What are some nonsense demands / requests from your landlord?
Posted by 20127010603170562316@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 160 comments
Luckily my current landlord is OK, but I found this from an old arsehole:
Good afternoon,
We have heard back from your landlord who has advised they cannot allow for the router to be placed in the hallway cupboard.
Should you have any further questions please get in touch.
We couldn't put the router in a cupboard. Not allowed. The connection point and sockets were available, can't remember why I even asked.
Icy-Plate-9021@reddit
The first year I moved into a new flat that was being rented by a rather upmarket posh estate agents On my first yearly inspection, I was told I had too many personal belongings in the flat and in their opinion it felt cluttered, secondly I was told my kitchen had too much food and too many kitchen appliances and again looked cluttered I was asked if I could move my belongings into a storage unit so the flat looked less full and I would be reinspected in two weeks time My reply to them was no problem, but if you want me to move 50% of my stuff out of the flat, then I’m paying you 50% less, I have never heard from them since and I’ve continued to live there for the last five years
20127010603170562316@reddit (OP)
We got moaned at because our house was "cluttered".
This was just after a leak which caused a ceiling collapse, so everything was basically in one room.
Our nasty neighbour complained about "cooking smells" while our ceiling was down, but that didn't go anywhere. So she escalated to "cannabis smells" which prompted a very rapid (24h) electrical and property inspection.
The sparky moaned that there wasn't very much room. No shit, our entire downstairs was in that room.
The agency have said they will ignore that neighbours complaints going forward.
AutomaticInitiative@reddit
The washing machine feed pipe burst, we turned the main water line off within 30 secs but still required pulling the whole kitchen apart to dry out. My landlord came with the plumber to fix it, I don't know why, and she commented on the mess. Yes Jane we've had to emergency pull everything out to dry so it doesn't mould, of course it's a mess.
Inspected it 6 weeks later to make sure it was fine and she was surprised how nice it looked like it wasn't like like all the time when the main feed line for the washer doesn't burst.
maersyl@reddit
Perfect time to start your cannabis grow, then!
20127010603170562316@reddit (OP)
There is one cupboard they didn't look in...
Mammoth-Passion-413@reddit
Yealry? most are 3 months you did well there
Icy-Plate-9021@reddit
Really, what differences are they gonna see in three months?
Mammoth-Passion-413@reddit
I was a landlord for 15 years. I had to have 3 month inspections through most of the agents I used country wide. I had 2 tenants wreck the place one was caught mid damage so I am glad that they went in to look at that time.
The guy was sleeping in the bath and cooking pizzas on the gas hob - literally on it. He was also ripping out the copper and selling it.
YMMV
Icy-Plate-9021@reddit
I think you’re letting agent needs to be vetting their tenants slightly more thoroughly if that’s the class of people you were getting, I live in a fairly respectable village on the outskirts of London in the Home Counties and personally if my letting agent wanted to visit me every couple of months to check up, I would be questioning whether I wanted to live there because I would consider that almost micromanaging No, that’s not to say you were right to check up on these tenants who were clearly damaging your property but from my point of view if I’m paying to be there and I’m keeping the place nice I don’t expect to be pestered constantly visits
Mammoth-Passion-413@reddit
Well London and Hartlepool are 2 seperate worlds. There is life outside the M25 remember
Fair point however
Icy-Plate-9021@reddit
I’m sure there are an absolute monumental amount of incredibly bad tenants who don’t pay on time or at all or absolute trash the place however there are also a lot of really bad landlords that exploit the housing shortage this country has to offer substandard accommodation for eye watering money, there are a lot of really good estate agents other than mine being incredibly posh and exceptionally picky. They have been very good and any time I’ve had an issue, they have fixed it the same day.
Mammoth-Passion-413@reddit
yes but London demands a higher standard than the rest of the country but you also pay a higher price. and youve just descirbed London. Outside of it no one is saying £1300 a month is too high for a 4 bed detached house.
Icy-Plate-9021@reddit
I really don’t demand the highest standard as long as it has a bed a bath a bog and a roof I’m fairly happy😂😂 Even here on the outskirts of London £1300 won’t get your one bedroom flat
leftintheshaddows@reddit
Estate agents are crap to both tenants and landlords. We were in direct contact with our landlord and would just txt him instead of informing the agents as it was easier for both. When we fell pregnant we informed the landlord who replied with joy for us and a lovely message. On the next inspection we mentioned it too and then a few days later was phoned to be told that the landlord is not happy about it, when we said that's funny we have a txt message saying the opposite from him they dropped the subject and never spoke of it again.
They didn't like our book cases and told us we had too much furniture and they were worried we would leave them behind when moving out. I just told them that they are our furniture and would be keeping them on moving and if I didn't that's what the security deposit is for anyway.
jetter10@reddit
I don't get what an estate agent would get from sending nonsense messages. Like it helps no one
leftintheshaddows@reddit
They just liked to cause trouble I think. They once sent a letter of complaint because we had a pet in the house, when we rang up and read them the bit in the contract that allowed pets they again never spoke of it again. They once accidentally send the email meant for the landlord after an inspection full of lies and when we questioned it they denied all knowledge.
I think it was because according to the landlord they were pressuring him to put the rent up but he was refusing so they were trying to get us out so they could rent it to someone for higher price. When we did leave it was rented again but the landlord got so fed up with them that he ended up selling the house instead as he lived abroad anyway.
jdjwright@reddit
We rented out our house for a few years when we moved abroad. As someone who’s been screwed over in the past I really didn’t want to be a landlord at all, but couldn’t afford to sell the house and absorb all the fees.
First agent we saw told us “let us know if there’s anything you want to renovate want repainted - we’ll make sure the inspection report finds damage so you ça use the tenants deposit.”
