Property manager insists tenant will be charged for leaving coat rack for next residents
‘There is no sense, only money’: Renter slams property manager who insists she’ll be charged after asking if she could leave behind a small coat rack for the next tenants
- Hannah, from London, shared email from property manager of her rented home
- Asked whether she and flatmates could leave hooks up as gift for next tenants
- Manager told her money would be taken from her deposit to ‘make good the wall’
- Tweet racked up 1,500 likes with users slamming ‘bureaucratic’ response
A tenant has slammed a property company after being told she would be charged for leaving up a small coat rack as a gift for the next residents of her flat.
Hannah, from London, took to Twitter to share two emails between herself and a property management assistant at Grainger plc, one of the UK’s largest professional landlords.
She asked if she would be able to leave up the hooks as a helpful gesture, because there are no others in the flat, but was told that she would have to ‘make good the wall’, or face being charged by the company.
The tweet racked up 1,500 likes and users quickly jumped to her defence, calling the company unnecessarily ‘bureaucratic’ and arguing that the next tenants are likely to ‘anxiously put them up in the exact same place’.
A tenant has slammed a property company after being told she would be charged for leaving up a small coat rack (pictured) as a gift for the next residents of her flat
She asked if she would be able to leave up the hooks as a kind gesture, as there are no others in the flat, but was told that she would have to ‘make good the wall’, or face being charged
The email read: ‘We have a coat rack affixed to one wall in the flat and we would like to leave it there as I don’t think it will survive being moved, and I think it will be very useful for the next residents as there are no other hooks in the flat.
‘Could you confirm whether or not we are permitted to leave the rack without charge?’
To which the manager responded: ‘As the flat was recently refurbished you will unfortunately need to remove it and make good the wall.
‘You may prefer for us to do it and recharge on deposit. However a cost is unknown at this point depending on who is available to do the work.’
Hannah, from London, (pictured) shared the emails between herself and a property management assistant at Grainger plc, one of the UK’s largest professional landlords
Twitter users quickly criticised the property company, with one writing: ‘There is no sense. Only money.’
Another said: ‘It’s the whole bureaucratic computer-says-no of the response. Just be a human and treat people as such. The rack looks good and improves the flat, the least she could do is speak with the landlord and confirm if it’s OK.’
A third penned: ‘Ahhh I hate this s**t. I’ve put up a few picture hooks in the flat and if we move out, what’s the point in me filling them in and then the new tenants anxiously putting up more in the exact same place. Just let people have nice things and feel at home in accommodation ffs.’
Other renters quickly shared similar stories of being charged up to £90 for leaving behind bins or washing machines for other residents, while one was charged for leaving ‘rain marks’ on the window.
The tweet racked up 1.5K likes and users quickly jumped to her defence, calling the company unnecessarily ‘bureaucratic’
Other renters quickly shared similar stories of being charged up to £90 for leaving behind bins or washing machines for other residents
One wrote: ‘The same thing happened to me in my shared flat last year when we had bought a bin! We thought it would be most helpful for the next tenants to be left a nice, (clean) kitchen bin (as the only bin inside the house). But alas, our ‘kindness’ cost us £50.’
Another said: ‘Years ago I bought a washing machine for an unfurnished flat, when the new tenants were viewing the flat they said they’d buy it off me. The estate agent knew this but insisted we had to take it out of the flat so it was ‘how it was’ and then the new tenants could put it back in.’
A spokesperson for Grainger plc said: ‘It’s important to us that our residents can make their place feel like home, which is why we are ok with them making a few cosmetic changes during their tenure.
‘Our only request, which is detailed in our rental agreements which is normal practice, is that at the end of the tenancy, everything is put back to how it was originally. This provides the same opportunities for future residents to make their own home.’
