Fellow OzBargainers,
As someone who is relatively new to renting, I thought I’d ask for your views on my situation. Today we had our routine 6-monthly inspection on a 1-year lease.
Background
This is our 2nd year renting. We are a young couple with no kids or pets. This year, we left our previous rental for work purposes and moved. We received our previous bond back in full and developed an excellent relationship with both the previous property manager and landlord. As renters, we pride ourselves in treating others’ homes as our own and usually keep the house meticulously clean.
Today
The property manager arrived with the landlord. Landlord seemed upset while talking with the property manager outside. It was this that alerted me to their arrival. I can only guess that perhaps the small front garden was a little unkempt, owing to the strong winds and rain the last 2 days in Melbourne. Nonetheless, upon overall home inspection, the property manager seemed quite impressed (the place was spotless) but the landlord was upset, especially about 2 particular things.
Landlord upset our fridge was not on some form of padding and was concerned the linoleum/vinyl floors were being damaged. For context, our fridge is a large side-by-side door Whirlpool around 20 years old. FWIW, as a household of 2, it is usually quite empty. Last year it was placed on beautiful but delicate floor tiles, and did not leave a scratch. Prior to this, it sat on wooden floorboards in my family home for about 18 years, also causing no issues. There is no evidence at all of any floor damage, nor should any be expected. Despite this, landlord is adamant it should be on a mat or carpet.
Landlord upset that mop and bucket is in the bathtub. For context, I mop the floors once a week. After mopping, I leave both mop and bucket in the bathtub to dry (there is no better place in our house for this), but since it is winter, passive drying of the mop takes almost a week, so I’ve essentially left it there permanently for now. Landlord is upset this could cause damage to the bathtub. Again, we did this previously at our old rental, with no issues. There is no evidence of damage to the bathtub, nor should any be expected. Landlord is adamant it should be moved.
As someone who believes we’re genuinely good and caring tenants, the landlord’s reactions got me a lot more upset than I thought I would be.
My fellow OzBargainers, do you think our landlord is meddling a little much in our lifestyle? My overall impression was the landlord wanted our home to be exactly like theirs (e.g. things done their way, things placed where they want). I know this is petty, and I certainly appreciate the landlord’s care for their home, but I also have huge respect for people living autonomous lifestyles, homeowners or not. Please let me know what you reckon. As always, your views are much appreciated.
TLDR: routine 6-month inspection today. House was spotless. Property manager seemed very happy but landlord not so much. Landlord wants us to put a mat under the fridge for fear of floor damage (there is no damage) and to move the bucket and mop from the bathtub for fear of bathtub damage (there is no damage). Is the landlord inappropriately encroaching on our lifestyle?
Update: just received an email from the property manager. She found the property to be ‘clean and looked after’ and ‘appreciate(s) that (we) take pride in the home’. She also mentions ‘the owner is extremely particular’.
Update 2: wow, over 100 comments! Arguably about half are from me, but thanks again for taking your time to share your thoughts and opinions. I’ve found the leftover linoleum (apologies, I used the word ‘laminate’ previously, having mistakened the 2 products) and as per landlord’s suggestion, will use this as a mat beneath the fridge (though there may be issues with sticking). I’ll just move the mop now, or at least come inspection time
She suggested leftover laminate, which shows me she has no good idea what she’s on about. Nonetheless it’s easy enough to do