They did not become our agent and we ended up selling the house a few years later to our tenants after we decided to extend our contract. The (better) agent was really confused about why we didn’t want a checkout inventory - “you won’t be able to charge them any fees”. My sister in Christ they’re buying the damn house!
leftintheshaddows@reddit
Buying the house you are already renting must be wierd, in the sense you still have all the headache of banks/mortgages stuff but you don't have the packing up and moving house stress.
When we first bought a house we were sorting out wall pictures a few months later and suddenly had the realisation that we could put what ever we wanted on the walls.
meme_not_found@reddit
We bought a flat we were living in and renting at the time, to make matters more/less complicated we were buying it off my sister.
Fortunately we didn't have to deal with estate agents but using the cheapest conveyancing in town was a mistake; especially when they were doing both the buying and selling and would try to play "the vendor" and "the buyer" off each other when we queried things.
I called them out so many times, yet they still would fumble up some excuse to either me or my sister.
They couldn't even make a note on the file explaining the usual lies won't work I guess.
jdjwright@reddit
Yeah, it was a strange process. Probably the weirdest bit was the solicitor telling us that they couldn’t proceed with the sale until I handed over the manuals for the boiler. Which were with the tenants. There was a 20-email long thread between legal secretaries trying to figure out if I’d need the tenants to take the manuals to my solicitor, to pass to their solicitor, to give it back to them.
doorstopnoodles@reddit
I bought from my old landlord and we had a hell of time getting our deposit back. The agent wanted to send someone round to inspect the place even though we now owned the property and were effectively our own landlords and had the authority to both end the contract and release the deposit.
Buddy-Matt@reddit
It goes like this...
I'm convinced that a not insignificant amount of bile directed at bad landlords would be better directed at bad agents.
Millefeuille-coil@reddit
Commission and fees every time there’s a tenant change
Dancinghogweed@reddit
££
Cuznatch@reddit
The biggest risk I've ever taken renting ended up with the best landlord relationship I've had.
Was looking for a place in London with two friends, and found somewhere on the upper end of our price range. Sent it to our chat, and upon googling we found the same place listed £50pm cheaper on Gumtree (now you see the risk).
Fully expecting a scam, we reached out anyway. Surprisingly (to us) we were offered a viewing without paying anything. It might just be legit! On the day of the viewing, we turned up an hour early and knocked on the door. Spoke to the downstairs neighbours (it was a split level house, upstairs for rent, they lived below). It turned out the woman living there lived in the flat before, met the downstairs neighbour, they got together and she ended up living there.
She confirmed the number of the landlord was legit, and told us the flat was decent and he was a nice guy.
The viewing went well, and we moved in a month or so later. Got on well with with downstairs, and the landlord was great. He had a handyman & gas safe plumber on call for any small jobs, and let us liaise with him directly, knowing the guy would talk to him if needed. When things broke he offered us to replace them and just deduct the money from next rent (covered a washing g machine, hoover and TV left by previous tenants). In the 6 years I lived there, he never changed the tent, and mates stayed living there another 5 years still at the same rent. By the time my mates left in 2024, equivalent rent for a similar place in the area was £500 more per month.
leftintheshaddows@reddit
If the tenant is good and the rent pays the mortgage or is enough as extra money then sometimes it's best to leave as is rather then rock the boat. If you raise the rent and they move out the next tenant might be a nightmare.
nouazecisinoua@reddit
In our old flat, our washing machine broke. Chased the agency several times, they kept saying they were waiting for the landlord's approval to replace it.
Landlord came round himself to do an inspection. He said the agency had never even told him & immediately got out his phone and ordered us a new one for next day delivery.
On the other hand, when I rented directly from a landlord, I had a whole winter with a broken, leaking boiler because "it's very difficult owning 6 properties". So that route's no guarantee either.
leftintheshaddows@reddit
Yeah, there is good eggs and bad eggs in all walks of life. I guess when renting you have to hope you get either and good landlord or a good estate agent if your unable to find a matching pair.
paradoxbound@reddit
Weirdly we had exactly the opposite. Terrible landlord and wonderful estate agent. Our landlord refused to redecorate the flat or replace or clean the fag burnt, threadbare carpets. He also refused to redecorate the bedroom which was 3/4 painted in a bold choice of dark brown. The rest of the flat was dirty with tired paint work. It also stank of fag smoke. We cleaned everything, including paying a professional carpet cleaner and repainting everything nice neutral colours. We lived there for 5 years while saving to buy a house. Every 6 months we would get a polite letter from the agent announcing an inspection. Usually we were at work but once we happened to be there.
The agent was really happy to see us, said she always wondered who we were and how visiting our home was always a pleasure as it was so nicely kept and she liked how we decorated it.
When we moved out we got a letter directly from the landlord saying that we hadn’t taken care of the flat and we needed to pay for professional decorating and replace all the carpet or he would withhold the deposit and sue for damages.
We called up the agents and they were furious and very apologetic. A couple days later we got a letter from them saying that the landlord had misunderstood the situation and our deposit would be paid in full.
noodlesandstout@reddit
We also had this! 5 months into living there, she told us she's selling up. Estate agent came several times to take photos, and the landlady complained to us that we needed to clean up our mess or she'd serve an eviction notice. I was absolutely baffled because I'm obsessively clean to a fault - everything is tidy, put away, clean, etc. After a lot of back and forth she said it was because we had furniture and ornaments and they make the place look small... it was a 1 bed, 1 bath, with a miniscule open plan kitchen/living/entrance. It looked small because it was, infact, small.
On another topic, more recently our current landlord emailed and phoned me to ask me to fill in a form. The form asked only for my email and phone number. Which he has, or he couldn't have emailed the form or phoned to talk to me about it.
DuckMagic@reddit
My very wealthy mother in law got offended when she rented out her central London flat and the tenants requested she remove her decor items, crockery and utensils (EVERYTHING was a shade of grey- even the drinking glasses). She couldn't get her head around the fact that people like having personal things in their home.
