Renting

And that's what I hated the most about renting, you shouldn't have to put up with things falling apart or things becoming tired and old, Landlords should be forced to keep the property to a minimum standard.

The Landlords I've had as well as friends have all been the types where they saw the monthly rent as pure profit and so would never do something like replace a bathroom, despite how old it is as even if they could charge more for rent they know it could be months/years before recouping the expense.

My Landlord wasn't even prepared to fix/replace the lawnmower or dishwasher despite both being on the inventory as apparently they were 'luxuries' and not essential items.

Most tenants put up with this because they're afraid of being evicted at the end of their fixed term, so most tenants wouldn't dream of asking the Landlord to replace carpets, to update the bathrooms or to fix a lawnmower.

I'd love a system whereby private Landlords couldn't exist; that they had to essentially hand the property over to an agency that would replace the carpets after 5 years, redecorate every 5 years, have things checked annually etc to see if anything else needing fixing up and forced the Landlord to pay whether they like it or not. I also wouldn't mind Landlords not being able to evict tenants unless they were behind in rent or proven to be causing damage, or in extreme cases whereby the Landlord had to sell the property to avoid going bankrupt.

Might seem unfair to the genuine decent Landlords who have morals and don't view the rent as pure profit, unfortunately, I don't believe for a second that that's 99.9% of them!
 
Whilst I agree there should be minimum standards I somewhat disagree with the critical commenting on seeing rent as pure profit and tipping the balance hugely in favor of the tenant. Outside of State provided tenancies rental properties are generally private individuals or businesses who operate as a business interest, not as a social responsibility. Not being able to end tenancies would ultimately lead to stricter and more punishing contracts and tenancy agreements. You would also see rental prices being pushed up.

I am a private landlord and own the single property I lease. I am free to, and should be free to, do what I want with it at any point upon the conclusion of a tenancy agreement. If I want to sell it at the conclusion of a tenancy agreement I will, and I certainly won't be prevented from doing so in any circumstance. Whilst I believe I am fair, open and transparent and would give suitable notice well before a contract expired this is still a fundamental right any property owner should have. I agree there should be safeguards in place for tenants, whether that is notice periods, deposit protection schemes, minimum living standards or otherwise but let's be sensible.

My jurisdiction just passed law that prevents landlords from excluding children from rental properties citing discrimination. There is even a nonsense notion that private landlords have a social responsibility to provide accessible and affordable rentals. I almost died laughing at that one seeing as that's exactly what the state should be providing, and don't.

If private landlords could not exist then it would be a world of hurt for all involved. I would not be renting my property in the scenario you envisage. I would sell it. That's one less rental property available on the market. You have to remember there are plenty of landlords who rent properties/accomodation for reasons other than long term business interests/investments.
 
My above post was not one where I've really thought through the ramifications if something like that was enforced, it was just off the cuff, as after all I don't really care anymore as I purchased a house last year and so hopefully will never have to rent again.

My main point was, at present, a Landlord can get away with renting a place with old and tired furnishings and has no obligation to update the property and I think this is wrong. I think there should be a minimum standard of finish and this enforced however this is implemented.

I also have a slight problem with Landlords who treat it purely as 'business'. This is people's homes, it shouldn't just be the case of maximising profits and I don't think being a Landlord should be an attractive option if the plan is to make money in the short term. Initially, my thought to more Landlords putting property on the market is not necessarily a bad thing.

Everything I've said might be absolutely rubbish and be more harmful to tenants, I don't know, I haven't done a ton of research on the topic etc, I just feel considering the amount of people who now rent in this country, there should be more regulation in terms of Landlord checks, rent prices, standards etc.
 
BYTEr said:
My above post was not one where I've really thought through the ramifications if something like that was enforced, it was just off the cuff, as after all I don't really care anymore as I purchased a house last year and so hopefully will never have to rent again.

My main point was, at present, a Landlord can get away with renting a place with old and tired furnishings and has no obligation to update the property and I think this is wrong. I think there should be a minimum standard of finish and this enforced however this is implemented.

I also have a slight problem with Landlords who treat it purely as 'business'. This is people's homes, it shouldn't just be the case of maximising profits and I don't think being a Landlord should be an attractive option if the plan is to make money in the short term. Initially, my thought to more Landlords putting property on the market is not necessarily a bad thing.

Everything I've said might be absolutely rubbish and be more harmful to tenants, I don't know, I haven't done a ton of research on the topic etc, I just feel considering the amount of people who now rent in this country, there should be more regulation in terms of Landlord checks, rent prices, standards etc.
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There are some terrible landlords out there, but it would be very difficult to determine the level of finish and to enforce it. I think people forget the importance of landlords and rented accommodation. A lot of pressure in recent years has forced a lot to sell. This isn't in the interest of those renting imo. I also don't see what is wrong with treating it as a business. If people don't like it then they should go buy a house.
 
It would be difficult, which is why I initially said stipulations like having to replace the carpets every X number of years, or if it was being managed by an agency, someone inspecting the place annually telling the Landlord want needs doing.

I suppose my worry with Landlords treating it purely as a business would be them not wanting to pay a penny out if they can get away with it, if carpets for example were getting old and tired, them buying new carpets won't make them any profit as even if they could increase the rent it would be years before they recouped the costs.
 
99% of landlords are "have a go" landlords that think they can get rich quick hence why they never want to pay for repairs and stuff. Round here where average rent is £400 a month for a 2-3 bed terrace, a new boiler could easily take up 3-4 months of rent money.

Other landlords are the landlord by accident type. Saw an old house for rent recently on RightMove, while it looked clean, all the carpets looked 30 years old with swirly patterns, kitchen from the 70s, and nice pink bathroom suite with matching pink tiles and pink carpet.

