If you live in a rental, does it feel like your home, or just a house you live in?

[Mushroomwithaview]

We rent because we can't afford to buy.

I do like the house we live in, and we have all our own furniture and pictures. But it's not my home. It's someone else's house that I'm living in. Also, it's a bit scruffy. The kitchen needs a lick of paint. The wiring is a bit crap. We have to ask for every little thing, and we're not allowed to just get on and do it ourselves.

We have a 12-month contract. At any time the landlord might decide to sell / to move in himself. We lived in our last place for 5 years and then the LL decided to sell and we had 8 weeks notice to move out. It's like I protect myself from the crushing disappointment of having to move again, by not getting too attached.

Wondered if others feel the same?

I think I need to change my mindset.

I rent with a HA and it definitely feels like our home.

Aim is to buy one day when the children start school, m but right now with a baby and a toddler this was our best option. It's a brand new built, beautifully done and we're the first ever tenants.

I also like that if we where to ever be made redundant etc then our rent is covered thankfully. So that makes me feel safe at this point in our lives.

I was forced into private rent for 20 years and it was always very definitely a house not a home. Even “decent” landlords are fundamentally exploiting you, and will always turn in the end. No way was I paying for maintenance work on the place and they never do.

The private rents i’ve lived in didnt feel like they were my homes even though i decorated and added nice furnishings. Last place i had to complain and complain about the mould and damp and in end i was issued a section 21 saying was in our best interests to leave as owner couldn’t afford the work! They own numerous properties and always had my rent on time. I got lucky though in i had managed to save a deposit so now have my own house and whilst it needs doing up it feels like home as i know it’s mine. Also amazing to know can hopefully one day leave it to my children.

I've private rented for 40 years.

Currently in a freezing house with no boiler (4th day) as landlord knew ancient system was knackered before renting it out but didn't want to replace as wasn't going to benefit from it.

I thought our last landlords had emigrated, so spent 4 years buying nice furniture and doing the garden etc. it did feel like my home. Then they gave us 8 weeks to get out, just as we had registered my SEN son in the local secondary. Due to the housing crisis we are now in a different borough and we have to commute to school. I fucking hate renting.

I'm sorry @AceofPentacles . That's shitty.

I now have been fortunate enough to buy but rented before this and absolutely I know what you mean. So much that needed doing at the old place, boiler donkeys years old, whole place needed a good update and decorating etc. and never felt like "home" and not worth doing any of the work in terms of effort and spending money on it. Admittedly either way whether I had gone on to rent or buy I knew it wouldn't be forever so potentially if I had seen myself there longer term maybe I would have been more inclined to but as you say there is the uncertainty hanging over you of being given notice for somewhere you have been for years.