SnooHabits8484@reddit
Bizarre!
Taramafor@reddit
Considering the news warns about rules and suicide and says there's too many laws, and considering lawyers state signing is only ASSUMPTION of agreement then he's my stance.
If I didn't SAY or PROMISE to do something then I'm remaining honest if I break any rules.
I'm also one of the most accountable people you could meet. Just don't pretend to be innocent.
Entitled "respect" rules actually is one of the main contributing factors towards driving people into depression and suicide (every job/site is doing it. It's will wrong). I could already take people to court if I wanted too.
Fortunately for you I'd rather keep it at teaching lessons. Which is what a good lawyer would do as well.
You can work with me or make an enemy out of me. And I hunt people that pretend they can get away with ignoring concerns with intent (which can be negligence, legally speaking).
If you don't get answers from landlords (or the boss at work. Or abusive mods when site get sued. etc) then you can involve the cops. They're trained for Q&A better. They'll do feedback better.
The "proof" is already in whatever entitled/dishonest rules people have written down. Personally my only concern is anything that teaches entitlement. As if you're "owed" something. No one owes anyone a damn thing unless they SAY otherwise for THEMSELVES from their own mouths. Verbally. The problem is always lack of communication. Not communicatig enough. It has always been the problem. It always will be the problem. If you dont push for communcation more then you're letting people get away with ignoring concerns with intent when they make excuses for it. While I blame both sides, if you signed up for responsaiblity then you signed up for it. "The law" and "rules" is going to be how you strangle yourself with me if you hide behind that.
You won't find the truth with a limited perspective. Rules wont save you when someone is determined enough. You got to change tactics at that point.
My let agency is down the road. So I can talk about things in person. They can bullshit you over the phone and on computers. Something abusive mods think they can get away with btw. Look out for that. I notice the FALSE accusations from bots that FALSY accuse people of threats of physical harm. See what I mean about rules and bots being abused? The smart thing to do would be to not use bots and not make false accusations.
Honestly, I could sue reddit for that alone if I wanted too. I probably won't, but I could. Which means someone else could. All I'm saying is generalizing and falsy accusing people isnt doing reddit any favors.
ultimatebrutus@reddit
Had a landlady who threated to kick me out for not recycling
CrazyPlatypusLady@reddit
Not the only problem time with this guy, but the worst.
"I'm coming to inspect on such and such date at 11am."
"I'm very sorry, but that's the day after my husband gets off a 7 day stretch of night shifts. We would like to request that you either come later in the day, or come the day after please."
"I'm coming on such and such date, at 11am. This wasn't a request. I've got a key so I'll let myself in."
At this I called the agent, who did inspections every 6mo anyway, and requested that he reminds the landlord of the law.
Landlord proceeded to attempt to break into the house on the first date given. Then when he couldn't, due to the extra locks we'd got, proceeded to break into the garden instead, destroy a load of my plants (and planters) while replacing a fence panel (that didn't need replacing and ignoring the rotten shed that was a health hazard). Didn't try back doors, thankfully. They didn't have such hefty security. Then he just stood in the garden, glaring at the house. Again I called the agent. Landlord got a call after about 15 mins and left, leaving the back gate wide open. I should have just called the police.
Next day he came with the agent for the inspection, brought up a bunch of stuff that had been documented as not our fault (missing gas fire; condemned a week after we moved in, messed up hall ceiling from where the new boiler leaked due to bad fitting, knackered kitchen floor as it was over a decade old at that point), complained that there were toys on the livingroom floor (we had a toddler), then left.
Didn't hear from him directly again until he decided to yell at me out of the front window about 6 months after we moved out about how he'd never got the keys back (weird because we sent them to the agent), how he'd had to repaint the kitchen and how dare we do that (dude, we had written permission), and how dismayed he was at us getting nearly our whole deposit back after we took it to appeal with the deposit protection people, and finally how he was going to sue us for more money (having been through the DPS appeals, he didn't have that right).
I had sent 2.5lbs in weight of associated paperwork and photographs to back up that appeal, the guy was a freaking nightmare.
Unsurprisingly, the house is currently for sale having been listed just after the rental reforms came in. "Good landlords have nothing to fear". Yup. He wasn't one.
No-Zombie9567@reddit
We had a leak on a flat roof over a lounge extension. The landlord said they'd only fix the roof when the internal damage got bad.
Safe to say, we absolutely soaked the inside of that lounge to get the roof fixed
Icy-Plate-9021@reddit
Only last month my letting agent wanted to increase my rent by several hundred pounds a month because the flat below me was being rented out for £400 a month more than I pay I did remind them that the flat below me was a two bedroom flat, whereas mine is only a one bedroom I also reminded him that I am being local saw the local listing for the flat below me which had had new windows and doors throughout hardwood flooring throughout and a brand-new kitchen and bathroom, I reminded my letting agent that I’d be more than happy to pay this several hundred pound rent increase a month if I was to get an extra bedroom the entire flat fully re-modernised a brand-new kitchen and bathroom as well as new windows and doors throughout to refurbish my flat to the standard of the one below me probably cost £50-£60,000
uncertain_expert@reddit
Rental contract stated explicitly that ‘At the end of the tenancy the oven should be clean to the same degree as at the start of the tenancy’.
The property had been recently refurbished (no carpets yet even), the oven was brand new.
I refused to sign the lease with that clause present, and the letting agent couldn’t get their heads around the idea that someone might want to modify their boilerplate lease contract.
Eventually after they placed multiple phone calls to management, they agreed to strike the clause.
Poo_Poo_La_Foo@reddit
I kind of get it but is cleaning the oven such a deal breaker? I pay a guy to do it annually and you could literally eat your dinner off it when he's done!