Clearly some old dear lived there and had pegged it and instead of the family selling it, they decided to rent it out. You can see from the start that there will be issues trying to get them to do repairs in the future if they couldn't be bothered to modernise it (prob due to lack of money).



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LeeUK said:
99% of landlords are "have a go" landlords that think they can get rich quick hence why they never want to pay for repairs and stuff. Round here where average rent is £400 a month for a 2-3 bed terrace, a new boiler could easily take up 3-4 months of rent money.

Other landlords are the landlord by accident type. Saw an old house for rent recently on RightMove, while it looked clean, all the carpets looked 30 years old with swirly patterns, kitchen from the 70s, and nice pink bathroom suite with matching pink tiles and pink carpet.

Clearly some old dear lived there and had pegged it and instead of the family selling it, they decided to rent it out. You can see from the start that there will be issues trying to get them to do repairs in the future if they couldn't be bothered to modernise it (prob due to lack of money).



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So 99% are "have a go " Landlords

And "other" Landlords and the Professional Landlords make up the last 1%.

I'm inclined to think that's BS but I'll believe you once you back that up with a source...


I know a number of Landlords who look after their properties well. Although I will admit it can be down to areas and tenants....Scumbag tenants in scumbag areas who want to pay the bare minimum will usually end up with scumbag landlords..

Like anything in life you get what you pay for. I'm sure if you look you will find a 2-3 bed terrace in your area for £600 per month that is looked after much better.

But if you want bottom price expect bottom quality.
 
You reap what you sow.

Landlord hat on again.

Our rentals we keep on top of maintenance issues and decorating. Usually get a whole house painted between tenancies and (if no change in tenant) every couple of years.
recently replaced a kitchen cupboard door after a sink leak. Leak was no fault of Tenant, so why should they have to put up with a warped/rubbish looking (but perfectly functional) door on the (otherwise) nice kitchen?

If you let the property become dilapidated you just put off the cost, and often compound the issues into something worse (and more expensive). Better to fix ongoing (and the cost of fixing/maintaining is tax deductible)

Also a dilapidated property tends to attract tenants that 'dont care', and not making top dollar from it... Leading into it becoming even more dilapidated as you dont have funds to repair it/no point with tenants that abuse it.

You reap what you sow.


Would far rather maintain the property, get best income from it that we can as its in the top 10% quality wise and have less issues due to tenants that look after it/care for it and report any issues promptly and dont play silly games.. Yes, its pure business.. A landlord that ignores the maintenance is only causing themselves issues!


Where we are (near Bristol) a 3 bed semi is £900 - £950 pcm for a nice one... £800+ for a not so nice one.
Nice ones get snapped up quickly, not so nice ones takes a lot more time to fill.
 
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samcat said:
Recently replaced a kitchen cupboard door after a sink leak. Leak was no fault of Tenant, so why should they have to put up with a warped/rubbish looking (but perfectly functional) door on the (otherwise) nice kitchen?
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This is like what usually happens in most cases, leak gets fixed but any residual damage due to the leak doesn't because it's still serviceable and the landlord can't see a reason as to why spend money he doesn't have to. Even though he wouldn't put up with a knackered door in his own home.
 
My landlord had the house redecorated top to bottom before I moved in, other than the carpets and kitchen units. He also replaced some drain pipes and worn fascia boards.
It looked fine when I viewed it between tenancies, looked even better when I moved in. Consequently, I keep it nice, have the carpets cleaned every few months, touch up any small marks on the walls etc.
 
mattyg said:
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-73903280.html

There you go pay a bit more for for your terraced house and get a nice one..

Or pay less and get a less nice one

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-65726992.html
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Yep there are 100s of the less nice one in my town, all owned by dodgy landlords.

But don't be fooled by the nice one, it might appear to have just been built in the photos complete with the plot number sign attached, but it was built 6 years ago with however many sets of tenants since.
 
LeeUK said:
Yep there are 100s of the less nice one in my town, all owned by dodgy landlords.

But don't be fooled by the nice one, it might appear to have just been built in the photos complete with the plot number sign attached, but it was built 6 years ago with however many sets of tenants since.
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Thats my point exactly.. If you want bottom dollar prices expect bottom dollar houses....If you want a better quality house then your going to have to pay for it....That doesn't mean spending £2k a week on a stately home as that will also get you bottom dollar housing as that is still cheap.

If you want a decent house with a decent LL then you have to pay more....
 
That's the key point really. If you want nice shiny things and want your carpets changed every 2 years then you generally need to pay that premium.
 
Thought I’d give a little update for anyone who cares. After viewing a good few dozen houses at this point we finally stumbled across a really nice private landlord. The first house we saw of his was very well decorated priced surpsingly low but then he isn’t paying an agent nice garden etc Semi detached with garage. We loved it. Unfortunately the people who viewed before us took it whilst we were still looking around. We were the second viewing.

Luckily tho and we already new this going to the viewing. He had a bigger, nicer detached house also which was more towards to the top end of our budget. We are viewing on Tuesday but expressed to him how gutted we are we lost the first and knowing the second would nicer. He offered to cancel all other viewing for the second property and just leave it to us to decided which I have a suspicion it will be a yes. Too much space for us but it’s not like I couldn’t make use of it.

Also he owns he’s own joinery company which makes me happy knowing he personally has done most things in his houses and has plenty of experience to be doing so.
 
Paid all our fees this morning for our house next month, super excited about it. Its only renting but previously i've only rented student properties or a flat. Excited to have a proper 3 bed detached with a garden. Best part is a private landlord and the best value for money property we have seen by a mile! As long as all the checks go through fine which they should in a months time we shall be furniture shopping :D
 
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