u/CinderKettleCo

This happened during my second year renting a flat from a private landlord who had a tendency to send long emails full of rules whenever anything minor came up. After I put up a small shelf in the kitchen, he sent me a message reminding me that under the tenancy agreement, any modifications to the property required written permission from him in advance. Fair enough, I hadnt asked. I apologised and said I'd make sure to do so going forward. And then I did exactly that. I emailed him asking permission to hang a picture frame in the living room. Permission to install a shower curtain rod, the tension kind that requires no drilling. Permission to place a doorstop against the bedroom door. Permission to put adhesive hooks on the back of the bathroom door for towels. Permission to use a removable window film for privacy on the ground floor bathroom window. Every single request was completely reasonable and none of them involved any permanent changes. He answered the first three relatively quickly. By the fourth he was taking several days to respond. By the sixth email he replied saying I didnt need to ask permission for "minor everyday items" and that the clause was intended for structural changes. I replied very politely asking if he could clarify in writing which categories of modification required permission and which didnt, so I could apply the rule correctly going forward. He sent me a revised clause two weeks later that specifically listed examples of what required permission and what didnt. I kept all the emails. The shelf is still up.