Educational_Corgi809@reddit
I get where you are both coming from. Normally cleaning an oven to a good standard isn't hard , but maybe the issue being it's brand new and the land lord could be an idiot and what it looking unused instead of cleaned to a good standard.
uncertain_expert@reddit
It was my first time ever renting a property, I wasn’t taking any chances.
Educational_Corgi809@reddit
Yeah i wouldnt have, between letting agents and landlords it would have been hell to find some common sense in that situation.
Poo_Poo_La_Foo@reddit
🤌🏼 eat 🤌🏼 your 🤌🏼 dinner 🤌🏼 off 🤌🏼 it 🤌🏼
Educational_Corgi809@reddit
That AI and you're a bot /s obviously bloody hell you for hire lol
benjymous@reddit
It's that it's impossible to clean an oven to the point that it looks newly installed, no matter how good your cleaner is
SpiritedGuest6281@reddit
I had this exact problem woth a term in an employment contract. They had a clause that basically said if the till was down they could take money out of my wage bill without proving it was me. They said oh but we would only do it with proof. So I said then update your contract or no deal. They wouldn't as everyone else has the same clause. So I walked.
shark-with-a-horn@reddit
When I challenged a legally unenforceable term in my contract, the letting agent was baffled and just said "well obviously it's not enforceable then"
Ok so take it out of the contract?
Willeth@reddit
I had this. The contract said that the tenant must buy a TV licence for the property. I queried this and asked for a change to something like "should a TV licence be required, it is the tenants' responsibility" and it was as if I'd asked them to screw their heads off and fly around the room.
repair-it@reddit
Our son had a demand for "service charge", which included window cleaning, even though they never ever cleaned the windows during the whole time he was there.
mumwifealcoholic@reddit
I had a baby. The baby cried at night sometimes, but all around he was not a cryer, just the normal..I'm hungry cry. What new borns do.
Neighbour complained ( never said a word to us). Landlord said the building wasn't suitable for children and we needed to control baby's crying or else.
You want me to smother my baby?
landlords and estate agents are a plague on society.
bacon_cake@reddit
It's people like that that are the cause of my terrible parent anxiety. I'm really trying to overcome it for my son's sake but I get so nervous when he's noisy.
cyberllama@reddit
Don't worry, most people will understand. My neighbour had a baby and that baby cried a lot. Can't say I enjoyed it but it's life. If it was that bad, I'd have got ear plugs. Felt a bit sorry for them really, at least I could escape it. Anyone thinking you're a terrible parent because your baby cries isn't anyone whose opinion is with caring about.
pobrika@reddit
I hate it when he demands to inspect my feet to ensure they don't cause damage to the fittings. It's totally unessasary. He doesn't have to demand it.
DisloyalMouse@reddit
When living in a shared house the land lord once complained, after showing a perspective new housemate around, that there were clothes drying outside/in communal areas, saying it was inappropriate.
Easy-Objective6011@reddit
On moving out of the last place a charge of £50 was requested from the deposit for debris in the bathroom...they sent pictures....it was a single blonde hair....I'm brunette.
They tried to take 900 total from the deposit, they got 0.
Thoughtless-Test@reddit
I once got told the flat was "filthy" 2 bottle caps left on the kitchen side.
Told me not to use the tv
Came in when i was home to borrow the spare bedroom as storage.
Got told no candles so i got fake candles and he came and took them out when i was at work.
Overall very weird turned out he was renting him late mother flat out v strange.
Original_Bad_3416@reddit
I left my muddy trainers on the doorstep for a night.
Got sent a photo and tenancy warning on the trainers.
Stinkinhippy@reddit
We had a child size mannequin that we'd picked up for a bargain from somewhere and my other half had done latex all over the face turning into like a ring girl/porcelain doll combo.. was fucking great, lived on a busy street for people walking back from town and had it stood in a big bay window barely lit by street lights.
Nothing better than lying in bed at 2am and hearing loud drunken conversation followed by a grown man screaming like a little girl, then all his mates laughing at him.
Landlord decided it looked like his rental property was some kind of 'macabre museum' and demanded we remove it.
Few_Shock8656@reddit
I hope you didn’t. They’ve no right to make requests like that.
Stinkinhippy@reddit
He was a miserable old prick, just easier to comply. Got good money for it selling it as was. Lol
hiddenhare@reddit
I don't have much love for landlords, but I doubt this falls under "quiet enjoyment of the property". He can't tell you to take down ugly decorations, but he can tell you to stop scaring the neighbours
Poo_Poo_La_Foo@reddit
I'll be honest, it does sound fucking unhinged.
bian241987@reddit
Unhinged, but funny.
Relaxed_ButtonTrader@reddit
Funhinged
booyahhey@reddit
When I was 16, I had a bedsit of my own. After some drinking and socialising with my neighbours I found my landlord in my room, sat on my bed wearing nothing but an oversized pair of red y-fronts! I did manage to get rid of him eventually. That's my worst landlord experience.
AccordingAntelope652@reddit
We have to pay a £200 fee to change any of our utility suppliers.
Our fridge freezer also makes a loud high pitched noise which an engineer said is the compressor. It fails when it’s hot and I lost all my breastmilk. He still won’t replace it, he’s waiting for it to permenently fail (when we will lose all our frozen things again)
20127010603170562316@reddit (OP)
... your landlord is not providing you breast milk?
I had a bugger trying to get him to fix the water.
AccordingAntelope652@reddit
..? My breastmilk defrosted so it had to be thrown away.
northyj0e@reddit
It's a joke, read your comment again.
AccordingAntelope652@reddit
There’s nothing funny about losing breastmilk, trust me!
imissbrendanfraser@reddit
It’s a joke, mate. Sometime people just make the breast of a bad situation.
northyj0e@reddit
But there is something funny about your landlord offering to replace your breastmilk...
