Letting - How to make the house idiot proof?
Discussion
I'm currently preparing a small house for let. This includes painting everything in a neutral shade of beige, ensuring the sealant around sinks, bath and shower is perfect etc.
However, I know that the shower head is prone to limescale and needs to be de-scaled every month. Its unlikely that a tenant will do this - but does it really matter?
Should I be treating the house as if I would be living there and assuming that the things which bother me would bother them too?
I want to make the house as idiot proof as I possibly can, including fitting tamper proof screws to all the light switches and sockets etc.
The kitchen lights are of the GU10 variety which blow quite often - should I consider changing them for something else so the tenant doesn't have to bother?
A few years back we lived with the in-laws during a house move. One day I went into the loft and put my foot through the ceiling. Obviously I don't want a tenant to do this so can I lock the loft-trap door? There is no water tank or anything up there that they will need access to.
However, I know that the shower head is prone to limescale and needs to be de-scaled every month. Its unlikely that a tenant will do this - but does it really matter?
Should I be treating the house as if I would be living there and assuming that the things which bother me would bother them too?
I want to make the house as idiot proof as I possibly can, including fitting tamper proof screws to all the light switches and sockets etc.
The kitchen lights are of the GU10 variety which blow quite often - should I consider changing them for something else so the tenant doesn't have to bother?
A few years back we lived with the in-laws during a house move. One day I went into the loft and put my foot through the ceiling. Obviously I don't want a tenant to do this so can I lock the loft-trap door? There is no water tank or anything up there that they will need access to.
I dont know a lot about renting a place out but from my experience of renting for a long time:
I lived in a couple of rentals that had the attic locked up so I dont see a problem with that. One had a garden shed that was locked up.
One shared house I was in seemed to blow light bulbs every other day and the other tenants refused to buy any more bulbs so unless I wanted to replace every bulb in the house myself we had to sit in the dark or just use desk lamps everywhere
Paint it a colour that is easy to match and use tough carpet or even hard flooring. Beige carpet is probably not ideal.
Have fire alarms hard wired in so they cant be tampered with. Fit an RCD to the mains.
Make sure plenty of storage and shelving is already put up, its a proper pain going in to a rental and needing extra storage but not being able to actually fix anything to the walls.
Make it a non-smoking house.
I lived in a couple of rentals that had the attic locked up so I dont see a problem with that. One had a garden shed that was locked up.
One shared house I was in seemed to blow light bulbs every other day and the other tenants refused to buy any more bulbs so unless I wanted to replace every bulb in the house myself we had to sit in the dark or just use desk lamps everywhere
Paint it a colour that is easy to match and use tough carpet or even hard flooring. Beige carpet is probably not ideal.
Have fire alarms hard wired in so they cant be tampered with. Fit an RCD to the mains.
Make sure plenty of storage and shelving is already put up, its a proper pain going in to a rental and needing extra storage but not being able to actually fix anything to the walls.
Make it a non-smoking house.
Thanks for the reply, I think we have pretty much all of that sorted. I work for a lighting and electrical accessory manufacturer so getting a stock of light bulbs isnt really a problem.
I was even considering doing a 6 months bulb change, regardless of wether they've blown or not - like they do in some public buildings.
I was even considering doing a 6 months bulb change, regardless of wether they've blown or not - like they do in some public buildings.
Why bother with tamper-proof screws on switches and fittings? Is that really a problem? Anyone determined enough can buy a set of bits from Maplin for a fiver to unscrew them.
Shower head - I live in a hard water area and don't bother that often. I'd just make them aware of it, if the flow drops off what to do. Unless it's a really upmarket place where fittings all have to be top-notch I'd just fit a cheaper shower head and replace after a year or two when they move out.
GU10s are cheap in bulk but can be expensive if buying one or two from the supermarket so if you can provide some spares then it's always appreciated.
More generally, prepare a decent info pack - these have been really variable in places I've rented. Just an A4 folder with the gas safety cert, appliance manuals, etc - but write up the house/flat specific things too. Stuff like:
- locations of meters
- location of fusebox (and make sure they're all labelled)
- stopcocks for water, gas, etc
- location of heating thermostat, timer, etc
- your address, contact phone numbers, etc
- backup contact details
...etc. This kind of stuff comes in handy when you wake up a flooded kitchen and need to switch off the water ASAP but aren't familiar with what to do. Pictures can help!
Shower head - I live in a hard water area and don't bother that often. I'd just make them aware of it, if the flow drops off what to do. Unless it's a really upmarket place where fittings all have to be top-notch I'd just fit a cheaper shower head and replace after a year or two when they move out.
GU10s are cheap in bulk but can be expensive if buying one or two from the supermarket so if you can provide some spares then it's always appreciated.
More generally, prepare a decent info pack - these have been really variable in places I've rented. Just an A4 folder with the gas safety cert, appliance manuals, etc - but write up the house/flat specific things too. Stuff like:
- locations of meters
- location of fusebox (and make sure they're all labelled)
- stopcocks for water, gas, etc
- location of heating thermostat, timer, etc
- your address, contact phone numbers, etc
- backup contact details
...etc. This kind of stuff comes in handy when you wake up a flooded kitchen and need to switch off the water ASAP but aren't familiar with what to do. Pictures can help!
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