Reducing Rent In Exchange For Tenant’s Decorating – Terrible Idea?

He may be a 'professional' drug dealer.

My biggest worry would be the quality of the work. People think that if you can piss you can paint but there's a bit more to it than that. I don't see a tenant spending hours preparing the surfaces before slapping the paint on and if it ain't done properly it will look shit again by the time they leave.

Tenants also have this thing about inviting their friends around for a 'painting party' which is basically painting while getting pissed.

On a serious note though - who will decide if the work is to a high standard? I'd say it's more trouble than it's worth.

I let um get on with it, they have to live in the dam place, if its shit then they only have themselves to blame. Lowering rent, no, if they want to change the deco and there is nothing wrong with it in the first place then no, its upto them.
If the place needs a refurb then yes i would foot the bill.

Do not let them do it. I have fallen into this trap. I was halfway through painting my hallway when my tenants wanted to move in quickly and they offered to finish off the painting. Now they think that because I have trusted them to paint they have the green light to do whatever they want. They have since done a really hideous paint job with a colour that might have been fashionable in the early 70s in both the lounge and hallway. They have also put down a floor in the hallway, lounge, and two bedrooms which was never approved and once again, it is a hideous job. As a result the property is now devalued and it's going to cost me a fortune to put it right. Give them and inch and they take you for a fool.

I recently managed to find a property which I am going to rent from a private landlord, but the property itself was left in a disgusting state by the previous tenants. To be honest, I really do not know how people actually live in these conditions, especially as they had two young children. Before I can move in, it is going to require a lot of work to make it respectable enough to live in, as in its current condition, you wouldn't keep animals in there!

My question is this.... Do landlords usually pay for a company to come and clean the properties which are left in this condition or do they do it themselves?

The reason I am asking is, I have a very strong background in industrial and domestic cleaning and I am seriously considering looking into the possibility of setting up a business which specializes in restoring houses left in this condition. My past employment has seen me work in this type of area before and I used to enjoy seeing the end result, even though it was hard work to do.

I am just seeking opinions as to how often landlords find property left in poor conditions and what their usual course of action is regarding doing the work themselves or whether they pay for some one to do the work for them.

If I find that the potential is there for a business, then I am going to set up soon and start offering a full service restoring property from top to bottom, including tidying gardens if needed.

Any advice would be great.

Thanks

Nikki

Hi Nikki, I'm a letting agent and we're really lucky to have a husband and wife team who clean most of our properties if necessary when tenants vacate. The reason I say lucky is because anyone can set up a cleaning business but not many see it as anything more than a dirty job and don't stick at it for long. Our cleaners take real pride in their work and are also do odd jobs like weeding, removing rubbish left behind etc. I dread when they're away on holidays and we have to use other companies.

We were one their first customers so I've watched them establish themselves. It took a while but they are heavily relied on now by enough regulars that they are busy all the time.

From your message you sound as if you would be similar and probably do a really good job. Good luck if you go ahead!

Hi Landlord! We've successfully done similar deals with lower rents on scruffy properties. A couple of examples.

3 months rent free and in return the tenant, who is a kitchen fitter, supplied and fitted kitchen units. It was his idea, mid tenancy and he submitted a plan, samples etc and it was all written into an agreement.

1 month rent free in return for the tenant to remove ceiling tiles and make good. Agreed pre-tenancy and in the tenancy agreement. This property had been vacant for months because the overseas landlady wouldn't spend a penny on it to bring it up to marketable condition. I think she was very lucky. He's a great tenant and has improved the whole house by decorating.

We usually know enough about the tenants to judge if they capable of doing a decent job and if the property has been DIY'd before by the owner then the standard is never as good as a professional decorators anyway.

It's a good idea to write it into the agreement that tenants are responsible if they cause any damage during decorating, paint on carpets sort of thing and make sure colours etc are agreed. If they insist on anything non standard then it's written up that they agree to return it back to magnolia or whatever at the end of the tenancy.

We've had great success doing this type of deal. It's always been win, win and we've never had problems because we're careful to assess each case individually and check the work when completed.