Practical_Scar4374@reddit
I see what your intention was 🤣.
Northwindlowlander@reddit
I got a complaint that I was working on my car on my driveway. Like, this is why I'm paying extra for a house with a driveway. I also have been known to have a bath in the bath sometimes.
Oh yeah the house has a gigantic horrible conifer hedge at the bottom. I got told, you have to trim that. I got a quote (because it's so tall) and said, lol, no, I'm not paying for your ridiculous choice. If I'm going to be responsible for this I'm going to cut it down low so that I can maintain it myself. Then I was told "You're not allowed to trim". So at the exact same time I'd been instructed to cut it but also forbidden from cutting it, on the same letter. It's still like that, I just let the paradox take care of it.
soverytiiiired@reddit
He stated that anything on the walls was a fire hazard, so no photos or pictures at any point. That just made me put up more than I planned.
Bumblebee-Bzzz@reddit
I was told the books on my bookcase were a fire hazard and that I had a month to get rid of them all. I declined any further inspections.
soverytiiiired@reddit
They can’t have us renters reading. We might learn something. Like our rights.
20127010603170562316@reddit (OP)
Why did he say fire hazard when he could just say he didn't want damage to the plaster?
soverytiiiired@reddit
He was a patronising dick who spoke to you like a school teacher. I believe he thought if he added a danger aspect to his rules I would respect them more, when it just made me disrespect him because he was talking shite. I remember him saying “Statistically it’s how house fires spread the most!” and wouldn’t answer when I asked if he had pictures on his walls.
20127010603170562316@reddit (OP)
Through walls??
_Foxlet_@reddit
Fire can't go through walls, stupid! It's not a ghost.
Halfang@reddit
Does fire reflect on mirrors? Can it come into your house uninvited?
DOES FIRE HAVE A SHADOW???
pajamakitten@reddit
Do they only start during a full moon?
quackers987@reddit
Fires can't start unless you invite them to ignite
Halfang@reddit
Burn baby burn = legitimate fire ✅ We didn't start this fire = non consensual fire 🚫
The_Fyrewyre@reddit
This is some sort of next level Trammps/Billy Joel Colab crossover.
Kinda like the idea.
bopeepsheep@reddit
Ghosts can't go through walls, stupid! They're not fire!
Onyx1509@reddit
Through pictures!
HatOfFlavour@reddit
I guess wallpaper is probably flammable but I'd argue everything plastic is the main fuel for the fire. Hydrocarbons want to combust and all that.
Poo_Poo_La_Foo@reddit
Command strips are the key!
EveningHere@reddit
Not really. They have a tendency to rip off a few inches of paint with it when it’s time to take them down. If you use a nail or the picture hooks with the tiny four nails in they’re easy to fill and paint when you move out.
Tall-Reputation-9519@reddit
Just taken off about 50 strips when moving out of our house, one of them needed a little rub to get some sticky residue off the wall but the rest you couldn't tell they were there.
Amazing things, wouldn't bother with nails and hooks now unless it's for something heavy.
Poo_Poo_La_Foo@reddit
Oh I've never had that issue! Make sure you pull the tab straight down, slowly. Never taken paint off for me.
Ill-Basil2863@reddit
Do what you want with the place and decorate it however you like. The fuck I will.
HatOfFlavour@reddit
That's refreshing compared to a lot of these. What made you feel it was out of hand?
Ill-Basil2863@reddit
Spending money on decorating someone else's house.
HatOfFlavour@reddit
You at least had the option to hang pictures. I've also heard some, rare, landlords will go to a long term tenant and say something like: "It's been a decade or so since the place was decorated, I'm putting up X to have some lads slop white paint over everything or you can take that and decorate how you like. If you're gonna be somewhere for a long time you might as well be comfortable.
Warngumer@reddit
Yeah I had similar with the last place I rented, like if I have enough money to decorate or renovate your property I'm spending/saving it for myself.
Albert_Herring@reddit
Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans. We decorate if we need to or feel like it, because it's the space we're living in and occupying. If you're only somewhere for six months, obvs you're not going to splash out, but we're wearing out our third (IIRC) stair carpet and have no plans to go anywhere.
nomad_2009@reddit
Increased our rent the day after my partner was diagnosed with cancer and they knew it.
propostor@reddit
When I lived in a student place the landlord (Anjam Sheikh, Rooftop Living, Leeds - FUCK YOU), was an overall cunt about many things. He started doing viewings to next year's potential tenants without any prior warning, I remember having 4 people walk into my room and wake me up with a blazing hangover so I literally shouted the lot of them out of my house.
Then I complained to him about it, and told him it's illegal to do viewings or any entry without 24hrs notice.
So he sent a message to everyone in the house: "Advanced notice, potential viewings 8am to 6pm Monday to Sunday"
ddmf@reddit
When I moved out they tried to charge me for only returning one set of keys, and for removing a kitchen worktop edging strip.
When I moved in I complained about a missing worktop edging strip, and I'd written on the lease "only received one set of keys"
They never checked the lease or their complaints log and kept hounding me for months about it until I told them to bugger off and stop harassing me, then they sent me a letter saying "oh we checked your lease and noticed you only signed for one set of keys."
Fruitpicker15@reddit
The signal quality would be poor if you put the router in a cupboard, especially with the old ones so maybe he just didn't want to deal with complaints about it not working.
20127010603170562316@reddit (OP)
I doubt he cared about our wifi quality.
It was fine, ethernet cable is cheap. We just had duct tape over his carpets instead. It was just an unnecessary amount of wires when it could have all been in the spot where the internet came in.
northern_ape@reddit
I can’t really see why the landlord has a say over where you place portable equipment within your home, to which you have a right of quiet enjoyment.
Moves in. Places router in cupboard. Landlord entirely unaware. Moves out. Tf has it got to do with them?
