach you landlord and explain your situation, and be prepared to leave if he/she does not reach a suitable agreement.
 
"We are long term renters of our property (4 years and plan to be here for at least another 4 years )......when we moved in only one room was freshly painted (at our request)."

Why did you request the landlord only paints one room?
 
Pexus1976 said:
"We are long term renters of our property (4 years and plan to be here for at least another 4 years )......when we moved in only one room was freshly painted (at our request)."

Why did you request the landlord only paints one room?
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Thats all he would agree to as he had come down a bit on rent.....but it turns out its only 50 euro cheaper per month than other similar houses in the estate are advertised at....

I suppose we are happy where we are and the rent is OK so I didn't want to rock the boat or put the idea into his head of raising the rent
 
I think you're in a much stronger position than you may imagine.

Perhaps you should test the market in terms of what you could get for the same rent and, having done that, decide what you think is a reasonable demand from your landlord.

Believe me, the landlord will not want to lose a satisfactory tenant that's prepared to stay for another four years - certainly not for the sake of a few tins of paint.

On the other hand, if he's that miserablr, find yourself a decent landlord who'll look after you a bit better. There are plenty of them out there.

It's a tenant's market at the moment. Use this situation to your advantage.
 
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