Tenants want a new iron?! Is this a slippery slope?!

Maybe if you're not sure about these people you should go back to the estate agent who recommended you rent to them and see what he/she has to say. Maybe they could find you other suitable tenants.
 
Being a landlord is easy when u have good tenants - I suppose getting good tenants is a measure of a good landlord...

I personally would not be happy with the situation you are in having read about the fraudulent behaviour.

Giving people a house and money for sitting at home and watching a cinema sized TV is in my opinion wrong.... I resent paying my taxes to support this system.

Anyway u have a window of opportunity if u want to ask them to go. It's your house and you need to feel secure about who is in your house.

I know many landlords will not accept SW clients - is it because others have experienced some of the issues u are facing?

Best of luck - hope it gets resolved..... S
 
I know many landlords will not accept SW clients - is it because others have experienced some of the issues u are facing?
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If they are being fraudulent report them, but so far the issues are - they wanted glue to mend a press and want an iron to replace a faulty one that was provided by the landlord. It's a bit of a leap to suggest that the slippery slope will lead to them demanding blenders etc.

You won't have to provide anything new but you would be expected to replace faulty goods. If you are wary of them then don't wait any longer and hand them their notice and evict them.
 
I know I am going off on a bit of a tangent here, but what on earth is it with this country that rental accommodation is always furnished with even things like irons being supplied? There is all this waffle about renting becoming a more common option, as it is on the continent, but landlords here seem to be terrified of the possibility of a tenant actually considering a place his/her long-term home.
I have always rented; being from the continent, I have no problem with it. I was ten years in a previous place and am now 7 years in current (unfurnished) one. All the furniture and appliances bar the kitchen sink are mine, I replace and repair everything. In all this time the landlord had to do only one thing which is replace the immersion heater once.The rent is reasonable but not way below market either. In my previous place, where my landlady was elderly and the rent very reasonable, she only had to deal with one thing in the ten years, which was a roof problem. I fixed windows, cleaned carpets, repainted - the way you would in your home. I am now thinking of moving, to be closer to town, but there are virtually no unfurnished apartments available. It frankly drives me mad!
Point is, if landlords want less cost and hassle and no vacancy periods, then why don't they rent unfurnished and long-term?? And no, it does not give the tenant more rights.
End of rant.
 
i saw a nice smoothie maker for £400 ! at the Ideal Home show in London today, perhaps your tenants would like one of these ?!!!!! Ha
 
MrMan said:
you would be expected to replace faulty goods.
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Well, the point was, regarding the door of the press, it wasn't faulty when I rented out the house. That's why I mentioned it and the darn glue!

alamanda said:
Point is, if landlords want less cost and hassle and no vacancy periods, then why don't they rent unfurnished and long-term??
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I wish I did rent out an empty house, but all the advice I received from people involved in the renting business was that prospective tenants these days expect furnished houses/apartments - otherwise they'll look elsewhere.
 
Well, the point was, regarding the door of the press, it wasn't faulty when I rented out the house. That's why I mentioned it and the darn glue!
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I know that but when it does become faulty you have to sort it. Its the side of being a landlord that people don't pay enough attention to, there will be constant wear and tear, there will be times when you suspect that the tenant has broken something but you still have to repair it where theres no proof, and of course if the initial product in place isn't a great standard (which is generally the case with rentals) then be prepared to replace it more often.
 
I wish I did rent out an empty house, but all the advice I received from people involved in the renting business was that prospective tenants these days expect furnished houses/apartments - otherwise they'll look elsewhere.[/quote]

I often wonder if this advice isn't one of these self-perpetuating myths going around. My landlord, who has several properties, certainly lets all his places out unfurnished and never has any trouble letting them. He says he deliberately goes for long-term, stable tenancies, and appears to have minimal hassle.
Those tenants of yours btw do sound like chancers. I would buy them the iron but make it clear that that is the end of it, and certainly not get them any glue. I think buying/fixing really small things like that should definitely be the job of the tenant.
 
The furnishing thing is tricky. If you're going unfurnished then to attract me as a tenant you're going to have to offer competitive rent to compensate for me buying furniture.

Then again, many is the time I've cringed at the horrible furniture on Daft. I wouldn't move into a place with an ugly couch/armchairs etc. So in this case the LL is probably better off getting the bonfire going and letting it unfurnished.

He says he deliberately goes for long-term, stable tenancies, and appears to have minimal hassle.
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Long-term would be key for both parties. As a tenant who furnishes a dwelling, I won't want to be on the move after a year and have to get the movers in etc. Particularly as I'll be restricted to looking for another unfurnished home.
 

