UK Landlord Forum / Life

Good morning all,

I moved into the property back in June.

Once I was in, I found the decking to be unsafe.

A contractor has come out and quoted the landlord to get rid of the decking.
The landlord now just wants to put a flower bed there instead, rather than  replace the decking.

I rented the house with the decking there and want to keep it for the nice weather we have.

Where do I stand with this as I  rented the property with decking.

Many Thanks

Sam

Technically, I think you're entitled to have the decking made safe. It was a feature of the property as advertised and you weren't told that it was either defective or liable to be removed.

Realistically, I'm not sure that helps you. I think it depends on what your landlords like.

You can decline to allow access to make the change. But that won't fix the unsafe decking. In theory, you can try and force the landlord to fix it, but I'm not sure how successful that would be (and the landlord might simply respond by serving notice).

Quote from: SN7 on September 12, 2024, 07:53:39 AM...I found the decking to be unsafe.

There's so many possibilities here... is it slippy, broken, sagging, is there a roof, rotten?

Yes, the Contractor quoted for removing, but not on his own decision - because that is what the Landlord asked them to do. Do you know the history of the decking? Did the Landlord install it, due to living there before, or is it something they've inherited and have no interest in? You ask where you stand with it as if you want to "go legal" in some way, but we don't even know if you've expressed your desires to make it safe (whatever that might entail). I'd always say that's the first step - some pragmatic and reasonable communication. I know that I would consider making it safe and usable as even though decking is not an extension of the house, it's more like a combination of furniture and a feature... fearniture... I know it's desirable to some. So are flower beds. I'd likely give the option to the current Tenant.

What nice weather are you talking about? We're heading into Autumn and Winter.

Since you rented the place with the decking, it should be kept or fixed, especially if it's unsafe. Have you told your landlord how much you want to keep it for enjoying the nice weather?

It's definitely worth bringing up again, especially since it was part of the property when you moved in. Did you check your rental agreement to see if there's anything about the decking?