Is a landlord of a UK rented house obliged to provide reasonably comfortable beds

[bricks]

My daughter is in a privately rented fully furnished house with he boyfriend. We visited her the other weekend and the springs in the beds we slept in were sticking through the matresses. Didn't want to mention it to her, but she asked so we did and she said hers was the same.
Is the owner of the house obliged to provide reasonably comfortable beds for their tenants?

[cassa333]

Comfortable doesn't come into it. Comfortable is a subjective thing. I find a firm bed confortable but my husband doesn't!

I would have thought they should be fit for purpose. With at the very least the british kite marks for safety etc. Sticking through the bed probably isn't safe though.

[Twenty20]

I'm going to take a guess here that the springs weren't actually protruding through the mattress as this would be a definite safety issue and not just 'uncomfortable', but that they could be felt through the mattress? As cassa says, comfort is a subjective thing but if the mattress is actually faulty it should be replaced, probably by the landlord unless damage is by the tenant. If it's just a cheap, thin mattress then it might be just the way it is built.

I don't think there's any harm pointing out to the landlord that the mattress is unusable (if indeed it is) and see if they'll replace it. Most landlords are reasonable, believe it or not, and I've replaced mattresses before because the tenant has complained. Even if the landlord did replace the mattress the new one might not be to your liking. Best option may be to buy your own mattress then you know it will be ok and take it with you when you leave.

[pedro888]

Suggest you approach the landlord to resolve, should they say no then buy a new matress keeping the old ones for when they leave, in view of saftey on a wider issue considering the landlord sounds cheap, make sure you have sight of a gas certificate for the property that's a legal requirement annually and above that they have smoke detectors and a carbon detector fitted, your own ones, I have investigated many horror situations and you have to really take responsibility for your own safety/childrens rather than trusting a landlord who may hold any legal position, to many people make that mistake whilst renting compared to any other situation of personal safety in life!!, good luck

[jb190281]

A comfortable bed, as mentioned, is a subject for discussion. It may be reasonable to expect it if the house is furnished, but I doubt you would be able to enforce it. shelter.org.uk may be able to help with answers to landlord/tenant disputes or questions.

[WhiteBears]

i think she should mention it to her landlord. he or she should have it replaced. it wont be a brand new one, they will prob find a second hand one.

when i moved into to this shared house, i noticed my blinds wasnt working, and he replaced it straight away also their was a split down the toilet seat and he replaced it straight away.

oh and the house TV suddenly stopped working and he replaced it too but it did take him about 3 wks to get that sorted and it is a bit smaller than the first TV.

So there is no harm asking him to change it, as for health issues it is not good for your back!!