By Craig Smith
In a recent ARLA publication, the property ombudsman (Christopher Hamer) has written an article relating to a tenant decorating a property. The story goes that, following the tenants request prior to signing the tenancy agreement, the Landlord would not decorate the property. The agent had then given permission for the tenant to carry out the works themselves. However, the Landlord had no knowledge of this and as such tried to claim for the costs of returning the property to its original condition from the deposit.
Tenants Decorating Permission
In this case, it appears that the Landlords agent had given permission for the tenant to redecorate, which could have cost the tenant a substantial amount of money, without first gaining the permission of the Landlord. There really can be no excuse for this, even if the Landlord was away or unable to be contacted the agents should not have given the permission to the tenants.
Payback Time
As the Landlord had claimed for recompense from the deposit, the tenant then complained to the property ombudsman due to the distress caused by the lapse in communication. If an agent is a member of the ombudsman, it will deal with any complaints made in the most suitable manner.
The article states that the ombudsman awarded £200 in compensation to the tenant for the stress.
Lessons to be Learned
Although the tenant had quite rightly sought permission from the agent to carry out the decorating, the agent had not contacted the Landlord for their advice. Ultimately, it should have been the Landlords decision whether or not to allow the decorating to be carried out.
Best practice dictates that permissions should be in writing and a record kept of and do’s and don’t given to the tenant by the Landlord. The agent in question was at fault for not fulfilling their obligations to their Landlord, which goes to show the importance of having trust in your agent.
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