I think the Irish mentality is to own your own home (own your own land taigh boy, own your own land). I know we rented for years but always with the intention of buying our own house which we did.And i would never had bought furniture before our house as it is a big expense and you don't know that it will fit in your house when you buy. Also rent in Ireland is nearly as much as a mortgage so what is the point long term?
The attitude to renting abroad is different but then, so are the landlords. I know an elderly couple who rented a house for 30 odd years (in their 60s). When the landlord died the house went up for sale and they had to move on. There is a huge amount of insecurity when renting and while a lot of laws are there to protect the tenant there are ways and means around this (saying landlord is moving back in or heir child is - this happened to us. we had been renting for 2 years and landladys son was moving up to go to college so we were asked to move on so him and his mates could move in. They trashed the place-served her right)

Anyway, that was a few years ago. Not sure what the legislation is now but for me that insecurity combined with the poor standard of rental accomodation (in my experience), was the push we needed to buy a house.
 
Everything that you supplied originally for the tenants when they moved in should be replaced by you when it breaks, no questions asked.
Its different if you rent it unfurnished.

When something breaks in my rented flat, I ask my tennants to buy a new item themselves and deduct it from the rent.

It pays to keep tenants sweet, it might cost you 1% or 2% of the annual rent, but maybe they will respect you a bit more if you are not as petty with them as they are with you !
 
Kellypk said:
Everything that you supplied originally for the tenants when they moved in should be replaced by you when it breaks, no questions asked.
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No questions asked?! You're an exceptionally generous landlord/lady .

So if tenants break something in a house not only have they no obligation to replace/fix it, it is their landlord's duty to replace it?

It's certainly not the advice I've been given by the agent who found my tenants - an agent with a a couple of decades' experience in this business. If something is faulty or stops working through wear and tear then it is certainly my duty to replace it, I accept that completely, but if something is broken through the tenants' carelessness, etc, then it is not.

If, say, something gets smashed in a rented house during a drunken party should the landlord just replace the item without asking questions?

Or if someone in the house kicks in a previously undamaged door should the landlord just replace it without asking questions?

I'm new to all of this, but seriously, is this how it works? Tenants can cause any amount of damage and break any number of items but they have no responsibility? At all?

If you read back you'll see that I described the iron business as 'petty', I simply asked for opinions, in light of the tenants' general behaviour, on whether giving in such on a petty issue would lead to ever-increasing petty demands from them - again, bear in mind the context, that's what's relevant here. If there had been no funny business before this I would have delivered a brand new iron within hours of them contacting me.

Kellypk said:
When something breaks in my rented flat, I ask my tennants to buy a new item themselves and deduct it from the rent.
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By saying "when something breaks" you make it sound like it happened by magic. Not too many things break all by themselves - why shouldn't the person who breaks something be responsible for replacing it?

Kellypk said:
but maybe they will respect you a bit more if you are not as petty with them as they are with you !
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What has respect got to with it? And why on earth should I respect people who asked me to help them defraud the state?! They're not worthy of any respect, in my very humble opinion they are spongers. And quite clearly if they get even a hint that I'm a soft touch this will escalate - I have no doubts about that. I was as generous and friendly as possible at the start - they took that as their cue to ask me to sign a fake contract so they could defraud the rest of us.

PS They're late with their rent this month, so it looks like this will be a brief relationship.
 
Everything that you supplied originally for the tenants when they moved in should be replaced by you when it breaks, no questions asked.
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I'm new to all of this, but seriously, is this how it works? Tenants can cause any amount of damage and break any number of items but they have no responsibility? At all?
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This is not how it works (certainly not for anyone I know. You might (on the odd occassion) know an item isn;t 100% so you know it is legitimately broken/end of life, so may suggest to pick up a new one for no more than €x, but I would rarely do this (maybe on hols & trust the tenant), but make sure you get a receipt.

But if I rented a place 6 months ago & suddnely the iron is broken, I would want to know why. If it is faulty, back to the shop. It may just be a fuse - easy. But most likely, the tenat has dropped it & should be responsible for replacing it with a similar one.

Kellypk is foolhardy with her/his approach, as it leave the tenant with no personal responsibilty. She is missing the point of your tread which is if you give in on this will you be giving in for the lifetime of the tenancy!

As they are late again, you really need to look at the situation & if you are legally entitled to, get them out before they cause you years of heartache. Have a look at some of the PRTB treads which show how hard it is to get someone out after they go past the 6 month timeframe.
 
sam h said:
Kellypk is foolhardy with her/his approach, as it leave the tenant with no personal responsibilty. She is missing the point of your tread which is if you give in on this will you be giving in for the lifetime of the tenancy!
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Thanks Sam, it's a relief to see someone talking about personal responsibility for a change!


Still no sign of the rent so I'm going to talk to the agent about it tomorrow. I simply can't afford to, nor have I any attention of, being taken by a mug by these people, so if needs be I'll have them out before the six month cut-off.

Thanks again.
 
Just supply the basics,sofa,table chairs,fridge,washing machine etc,are they taking you for a mug,short answer,yes,they are testing your boundaries,seeing just how soft you are.
 
rmelly said:
Or rent it (the iron) to someone else if you want to be sure of getting payment for it.
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Ah yes, rmelly. Some say you'll find a thread to which you can usefully contribute. Until then.....yawn.
 
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