To offer a Landlord's perspective

[RoseWay]

There's been a lot of bashing of Landlords on here of late, land-owning class etc. I thought I'd share some experiences to offer an insight into why many are so paranoid about their property.

Background: we rented a family house out whilst we worked elsewhere near jobs.

Tennant 1: 6 months until first check, hadn't used heating all winter (we know for sure from bills no gas used) to save £ and had dried clothes inside. Worse damp across the property I've ever seen, left with 2 months rent unpaid, advised not worth pursuing due to chance of getting money back as gone abroad.

No. 2: Man, partner was his carer as he couldn't walk. Constantly sabotaged property (e.g. disconnecting waste water pipe, unscrewing bits in the boiler, removing floorboards) then calling environmental health. Seemed to be linked to trying to get council house but never really understood why. Maybe another reason. Intially thought problems were genuine until plumbers etc started poiting out deliberate damage. Turned out to be working as a roofer of all things and left shortly after causing a lot of damage to ours, including removing entire outhouse roof (???) Left owing rent, not reclaimed.

no. 3: we nearly lost lease due to action from neighbours due to noise.left owing rent.

no. 4: didn't clean in entire tennacy. Kitchen in particular so sticky shoes stuck to the floor. carpets ruined. junk in cellar/ outhouse about 4 skips worth.

All left withoutpaying rent worth more than the deposit plus an average damage of £500-£1000 (when fixing ourselves, not using anyone if possible)

Now we're moving back, out of pocket due to all the repairs etc. and to a very very poor condition house which was once lovely.

Not all tennans are like this, but I'm trying to share that not all landlords are greedy scum either. It's a horrible thing to rent your own home out and know all the risks, even if you try to be a wonderful landlord.

Maybe, trills.

I do think the shock and horror at tenants refusing inspections is a little over the top. Most of the time, it's very simple, you just reply politely to say no, they reply politely to arrange another time, and you go about your business. Or, you reply to say you're concerned about x, y and z, and they try to work out what to do instead.

There seems to be an assumption that tenants refusing an inspection is some kind of act of war, which must inevitably lead to a dramatic response from the agent or the LL.

That seems kinda ridiculous given they're only saying what's legally allowed.

I think LL should bin agencies more and they should run the use of the flat.

I also think that you can inspect the property and if you feel a tenant isn't cleaning up themselves, I could bring in cleaning crew and deduct it off their deposit every time.

The trouble is that they do have a right to live "hassle free" (and there are a LOT of nasty, dirty people out there).

But I also think that LL's tend to have an idea of what they are renting out. I think there should be a "probationary period" (but I'm sure that would be taken for granted as well but LLs who suddenly decide they could get more money from people and boot them out).

The trouble here is that no one is 100% trustworthy. There should be a website - a trust scheme. Where you can go on and look for properties and LL that have been "endorsed" by previous tenants and previous LL. No agents allowed. That's actually a good idea.

And I don't think it solves the OP's problem, which sounds like in at least once case, someone who was a criminal vandalising the property deliberately.

kick - I think that is a great idea. It's often suggested. It would be really good.

MissMavis - I'm not having a go at you, but your thread brought out a number of people who seemed to not understand why regular inspections (of things that mater, not of how nicely you wash your windows) are important.

You sometimes can, MissM. Two of my old LL asked me if they could put me in touch with prospective tenants. One was absolutely lovely so it really pleased me to be able to do that.

Who on earth are you renting out to? Do you get references from work, past landlords, check bank statements etc.?

YANBU for wanting to give your opinion, YABU if you think that many posters don't realise there are bad tenants out there.

That is lovely LRD :)

I guess I don't understand why it's "soul destroying". It's never bothered me and I'm the first to admit I'm not the best housekeeper.

She was great. She even took the trouble to get in touch when my wanker ex told her that even though I'd paid in the deposit cheque, she could pay it back to his name, please.

It was before deposit protection came in IIRC, so she was really going beyond the call IMO. Nice woman.

In my experience, there are more bad letting agents then there are bad landlords.

Well my landlords are like you, not wealthy people they just have another small house that they bought to try and make money. They take the liberty of deciding what is reasonable and what is not. Everything I ask them to do (eg remove large bulky furniture) is totally ignored. The house is freezing in winter, FREEZING, so when I'm boiling rice or pasta I don't open the windows. I'm aware that the steam isn't great for the walls but my heating bills are stratospheric as it is.. I've told them that the shower is only luke warm in winter (it's ok in summer). I told them this ages ago and nobody has come to fix it yet.

The problem with landlords like this is that they're only to happy to collect the £1000 a month (eg) but very very reluctant to acknowledge the fact that the home may not be insulated well, have proper ventilation etc........

I wash all the windows without being told. I have blinds in all our rooms on the windows and I wash every single effing little strip to get the dust off them.

I clean the tops where no one sees. I wash the fridge (owned by the flat) twice a month and the same with the oven.

Strange though - anything the landlord has to do (such as fix the dishwasher or the washing machine or the cistern), he makes excuses for it and doesn't bother.

References from past landlords aren't worth the paper they're written on. I'm a landlord, and if there was a bad tenant who wanted to move on, I'd give them a glowing reference to get shot of them.

(Well, not glowing, but wouldn't mention anything bad)

References from work aren't helpful either, loads of people can be great at work and have a home from hell. Rich people skip out on rent too, so bank statements are unhelpful (although you can at least see if they're spending most of it at ladbrokes I suppose)

It's utterly pot luck basically, you can have a fist full of glowing references and a smartly dressed tenant, and they will still trash your house. I have a tenant who is covered in tattoos, looks like a bare knuckle boxer and on housing benefit, and he's the best tenant I've ever had. Sparkly clean house he has and he's charming. I bet if you put him up next to a guy in a suit most landlords would pick the suit to rent to, but there is no guarantees or ways of judging until they're in.

clytaemnestra, so true. I had problems getting a place because I'm a single parent. I'm a single parent because my x was a shit. My x wears a suit though.

@missmavis, I'm always shouting at my kids, "hands off the walls!", "put the lids back on those markers", "mind you don't spill that". It's just constant. I sometimes feel that I'm always always nagging at them to protect the shabby interior of a house that the landlords will probably HAVE to do up when I leave. I should relax.

@ missmavisbluehair, omg. that is awful.

@FartyMcTarty, you say "the property wasn't ruined but it took us days to get it ready"..... I think you're being extremely naive thinking that you wouldn't have to spend a few days working getting the property ready. Owning a property and renting it out IS going to be 'some' work. This is the problem really. Landlords are happy to collect the rent every month but they want the tenants to do ALL the work?!

This house wasnt' that clean when I moved IN to it. But I know the landlords will expect ME to get it ready for their next tenants! And they'll quibble over the deposit, even though I'll have spent DAYS working on getting their property in to a better state then it was when I moved in.