UK Landlord Forum / Life

Hi,

I'm new to the forum, so hi!

I've just moved into a property and it's in pretty good condition all around. I'm happy with 99% of it so far.

I'm wondering about a couple of issues I've noticed and wanted to see if anyone had any advice / experience in the following.

The dishwasher is listed on the inventory, it turns on but doesn't appear to be working based on the first time I tried to use it. Can I request it be fixed based on it's status at such an early stage in the tenancy.

The front door handle is very loose and I'm wondering whether getting this fixed falls within the LL's remit?

Final one...

There are a number of observations on the inventory that are listed as "poorly maintained / painted / poor condition". My partner and I are happy to put some of our own money into improving this for our benefit, so is there any reason the LL / Agent would have an issue with this or should I get permission to change something from (for example) "Internal broken door lock" to a working one?

Thanks in advance, any help or advice is appreciated!

If you make any changes then it is always best to seek - written - permission for it... just to protect yourself in the long-run, and get clarity on whether the changes you make can stay as-is (if a room is painted well, in an acceptable colour, then it would be an annoying Landlord who insisted it go back to what it was) or must be returned to their original state.

A good Inventory is really not intended to catch either side out - it's supposed to be a well-documented record of what condition the property is in at the start of the tenancy then no party can argue it was like something else at the end. If you have chosen to rent a property with obvious failings then that could be on your head... but if you were shown the property and it wasn't pointed out to you when viewing that the dishwasher doesn't work, that's not good or fair. It's entirely reasonable, if there is a dishwasher present, for you to expect it to work. Therefore I would suggest asking for its repair has legs. However, if it was to break again, and if the Landlord sticks to the letter of the law, rather than the spirit of it, a dishwasher (even one that is provided by the Landlord) wouldn't strictly fall under their repairing obligations. Look up Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act.

Does it light up then do nothing? Does it not light up at all? Check there's no cut-off switch somewhere, or a over-counter bank of switches for each appliance. Check it's plugged-in.

You would think a screwdriver might do some good on the front door handle?

I was thinking of covering our backs with a list of all the small improvements we want to make for our own safety, so thanks for confirming that. All the stuff that was included but loose (think decorative frog toilet brush holder...??) has been packaged and stored in the loft and will be brought back when we leave.

The dishwasher was never shown as working but advertised as a feature and one of the fittings in the same breath as the cooker, fridge and freezer. Even when we used it it sounded like it was working, but after 2 hours of waiting we opened it and the dishes etc were still dry and the washing tablet was still in the little drawer thing. I've checked the water inlet and the switches, all seems good. It's clearly something more internal. As we're only a day or so into the tenancy I'd expect this to be working as I would do for the other white goods that were supplied.

Happy to cover any issues if it had happened several months down the line, but not this soon after moving in and with no previous usage.

I'm happy to go at the other (internal) loose door handles with a screwdriver, but being a UPVC door with a more complex locking mechanism, I'm not sure how to tackle it.

Thanks for the comments.