Tenant wants to hold Function (wedding) at the house? Reasonable or not?

[ERS]

Tenant has been making some interesting requests for the past 2 inspections. Last week's request was could they put 2 gazebos on the front driveway to cater for guests at a family wedding!! I can see a load of people going in & out of the the house. using the toilet etc. Tenancy services has said that we can not dis-allow a tenant to hold a function at the house as it is their home! Doesn't that seem unreasonable when there may be a large volume of people there?? Are there limitations to the numbers? They have been told by the hire company that to hold the gazebo's down will require a number of 2cm holes in the concrete then they will fill the holes up afterwards so they can not be noticed?????? AM i happy with that. No. So now the other requests make sense. Can they have new stove hob ( lots of cooking??),A larger hot water cylinder as they 180ltr one is not keeping the water hot enough for the 3 bedroom (5 tenant) house. (Extra Guests staying the the house?) Also the request to change the venetian & vertical blinds & the curtains. So for a nice wedding to impress the guests & in-laws the landlord should upgrade to suit the tenant. Hmmmm
I can object to the gazebos on the grounds that they want to make holes in the concrete driveway as that would be changing the use of the property. But can't object to the function or pre-functions being held there. Interesting. So any sensible suggestions from experienced property Managers/landlords would be great please.
Have to write a 10 day letter this week to request that the stains on the carpet which did not come out with cleaning will require a repair to the carpet in the 3 rooms affected. tenancy Services suggested that the carpet in a wardrobe could be used to fix the repairs.
As the carpet is 5 years + the repairs will stick out like dogs things + leave a hole in the wardrobe floor. Have increased the rent but that didn't seem to phase them. If i give them 90 days notice this may be interpreted as retaliation.

[revdev]

Have increased the rent but that didn't seem to phase them.

In the last 180 days? If not, hit them again.

If i give them 90 days notice this may be interpreted as retaliation.

Maybe, although in retaliation to what? This may apply only if the tenants have lodged something official e.g. written you a 10 day notice to remedy, or made an application to the TT. Happy to be corrected on this!

Personally, I would be unhappy with this situation as well. I would just tell them no, not acceptable and go from there.

Cheers
G

[ERS]

Wedding at the house

Increased rent by $30pw last Friday.
Maybe should give 90 days notice as well but have to get the 10 day letter out for the stained carpet first.

[SuperDad]

That all seems a bit mean spirited to me ERS.

Let them have the wedding.

The holes in the driveway will be filled after the gazebos have gone. Take photos of the driveway beforehand, so that if the holes aren't repaired to a good standard you have a claim.

You don't have to change the blinds, the hob, or the hot water cylinder if all are in functioning condition.

If this kind of thing gets you riled, are you sure you are cut out to be a landlord? I don't mean that as an insult - some investors are excellent investors but don't have what it takes to deal with tenants.

Just my opinion,

Paul.

[revdev]

That all seems a bit mean spirited to me ERS. Let them have the wedding.

Not sure about that Paul. What's wrong with them having it at a family members house, who actually owns it?

The holes in the driveway will be filled after the gazebos have gone. Take photos of the driveway beforehand, so that if the holes aren't repaired to a good standard you have a claim.

If you do go ahead and let them have the wedding ERS, then this is good advice. In fact while you're at it, photograph the whole house!

You don't have to change the blinds, the hob, or the hot water cylinder if all are in functioning condition.

Absolutely.

If this kind of thing gets you riled, are you sure you are cut out to be a landlord? I don't mean that as an insult - some investors are excellent investors but don't have what it takes to deal with tenants.

Again not sure Paul. It's the same as having a 100 person party at the house, which most of us would avoid if given the chance I think. This is what halls and function venues are for.

Cheers,
G

[kingkong82]

'Negotiation'


Let them have the wedding if they are willing to pay for all the damages. Get a contract in place. Take photos of everything in their original condition.

"Can they have new stove hob ( lots of cooking??),A larger hot water cylinder as they 180ltr one is not keeping the water hot enough for the 3 bedroom (5 tenant) house. (Extra Guests staying the the house?) Also the request to change the venetian & vertical blinds & the curtains. So for a nice wedding to impress the guests & in-laws the landlord should upgrade to suit the tenant. Hmmmm"

absolutely not....

[SuperDad]

Not sure about that Paul. What's wrong with them having it at a family members house, who actually owns it?

I disagree. I tend to think that if a tenant is renting a property then it is for all intents and purposes their home.