Now if you’re talking about getting an installation done, sure, they might object to placement of a fixed outlet or something. But only if given the choice. About something that has no effect on them, the value or maintenance of the property they own, or any future tenant.
The most ridiculous thing is that you even asked.
Firthy2002@reddit
In the last place I rented, the previous tenant got a smart meter without asking the landlord first which he had a minor gripe with.
I made sure to ask before I got FTTC and he was cool with it.
northern_ape@reddit
Makes no sense at all though when you think about it objectively. Upgraded something they don’t own in order to get a better tariff on a utility they don’t pay for, leaving it better than when you moved in and more valuable to the next tenant.
I typically shoot first, ask questions later when it comes to landlords. I’ve always left places in a better state than when I arrived, which is the main thing.
20127010603170562316@reddit (OP)
I think the internet plug was in the "airing cupboard" and I just wanted to consolidate.
I can't remember why I asked, maybe something needed changing? I doubt I would have requested permission just for where to put my stuff.
It didn't matter anyway, we got evicted because he failed to replace a washer in the kitchen sink, which resulted in the worktop "weetabixing" as a plumber put it. That was obviously our fault, so we got evicted.
sihasihasi@reddit
In a hall cupboard, built of wood? Nonsense, it'll make bugger all difference.
DisasterNet@reddit
Actually you'd be surprised at what level of loss you can get from just basic wood or plaster walls
Source: I do this shit at scale for a living
Fruitpicker15@reddit
They didn't say when it was. When I first got a router 20 years ago just closing the doors in the house was enough to weaken the signal.
CaptH3inzB3anz@reddit
Landlady complained that there were mice in the garage, she told me they were there when I moved in. The oven needed replacing and the knobs on the hob were not the original ones (they had broken and I replaced them with my own money), well that's what you get with someone living there 13 years. The garden was not in a good enough state, it was better than when I first moved in. Bitch kept the deposit, I never knew about the deposit scheme until it was too, she never got it protected, I could have got my money back if I knew, she even had the nerve to say she was going to demand more money, but I told her to jog on, she did not know where I moved to.
LadyMirkwood@reddit
When I was 18, I rented my first flat (easily done in the 80s with a retail job)
One evening the landlord, pissed out of his face let himself in. Saying it was his flat and he could do what he liked. Luckily, I had a lot of mates over for dinner, and they saw him off
I have to say the estate agents were great, they paid foe a change of locks and told him they'd report him to the police if he contacted me in any way after that.
FloofyRaptor@reddit
My friend had a landlord in uni that had some really weird rules in the early 00s
Bicycles had to be kept in the hallway because anywhere else looks "untidy". Ignoring that a bike in a narrow hall is a escape hazard if there's a fire.
Lightbulbs had to be no more than 40 watts because any brighter would fade the wallpaper.
He installed a payphone in the hall and got upset that he wasn't earning much money from her and her housemates because everyone had mobile phones.
Most of my landlords in the past have been sane, although one was convinced I was called Claire (my name is nothing like Claire) and got upset with me when I corrected him.
pajamakitten@reddit
It also looks untidy.
Steppy20@reddit
The bicycle thing I can understand if they wanted them to stay in specific areas that are easier to clean, but for tidyness is ridiculous.
gingerbread85@reddit
I once had an estate agent complain about pots and pans in the sink during an inspection. I was still eating when they turned up 🙄
TheRealSlabsy@reddit
Rent increase from £900 per month to £1450 was the most ridiculous. I move into my newly bought house next month.
20127010603170562316@reddit (OP)
That does seem quite a bit of an increase, but it seems greedy more than stupid/silly.
TheRealSlabsy@reddit
Fucking stupid in my book
quite_acceptable_man@reddit
Happened to some friends of ours, they'd been in the same rental property for 15 years, always paying on time, doing minor repairs themselves as he's a tradesman, when the landlord suddenly increased the rent by 30% to what he claimed was 'market rate'.
They tried to negotiate but he wouldn't budge so they had to move out, and because there was nothing suitable nearby, they had to move 5 miles away, meaning their children had to move schools as well.
We heard through the grapevine that the landlord got new tenants, and he got his 'market rate' - for about three months. The new tenants stopped paying rent and it took him nearly a year to get them out.
clrthrn@reddit
Thats the sort of landlord karma that warms my cold black heart.
quite_acceptable_man@reddit
Yeah, the best think was he'd spent money on 'refurbishing' it with a cheap online kitchen, lick of paint and cheap carpets.
The house was just round the corner from where we lived at the time, and my wife walked past it every day taking the kids to and from school so enjoyed having a good nose at what they were doing.
TheRealSlabsy@reddit
My landlord owned a 3 house terrace and all of us moved out and they're being advertised at £1500. Someone will pay it, but whether they will appreciate balsa wood doors, paper thin walls, extreme heat in summer and horrific cold in winter is anyone's guess.
HatOfFlavour@reddit
Passing on their costs all at once cost them a, presumably, good tenant.
nouazecisinoua@reddit
Previous landlord tried similar. He thought this small, normal flat was worth as much as the luxury apartments with swimming pool etc that had sprung up nearby.
We moved out & the flat stood empty for months until he dropped the price on the listing back to what we'd been paying.
TheRealSlabsy@reddit
I'd be fuming. It's so stressful having to find another place to live, especially if you're tied to the location.
quokkodile@reddit
I'm so glad this can now be challenged at least https://www.gov.uk/private-renting/rent-disputes
TheRealSlabsy@reddit
Yes, of course. It's the reason why a lot of properties have come up for sale because some landlords can't be arsed to play by the rules.
