We moved into a new rental last Thursday, found property through a letting agent but Landlord manages. Met Landlord for the first time yesterday and he said he wants to replace the front bedroom window and bathroom window.
The property is a bungalow rent at £800 pcm and we knew the front window seal had gone at the time of viewing as you can see a bit of damp on the glass. Otherwise property is in good, modern condition (we intend to keep it that way as we are good tenants) .We have moved in and house is tidy. There doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with the bathroom window though.
He told us today that he his having the windows delivered to the property on Thursday and he appears to be putting in garage and coming back next week to fit them.
I fully appreciate the Landlord is entitled to do improvements but is this not unreasonable so soon after moving in - we’ve had no time to settle in properly. I also work full time and presumed when we moved in we would be left to have quiet enjoyment of the property for a decent bit of time before anything like this was suggested. Replacing windows is a big job and we just want to settle in and not live in a building site.
Also presumably the bathroom facilities will be out of action for a day if the bathroom window is replaced and we are not keen on leaving Landlord alone in property with all belongings.
I’m wondering why this work was not completed before we moved in/ why we were not told of his plans before signing the lease?
Anyone experience this before? We’ve only been living in property 6 days.
Tenants are usually complaining the landlord does no repairs . You are complaining that he IS doing repairs ,albeit just after you moved in. Maybe he had ordered a window much earlier and it was delayed. Just be glad he seems responsible
Thanks for your reply. I’ve had previous experience of a Landlord not doing work so don’t get me wrong we’re appreciative of a new window , but he could have told us previously he intended to do it - there is also nothing wrong with bathroom window and its unusual to want to do things so soon after tenant moves in, it could have be done before though as we were pushed and pushed for a move in date when we could have moved in later.
It depends what is being replaced. If the seals have blown then it may just be the glazing within the window frame thats being replaced. This van be done very quickly and wont mean the rooms are out of action for very long.
You could decline to let the landlord do the work, but that would sour the relationship very quickly.
We recently had tenants move in and within weeks of them moving in we replaced a door lock which had snapped (previous tenant didn’t inform us and replacement didn’t arrive until after new tenants moved in), re rebuilt and replaced the entrance path as in our opinion it was looking untidy we also plan to replace the patio in the back as it looks untidy. Our tenants were over the moon they didn’t mind that they had just moved in and we had scheduled this work (we informed them once they moved in). Once the path was finish they messaged us saying how amazing it looks and how grateful they were. I’m shocked you are complaining that your landlord wants to keep your home in good condition. If the landlord feels the bathroom window needs replacing isn’t that better than you having to live with a window that may fail and may not get replaced until you have racked up a list of complaints about it? Yes you have just moved in and yes you are entitled to quiet enjoyment of the house but fgs the landlord is trying to keep the house in a state of good repair let him crack on.
Gosh never seen a complaint from a tenant that Landlord is replacing repairing windows!!
Must be an awful lot of tenants wishing they were you and that their landlord would do the necessary repairs.
Whilst I can understand it’s a bit annoying, I can assure you it’s far easier to do repairs when the property is empty. There are any number of reasons why the work was not done before you moved in, as Colin said maybe there was a delay in materials as there have been shortages recently.
Why were you not told of this work beforehand? Did you ask if any work was planned?
That said, yes I would have said something but maybe your LL didn’t think it was such a big deal or perhaps he did not have a date for delivery when the AST was agreed.
You say you are good tenants and good tenants allow repairs and inspections.
We had a few sets of tenants none of whom were very keen on letting maintenance take place if it was for something that wasn’t bothering them. One set had a relative die every time someone needed access.
It was a contributing factor to having to let them go.
I think you should be thankful the landlord is concerned about the condition of the property.
I would, however, have expected him to advise you of the programmed works before you signed, assuming he was aware of it.
As has been said, replacing a failed dbl. glazing unit is not a big disruptive job, half an hour to experienced person. If the landlord is doing it himself, ask that he attends on a day / time you expect to be around.
This misunderstanding would have been avoided if the agent had informed them or better still arranged the parties to meet before going ahead.
This is why openrent works so well