Q: Is it our responsibility (tenant) to move and disassemble furniture for the floors to be repaired/replaced?
We have been living in our rental home for a little over a month. Before we moved in the floors upstairs were replaced. After we signed the lease and gave security deposit, the landlord informed us that he was not happy with the quality of work and was trying to have the floors fixed. We moved in as planned and were not sure (because he was still fighting with the installment company) what was going to happen. We just found out they are replacing most of the flooring upstairs and we are responsible for dissembling and moving all of our belonging out. We specifically hired a moving company to move our furniture in because it is heavy and hard to put together.
A: It is not clear whether you moved in after the Landlord (LL) told you he was going to fix the floors. If so, he is interfering with your quiet enjoyment of the property you rented, so he should compensate you for whatever expense you incurred to accommodate him. The alternative would have been to say,, "Sorry, I cannot afford to pay for any moving of furniture," and deny him access to your premises. One way for him to compensate you is, free rent. That is in addition to reimbursing you for the out-of-pocket expense you paid. Since you did not object and hired someone to comply with his request, he may argue that you agreed to do it. Even if you did, it was based on ignorance, and he should reimburse you. He has deprived you of the use of part of the premises for which you paid rent.
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