I'd been served 2 x No Fault Eviction notices in 18 months and I'm a single father of 2. Trying to find suitable accommodation for all of us in the town where my kids are schooled has been a massive ball ache. I had my house offer accepted before the new rules kicked in.
quokkodile@reddit
Yeah, NFE's one of those things where I always wondered "how was that ever an OK thing to do?" Glad it's gone, and congrats on the house purchase!
2KCoinsLTD@reddit
Better to beg for forgiveness than ask for permission MOST times!
YesIAmRightWing@reddit
Honestly it's wild reading some of these
Am a landlord and am pretty much like do whatever you want as long as you're not knocking a wall down and even then if it's a good idea maybe
tiptoe_only@reddit
I once had a crazy landlady who insisted we weren't allowed any guests after 10pm and weren't allowed to put anything up on the walls, but she put up plenty of nasty scruffy signs all over the house telling us to flush the toilet after using it and other unnecessary crap
The best one was that she forbade us to fill in the census - which is of course illegal and we did it anyway. That wasn't the first thing that alerted me that she was probably dodging tax on her rent or something similarly dodgy (the fact that our rent had to be paid into a personal account and we weren't allowed to put anything but our names as a payment reference) but it was probably the biggest red flag.
20127010603170562316@reddit (OP)
I lived in a hostel/homeless situation when a census came around. The staff made fucking sure we filled it out. They'd sit with the lesser learned / lesser able and made sure it was done.
tiptoe_only@reddit
Yeah, I think it's on them (legally) if it's not done by everyone under their roof. The census doesn't record where you live, it records where you are staying on the day it's taken.
berry-worm@reddit
Not actually my landlord, but the lettings agency do inspections quite often and one time I had a different person who was really fixated on some limescale around one of the bathroom taps. I've never had her do it again and nobody else has mentioned it lol
20127010603170562316@reddit (OP)
We got s21'd because of a faulty washer the landlord did not replace.
The washer would have been pence, but as it was not done, the worktop became "weetabix" as the plumber described it.
We pointed out the fault on every inspection.
Bounty_drillah@reddit
Not so much the landlord but the agency he wound up putting in charge of managing his properties. They started choosing new housemates without consulting the tenants.
Sure enough they foisted some absolute reprobates on us, who caused problems almost immediately. They must have complained because the agency then sent out emails saying something like, 'As tenants we ask that you be warm, friendly and have a smile on your face to make the new housemates feel welcome'.
I had no intention of 'smiling' when I was having to deal with a guy who didn't shower.
quokkodile@reddit
Yeah this is frustrating. I have an agency managing my apartment (I moved abroad) and I've had a few disputes where a call with the tenant clarified that the agent was just being a twat and refusing perfectly normal requests from the tenant.
soverytiiiired@reddit
When I was at uni the landlord moved in another tenant into a friends house without consulting them. He was a nearly 30 year old man in a house with 19 year old girls. They described him as weird and distant and wouldn’t answer them when they called his name. He suddenly disappeared one day, leaving all of his belongings behind. Turned out he had provided a false name and was wanted in another county for robbing a post office!
20127010603170562316@reddit (OP)
I lived in an HMO and the landlord didn't care who he moved in, until there was a a problem.
Luckily most of the time the housemates got on fine, until some prison reject came in and started being a dick about everything. Trouble for him was, we already had a 6"6 dickhead that was acually lovely, and already on our side.
takenawaythrowaway@reddit
When we moved in we complained about the gutters needing cleaning and he said he'd do it. He did not. When we moved out he tried to charge us £500 for gutter cleaning.
Same guy tried to charge us because we "removed the bulbs from the front garden". We moved out in November. But he wasn't taking the seasonality of flowers as an excuse. So I literally had to dig the bulbs up to show they were still there.
I've also had my fair share of "absolutely nothing on the walls" and " never dry any clothes inside the house" people.
tiptoe_only@reddit
Mine was like that. I moved into a flat that was in pretty shabby condition and clearly hadn't been decorated for several years. I kept it clean but old wallpaper is old wallpaper so it never looked fantastic. The furniture (it was a fully furnished property) was also old and pretty much on its last legs. I told him the chest of drawers had broken - no response. I told him the door had broken off the freezer compartment in the fridge - no response. I told him the bed had collapsed in the middle and was giving me back problems - no response. I wrote a letter some time later summarising all this and pointing out nothing had been done - no response.
When I moved out he gave me a long list of bullshit reasons why he wasn't paying my deposit back, including charging me for the state of the furniture and the fact that the walls were "dirty" and would need redecorating. No shit, it needed redecorating when I'd moved on and I was there five years.
It was my first proper home and I was very young at the time - I'm better at knowing my rights now
mattcannon2@reddit
"you've taken the bulbs"
[Digs up bulbs to show they still exist]
"Well now you have damaged the flowerbed"
OneSufficientFace@reddit
When leaving the LL tried to take our entire deposit and the estate agents aggressively herrassed us for things post leaving inspection.
Ignored the things agreed via email, so in writing.
Blamed us for wall plugs in the wall where previous tenants had a wall mounted tv and tried to claim we had to pay for replastering (these were on the inventory pictures before we moved it and despite proving this still tried to blame us)
We deep cleaned the entire property and they claimed it was filthy and needed a proffessional clean (it was genuinely spotless)
We repeatedly reported black mould and they again tried to blame us, ignoring the fact they had rising damp and mould in the cellar that spread to the house that they repeatedly ignored our reports of and was in the property when we moved in again proved by inventory pictures
Tried claiming replacement curtains. There werent any when moving in, we provided all our own.
And way more.
