UK Landlord Forum / Life

Evening all 

Just wondering if someone could give me some advice as i get my house ready to rent out. My questions are as follows

Regarding windows do I have to leave curtain poles?

Room decor, the rooms are nice and clean although the colours aren't neutral would this be a problem?

The decking can be slippy when it rains do i have to treat it in some anti slip paint? Not sure how liable as landlord i would be here, or if I mess with it and the still slip would I be in more trouble?

Gardening, do I have to leave my tenants a lawn mower or do they have to provide there own?

Burglar alarm, if I leave a fully working Burglar alarm who is liable if say the battery's run out?

Garage, my garage is in a block opposite my house so do I still have to rent it out or could I keep it for myself?

Thank you for taking the time to read my post and I look forward to hearing from you 

I always leave curtains or blinds,to give people some privacy while settling in.Certainly would not take poles.You don't say what colours the walls are,but good old Magnolia is the best bet.Certainly get anti-slip paint,maybe add a bit more sand if it is very bad.
I used to provide mowers,but stopped years ago.For one thing you have to have them PAT tested.Mostly it's because tenants leave the grass too long,then break them,or do crazy stuff risking electrocution.You don't have to include the garage,but if parking is a nightmare it will make it more attractive.As far as I know,alarm batteries are the responsibility of the tenant,as long as you put new ones in at the start.

My approach is that alarm batteries are replaced by me... this is directly against things like understairs lights or even smoke alarms (battery back-up)... that's because it's not just an AA or PP3... to replace an alarm panel battery (my assumption is this is what we're talking about) you'd need to a) know what to buy, b) know how to fit it and c) know any Master Manager code (which you may wish to keep for yourself if you've assigned the Tenant a Tenant code which they can freely change). Because of a) and b) I'd get an alarm professional in... cost of around £50. The good news is that they last for ages and ages and ages... so I have done this on only one occasion.