tenants want some furnishings removed

[bragas266]

Hi everyone and thanks in advance to anyone who can help.
I've recently moved home to Ireland although my property is in England and with a tenant agent.
I'm new to all this.....another accidental landlord who would have preferred to sell but who had to move home with no sale.
I've signed up for full management, will have to add to the rental income to the tune of about £80 a month to cover my costs and have taken out Landlord's Insurance too......
It's really starting to seem like more bother than it's worth! Certainly financially it's not ideal but I guess it's better than leaving the place empty while it languishes on the market for another few months/years.
Anyway, the issue is that tenants have moved in and the tenant agents have contacted me saying the tenants want two wardrobes and one mattress removed, as they have their own.
My only way of arranging this would be to ring a buy-and-sell furniture man and get them to do it, probably for free.
I'm reluctant to do this because theoretically in six months time, the tenants might well leave and my new tenants would expect this part-furnished flat to contain at least one wardrobe per room and a mattress on each of the two beds, right?
The last thing I want to be doing is getting rid of perfectly good furniture and then having to replace it (which would also be difficult since I'm in a different country) in six months time.
I feel like I left the flat in pristine condition and with only the bare essentials in it, and that it meets what future tenants might expect in a part-furnished property.
On the other hand, obviously I want to be reasonable to the tenants and understand they want to make the place their own......
Any thoughts?
Should I say the flat is, and remains as they signed for it and that I want to keep the funrnishings as they are?
The tenant agents say they sometimes are in the position to use furnishings in other properties they have, but that at the moment, they can't. They are not putting pressure on me either way really but I would like to know what's best. The agents think the tenants are likely to stay beyond six months, or so they say, but obviously they have no way of knowing.
Thanks so much to anyone who takes the time to reply. This has been stressing me out all day! Anyone been in this position?

[westminster]

Anyway, the issue is that tenants have moved in and the tenant agents have contacted me saying the tenants want two wardrobes and one mattress removed, as they have their own.
My only way of arranging this would be to ring a buy-and-sell furniture man and get them to do it, probably for free.
I'm reluctant to do this because theoretically in six months time, the tenants might well leave and my new tenants would expect this part-furnished flat to contain at least one wardrobe per room and a mattress on each of the two beds, right?
The last thing I want to be doing is getting rid of perfectly good furniture and then having to replace it (which would also be difficult since I'm in a different country) in six months time.
I feel like I left the flat in pristine condition and with only the bare essentials in it, and that it meets what future tenants might expect in a part-furnished property.
On the other hand, obviously I want to be reasonable to the tenants and understand they want to make the place their own......
Any thoughts?
Should I say the flat is, and remains as they signed for it and that I want to keep the funrnishings as they are?
Yes. The time for negotiating the furnishings is past once the tenant signs the agreement and moves in. And yes, future tenants are likely to want something to sleep on and somewhere to hang their clothes.


The agents think the tenants are likely to stay beyond six months, or so they say, but obviously they have no way of knowing.
Thanks so much to anyone who takes the time to reply. This has been stressing me out all day! Anyone been in this position?

Don't base your decision on the tenants staying put. It can go either way and there is no way of predicting it. I've been in a similar situation with T wanting a table replaced with a larger one after moving in. I refused, and she has just renewed her tenancy for a further six months after being there for one year. I also had a couple of Ts who, after moving in, wanted me to remove the mattress so they could use their own - again I refused. The T stayed for two years. When I went to inspect towards the end of the tenancy, I discovered they had put their own mattress on top of the existing one - a bit weird, really.

On the other hand, my brother had a T who wanted an additional wardrobe, negotiated and provided prior to moving in, and T moved out after 6 months.

I realize not everyone is comfortable with the 'tough love' approach to tenants (which is perhaps why you're stressing out), but it seems to work fine for me and I've generally found that if you cave in to arbitrary demands because you just want a quiet life, it can backfire as it may encourage the T to make more, similar demands, like indulging spoilt children. I don't mean valid complaints like repairs, or the occasional request from a good long-term tenant, but repeated demands for things which don't fall under LL obligations. Remember, it all comes down to a contract - LL has obligations (which I endeavour to fulfill to the letter), and T has obligations (pay the rent on time and don't trash the place). That's the deal.

If you're of a more amenable nature, do ensure you're not left out of pocket - say that you're happy to remove the items if T pays the cost of removals both ways and storage - in advance for the whole fixed term - with a signed agreement to continue paying storage after the fixed term expires if they decide to stay on, failure to do so resulting in return of items to the property.

BTW, if it's an AST @ less than £25K pa, do ensure the agent has protected the deposit and provided the prescribed info to the tenant.

[mind the gap]

I think you are being perfectly reasonable and should not start acceding to the tenants' demands about furniture at this stage (ie once they have viewed the property, signed the contract and moved in). As you rightly say, they accepted the tenancy of the property 'as seen' and if they had any violent objections to your furniture they should have negotiated about it at that stage.

You are within your rights to instruct your agents to tell them politely but firmly that the furniture stays unless they are prepared to pay for it to be stored safely (ask agents to get this in writing from Ts and organise it if nec - it's what you pay them for). Any additional arrangement fees should be charged to T.

The only downside to this is that if they are otherwise good tenants and would otherwise have stayed a long time, you might be cutting off your nose to spite your face...how much do you want to keep them happy?

Good luck - I hope it works out, whatever you decide to do.

Edit : westminster, sorry, our posts crossed. Great minds, eh?!

[bragas266]

Thank you both very much for replying. I was starting to think the sme thing, about it being the first of many requests. (I have already met them half way re. negotiating the rent! Maybe they took that as encouragement to keep chancing their arm)
Appreciate your help and time