The list went on and i had them calling every other day to gaslight me and hard push these things onto us despite me sending them alllllllll the proof of how they are wrong. They were genuinely just trying to work out of rectifying things they had neglected or previous tenants had caused and all of which was reported and agreed upon when moving in. God im glad i have a mortgage now
DuckMagic@reddit
A few years back our boiler stopped working during a cold snap, overnight on the last day before a 4 day bank holiday weekend. Messaged the landlady first thing when I got up for work and noticed that the house was at 13C. By midday she messaged back to say she's tried calling two gas heating engineers and neither picked up, this will have to be a next week problem. I ended up calling around and found a guy who could come check it out within the next few hours. She insisted that I need to lie to him and pretend to be the house owner because apparently boiler repair men always charge extra to landlords, which ofc I didn't do.
Then she refused to agree to the price he had given, the diagnosis he had made (it was a very simple repair but a rare part he'd have to order in because the boiler was ancient, she argued it was basically brand new- she'd only bought the house a few years back and the boiler was almost as old as she was) and tried to make me negotiate on her behalf. I refused and just gave the engineer her number. When he came back to install the new part he said she's been one of the stupidest and most difficult customers he's ever had.
Then she called my husband to complain about her finances, he took the dog for a very long walk and spent an hour walking circles in a field repeating "Kim, your finances are not my problem".
Same lady refused to fix a leaky toilet in December (said let's revisit after Christmas). By the time she got to it in March the water bill was £200 higher than usual and she tried to push it on to us. Said there's five of you in the house now so it's to be expected that you guys will be racking up huge bills (me, husband, two cats and a dog. The cats obviously like long showers).
omgu8mynewt@reddit
I lived in an HMO in Cambridge:
- no overnight guests (we are all celibate nuns apparently)
mattcannon2@reddit
Did you have to provide the booties?
omgu8mynewt@reddit
No the crazy landlord left them 'so we dont scuff his floors'
Floors were new lino but not particularly nice or expensive, basically he wanted his house of four people to look like no one was living there, no wear and tear etc.
Had to argue to get my deposit back for: scuffs on entrance hall, small grubby marks on white sofa, burn mark (not bad, just discoloration) on kitchen counter.
I have been a renter in hmos for a long time and took my move-in and move-out pictures, deposit protection service agreed there were marks after the two years I lived there which is acceptable wear and tear and gave me whole deposit back.
I did genuinely try hard to look after the place when I was there, and most of the marks were in communal places and I dont know if they were me or not, but renting you are allowed to have made small damage after two years full time habitation, just arsehole landlords expect you to live like a celibate robot.
jerrycandance@reddit
House share
He installed door closers without notifying anyone, just showed up and installed them. Stating that the doors are fire doors now and must be kept closed but not locked!
They also operated out from a corner shop which looked like you went back to the 70’s. The shop literally didn’t stock anything, you would walk in and they would have 5 packs of cigis, and 2 boxes of cereals and nothing else. Every other shelf was empty. It would also be open on depending their mood, someday it would be open for 2 hours on other days they wouldn’t even open. You needed to pay the rent in cash in the shop.
New-Yogurtcloset1984@reddit
Yeah that doesn't sound dodgy in the slightest...
EveningHere@reddit
Par for the course renting in the 90s or early 2000s, if you were renting towards the lower end of the scale. Had many bedsits and 1-beds which were just like this. One of them I rented, he’d get his 5(!) daughters round to do a deep clean of the communal areas every 6 months.
DameKumquat@reddit
Had one where you had to pay cash to a certain nearby house, to one of three women each of whom he claimed was his one and only wife. Even when he popped in and all three were there.
I used to pay in £50 notes so he'd have trouble spending them.
He then started coming round and stealing stuff from our house. When we went to the ladies to try to complain, they opened a locked cupboard and told us to take anything we wanted - so we took back our stuff and some more!
He insisted he got to pick and take the various squashes growing in the back garden.
capt-likeable@reddit
My first ever landlord when I left student accommodation wanted me to pay cash and his handy man would come collect once a month - even freshly into the adult world I knew that was dodgy as all hell so I went and got a cheque book and paid rent monthly via cheque handed to this guy who did the worst DIY repairs I’ve seen before or since 🥴
bopeepsheep@reddit
"You must use our cleaners." OK, we did - it was lockdown, we weren't really going to expend much energy on finding another firm. "The cleaning was inadequate." Well maybe insist we use a better company then. "There was rubbish at the end of the drive." Yes, it was bin day and they collect it from there. Was it there the following day? No. You'll notice the bin moved too. "The paint on the wall repairs was the wrong colour." No, it was drying. Again, was it the wrong colour a couple of days later? It was not. (Also, you didn't notice it in places x-z, where it had been drying in direct sunlight. The back room was slower.) Finally, "we need to replant the front borders". What, the ones your workmen obliterated with a strimmer, killing the plants I had put in? You'll find my emails about this dated ...
Claim for 90% of the deposit, nearly £1000, were reduced to £50 (we accepted a couple of Tony things in order to make the rest of the discussions seem like reasonable negotiation, though frankly I was livid about all of it. Petty wotsits).
OilAdministrative197@reddit
Mine asked me to pick her up from Waitrose as she’d got lost in the shop…
melnificent@reddit
Fought over the deposit with a large Derby based rental company.
They wanted £400 for works I'd reported in the first week/month. I countered with £0, they then demanded £700, I upped it to £10. They also kept replying to the DPS on day 27 of 28. I replied within the day.
There was also some stuff with them telling the DPS that I'd agreed and trying to defraud me. I got the account locked that could only be released with all of us separately emailing agreed terms to DPS/a court order.
Ended up preparing the court paperwork as they would also not communicate outside of their one demand on the last day to respond. Which was the only time they responded quicker.
Difficult_Egg_4350@reddit
We were not allowed to put up curtain rails to have curtains upstairs, and the blinds we had were rubbish, so we used to have to get changed in the bathroom/hallway and sleep with all the light coming in during the summer. This was student accommodation though, so at least it was only temporary.
20127010603170562316@reddit (OP)
😂 we put tinfoil and cardboard up against our bedroom window that gets full sun at 3am.
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