Renting dos and don'ts: the accidental landlord draws up a list of house rules to keep her renovated flat tidy
A landlord's list of dos and don’ts may seem comically outdated but I am seriously considering drawing one up for my next tenants.
Frankly, I am sick of dirty, untidy renters who never clean up after themselves and who turn my nice four-bedroom multi-let property into a tip.
All the flatmates blame each other for the mess, so I think the only way to tackle the problem is to give one set of rules for them all to follow.
I started letting the flat 10 years ago. It has just been renovated and I have spent the best part of £20,000 installing a new bathroom and kitchen, replacing the carpet and redecorating throughout, so I really want it to stay in tip-top condition.
I’ve installed a dishwasher, so there is no longer any excuse to leave dirty dishes in the sink. I have replaced textured floor tiles with a smooth, easy-to-mop vinyl, and I have ripped out the bath and replaced it with a large shower cubicle with easyclean glass and mould-resistant grout and sealant.
I also paid a fortune for a hydrostat fan in the bathroom to whip away any moisture.
However, years of letting to young people living away from their parents for the first time has taught me that I can’t assume they will actually put their dishes in the dishwasher, mop the floor or wipe the shower after they have used it.
So I think I will give each new tenant a list of dos and don’ts. The don’ts will include: don’t leave dishes “to soak” in the sink; don’t leave mouldy food in the fridge; don’t spill something and leave it to stain; don’t dry clothes in the living room, which makes the flat look a mess and is unfair to other tenants.
My list of dos will tell tenants to: wipe the kitchen work surfaces after use; wipe the shower and bathroom sink after every use; leave the WC in the condition you found it; regularly throw away food that is past its use-by date; regularly dust and vacuum your bedroom, and vacuum and dust communal areas at least once a month.
Do I know if the tenants will stick to my rules? I don’t. And if the rules are broken I won’t know who to blame, so there might not be anything I can do about it anyway.
But it will tell the tenants how I expect them to behave. I want them to have a nice flat and they should want to have a nice flat, too.
It is surely not beyond the wit of anyone to see that the result of sticking to the rule book will be a very much better place for them to live in.
Victoria Whitlock lets four properties in south London. To contact Victoria with your ideas or views, tweet @vicwhitlock.
