Anyone with "Manage My Rental"?

[FJW]

Hi All

Oh this would have to be one of the best posts ever

Just to give you an update on the Osaki case.

We took a tenant to the tribunal the other week on 'cleaning' as they didn't leave the property reasonably clean and reasonably tidy. We were awarded the costs and the adjudicator didn't even refer to the Osaki / Holler case as she advised cleaning doesn't constitute damage.

Just wanted to share that with you all in case you were not sure where you stood with cleaning cases.

Happy investing

[Wayne]

We took a tenant to the tribunal the other week on 'cleaning' as they didn't leave the property reasonably clean and reasonably tidy. We were awarded the costs and the adjudicator didn't even refer to the Osaki / Holler case as she advised cleaning doesn't constitute damage.

Would anyone have thought that cleaning could be covered by 'accidental damage'?

[Anthonyacat]

Perhaps if the lack of cleaning generated mould or dampness, or attracted pests inside?

But it does seem a bit tangential to me.

[FJW]

I agree with Anthonyacat, if cleaning is neglected it can lead to mould. Take for example if its neglected around the wall surrounds of the oven and cooking fat and oil has splashed on it and hasn't been cleaned then it can do damage to the walls as it sticks like concrete......I always advocate doing improvements to the property that will mitigate carelessness damage for example putting a splash back around the wall surrounds of the oven, putting in a shower dome, installing dark and hard wearing carpet etc. You can literally go around in circles trying to keep on top of certain tenants to ensure their living style isn't detrimental to the property.

I had one landlord that installed cream coloured carpet and she was miffed when there were carpet stains......the bottom line is, is that 'some' not 'all' tenants will never look after the property to the same standard as the owner.

I met with one landlord the other day and he would have been one of the most sensible landlords I've ever met; He supplies driers in all his properties that are vented.....he does this as he doesn't trust that the tenants will vent it adequately, all his showers have shower domes, he uses this special type of gib board that is literally like three times thicker than normal GIB board so tenants can't thump holes in the walls, splash backs in kitchens / laundries and bathrooms....I could go on, but I was very impressed to say the least

[Wayne]

he uses this special type of gib board that is literally like three times thicker than normal GIB board so tenants can't thump holes in the walls, splash backs in kitchens / laundries and bathrooms

30mm GIB?
Don't think so sorry.

[wodger]

30mm GIB?
Don't think so sorry.

My bathroom at home is lined with ... um ... plastic sheets (melamine?) and instead of gib behind it there's 18mm sheets - maybe MDF. Tough as.

Thanks for the coffee Fraser. Very informative chat.

[Wayne]

My bathroom at home is lined with ... um ... plastic sheets (melamine?) and instead of gib behind it there's 18mm sheets - maybe MDF. Tough as.

Fraser wasn't talking about just the bathroom.
In my experiance tenants don't generally get holes in the bathroom - it is the other rooms.

MDF behind the melamine sheet - very odd I would have thought. Any moisture that does get in would cause huge damage as the MDF swells.
More usual to use moisture resistant gib.

[wodger]

Fraser wasn't talking about just the bathroom. Understood.
In my experiance tenants don't generally get holes in the bathroom - it is the other rooms. Agreed. Was just talking about what's in my own house, related to Fraser's comment.

MDF behind the melamine sheet - very odd I would have thought. Any moisture that does get in would cause huge damage as the MDF swells.
More usual to use moisture resistant gib. Yeah. I was surprised when I first saw it - I'm fairly sure it's MDF but I might take another look at it. It might be a flooring type of particle board - chipboard? The melamine-sheet-stuff is stuck to a layer of ~5mm hardboard which has been glued to the MDF, and the floor is a wet floor as well, so no risk of coming into contact with water that way. The bathroom has been in for 15-20 years with no major issues.

[FJW]

That' what you want....its really best to use those sorts of materials in certain types of properties where they have a heightened risk of damage / carelessness.

No worries Wodger, was good to meet with you as well.