Updating post from Reddit.
We lived in the flat for 10 years, and have been renting it for 25 years. We've not previously been asked this, nor did we see a need for it before.
The kitchen is long and narrow, with a reasonably sized double-glazed window at one end.
It's a 2BR first-floor flat in an older building (pre-1930s, I think).
The tenant says it's due to the style of cooking they do.
On the one hand, it hasn't been needed previously, so maybe they need to clean it up. Then again, perhaps it's worth establishing something to help improve the situation overall.
What others have done?
Thanks in advance.
#landlord
Add a fan and stop being petty. Your property will benefit.
They are not asking for an extreme thing.
Every kitchen should really have an extractor fan at a minimum. An extractor fan and an open window ensure the smells get sucked out and fresh air comes in. Cheap fix, and will benefit the property massively in terms of smells and staining, particularly with higher ceilings.
I'm guessing the sticky floor is being caused by grease. If that is the case then a filter hood should be sufficient to stop it happening. However if they are frying all their meals the filter will need changed more often than usual. I also wonder how often they are cleaning the floor. If it's getting sticky perhaps they need to mop it more often.
Absolutely this. If vapourised grease condensing on the floor is building up sufficiently to make the floor sticky, my guess is they are never washing the floor at all.
Even if the filter needs changing if you do it yourself it costs less than £10 in material that will last you for two changes.
The property doesn't have an extractor fan?
Do they not have issues with mold, or has the property not been modernised enough to cause the ventilation issues that occur when traditionally coal heated properties are properly insulated?
With "sticky" do they mean wet?
There is an extractor fan in the bathroom. There are gas boiler-driven radiators in every room.
The main bedroom can get some mould if there is not enough ventilation.
I believe sticky is due to grease from cooking.
Buy them a mop
And bucket. In addition to fitting a kitchen extractor fan that extracts to outside.
I would install an extractor fan. Every kitchen should have one, especially if it is rented out.
It is not up to landlords to dictate what tenants can and can't cook and how often.
Lived in an old council house flat share with a 4x4m kitchen without extractor fan. The floor was sticky by the end of the week, the wall were sticky every month. You can clean with de-greasing agents all you want, the oil particles in the food are getting trapped in the moist air and then thinly spread all over surfaces and walls. It does happen especially if your tenants cook a lot (which they're entitled to do).
For comparison I now have an extractor fan and a window next to the hob which is always open when cooking and I don't have any issues with the surfaces being dirty even on top of the cabinets.
I'm the same person and I clean the same amounts, it was the kitchen.
It really means they don't wash the floor often enough, or use the right cleaning agents.
Pretty sure it's in the landlords responsibilities to provide kitchen extractor at least for gas stove. Rubbish landlord is not their problem
Is there an extractor hood?
Building regs require a minimum for ventilation. The rules are not retrospective though.
If you do any real cooking then a hood is just the minimum.
Hood and a extractor fan is what I would put in.
Regardless of the floor, you should install an extractor fan in the kitchen. That's extremely basic.
Extractor fan + advise tenants to clean regularly.