As such, they can do homely things there, such as the odd party and maybe even a wedding. Those are the kinds of thing I do in my home.

If damage is done then there are avenues that can be pursued to rectify that.

If I were the tenant planning to host a wedding, and my landlord was on my case over this, I would issue a ten day letter insisting they stop interfering with my quiet enjoyment of the premises.

Paul.

[revdev]

I would issue a ten day letter insisting they stop interfering with my quiet enjoyment of the premises.

Hosting a wedding is a bit of a leap from "quiet enjoyment" don't you think?

Cheers,
Gary

[kingkong82]

But superdad

If the wedding is going to damage the property then i believe the land owner has every right to protect his/her investment..but in this case i believe he could have gone about it in a better way.

[Keys]

90 day notices need not have any reason attached to them. Yes, it "could" be construed as retailation. The tenant is mearly doing that which they would do if it was their home.

If they choose to make an application to have the notice set aside then they have to make an application within 14 working days form receiving the notice.

[BusyLizzy]

Why just assume that holding a wedding there will damage the property? Do you know how many people are invited? What sort of care does the tenant take of the property normally (aside from the one carpet stain that you mentioned)?

Are the tenants responsible people that are treating the property well now (aside from the carpet stain)?

With respect to the tenant asking for other improvements, they have a right to ask. You have a right to say no. It's not a big deal - and again, you just may be jumping to conclusions. (I WOULD say no to the holes in the concrete - or at least find out more about how they are fixed after the event).

I agree with Paul (Superdad). Your tenant has the right to live their life. And personally, after reading some stories recently of the ridiculous amounts of money people are spending on their weddings, good on them for trying to save money!

Having said all of that, I do understand your concerns. I would have the same concerns if my tenants were planning something similar. But that's all part of being a landlord.

[Glenn]

I just wonder.
There surely must be more to the story than holding a wedding.
Why on earth did they even tell you.
It sounds as if they are already established slobs having already soiled the carpet.
Why ask about all the other issues of better catering equipment like more hot water and better hobs.
I wonder if they intend to invite the landlord to the celebrations.
I wonder what will happen if the noise limits are exceeded.

If I was you I would be asking the city council if there were any restrictions on this sort of gathering. You need to find out how many people are coming if booze is going to be sold or given away there and anything else you can find out.

Again there is very little that a landlord can do in advance.
Generally all you can do is deal with problems after they have happened.
I find talking to people does wonders.
Not that all if in fact any of my tenants would bother to advise me they were planning on doing what your people have indicated.
Generally however people that do pre advise me are the better ones.

Just today I had to go and have a little pep talk to one of my intellectually disabled tenants.
She keeps having extras living in her tiny little flat. They are boozing day and night causing distress to the other retards in the pack.
I guess you can call the block a six pack of tiny low grade flats.

So anyway I quietly told her the home truth.
Either get rid of the extras or I would cause her lots of stress by taking her through the court system. I really laid it on the line indicating that She did not need to like me. In fact she could fear or hate me.
She knows I have been kind to her and this is the difference.
She has no social and life skills. Us landlords need to be the stern father figures sometimes for the good of our tenants.

I just wonder if your tenants are just asking because they know they should not really hold the wedding there. Some people are really stupid in case you had not noticed. They need to be told how to organise their lives. This is where Housing NZ fails. They are not people. They are an organisation owned and operated by bureaucrats.
Landlords need to be human from time to time.
Humans have emotions and want to be loved.
Tell the tenants you will not love them anymore if they mess your place up.

[Glen]

JEEZ,.....talk about being ANAL!

They can basically hold whatever function/party they wanna hold!

If you're that concerned, then arrange an agreeable time to view and photograph the property before the event, and then address any concerns regarding damage etc after they've finished their celebrations.

I can't see how you can stop someone (or why you would want to) from having a party in the property that they are renting from you.

It's the tenants responsibility at the end of day!

[revdev]

JEEZ,.....talk about being ANAL!

They can basically hold whatever function/party they wanna hold!

If you're that concerned, then arrange an agreeable time to view and photograph the property before the event, and then address any concerns regarding damage etc after they've finished their celebrations.

I can't see how you can stop someone (or why you would want to) from having a party in the property that they are renting from you.

It's the tenants responsibility at the end of day!

Glen mate, this whole post contradicts your usual mantra that tenants are the scum of the universe! lol

[Glen]

Glen mate, this whole post contradicts your usual mantra that tenants are the scum of the universe! lol

BUT!....they haven't done anything wrong in this instance.....YET!!!!

(....and yes they can be scum! )