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.

if you buy an indesit dishwasher, you can't expect it to last more than a year

If I bought any dishwasher I would expect it to last far more than a year. You should be blaming crappy manufacturers (or previous tenants abusing it), not the landlord.

I will give a perspective of bad Landlords for you if you like.

LL1: Rented a small bedsit to myself while in college, £380.00 PM (bear in mind 18 years ago) the bedsit was one room split in two by plasterboard, but hey ho.

After a week there was a flood upstairs which meant water leaked into the electrics and fused them, the LL took three warnings and 4 months to fix, so for that time only had one working plug socket and no lights... the LL used to come around and look under the door to make sure no-one had candles on because of the fire risk. When I left he refused to give me the deposit back saying I had caused water damage, he also did this to the other 13 people living there. So at the age of 17 I lost a total of £800.00

LL2: Room share in a three bedroomed house, three girls, the LL insisted on a full months deposit of the whole rent each on the day we were supposed to be moving in... The previous tenant had animals and the whole place stuck of cat piss and was covered in cat hair, two weeks after moving in the LL insisted on an inspection which happened when only one of us was in the house and this consisted of also inspecting clothes and holding up someones knickers out of a washing basket and calling them a 'dirty little girl'. He tried to insist on having the right of entry into the property whenever he liked. When the term was over we had found somewhere else to rent, he only gave back half of the deposit citing damage to the kitchen (already present when rented, no backs to the cupboards) but we didn't have the wherewithal to have documented this on the inventory.

I could tell you more, like the mice, invasions of privacy, refusal to return deposit on tiny things, dishonesty about selling house and then seeing it up for rent for £100.00 a month more.

It works both ways, and whilst bad tenants are common, so are landlords

He is responsible for it, yes. And he should sort it out.

But if you'd bought a dishwasher of any brand and it broke after a year, wouldn't you complain?

You are acting as if it's his fault that the dishwasher broke because he should have known that a cheap one would only last a year, which is bonkers. Appliances should last more like 5-10 years, even cheap ones.

If you are renting or a landlord I recommend using an ARLA registered agent. ARLA agents have passed exams in tenancy law and will insist on the landlord meeting certain requirements. Our agent was very good at knowing what to do when faced with a bad tenant.

I am a landlord, we have a fablous tenant who has lived in our flat for more than five years. I think that a lot of landlords under estimate the cost of maintaince of a property.

We set aside 10% of the rent a year to pay for up keep of the property. Each year we set a budget and ask the tenant what she wants done. It gives our tenant some sense of ownership and means that we don't have to do work during a void period. Our lovely tenant allowed us to put in a new boiler and a brand new kitchen while she was in situ. We gave her quite a lot of say in the kitchen design and she got to choose the vinyl for the flooring. She thinks we are really nice landlords, but financially its in our interest to be "nice".

Tight landlords who won't pay for repairs actually hurt themselves financially as they end up with void periods. Frankly they deserve to lose money.

However I have also been a tenant and had experience of bad landlord. I had one nightmare landlord who used to post bible quotes through my door and would let himself into the flat without knocking yet alone giving notice. He also tried to keep all my desposit in the days when there was no requirement to keep desposits in a secure account.

A landlord can affect the health and happiness of their tenant more than the worse tenant can affect the health and happiness of a landlord. We only had one set of hideous tenants. We had major damage as social services had to break the door down to take their three year old into care. Even then it was only money to put right the damage.

MissMavishasbluehair,

I don't think its a good idea to buy expensive stuff for a rental property.

The answer is to buy cheap stuff with an extended warrenty. Why should appliances in a rental property get heavier usage than an owned property? We put in a cheap dishwasher three years ago and had no problems because we have a good tenant.

Over time you get to know your tenant and you know if they are going to treat the property like shit or not.

As a landlord, I'm frequently about some tenant's rather disposable attitude to fixtures, fittings and furniture.

Expecting a dishwasher to last less than a year? What planet is that on then? (one of the three and a half we collectively need to keep this up, apparently...) A dishwasher, even a cheap one, should reasonably last at least five. I've had stuff last me fifteen years in my own house- not fancy Bosch stuff, just bog-standard middle of the range things. But you do have to clean them occasionally, and check the filters aren't blocked. Some tenants seem to think that they don't need to bother with basic maintenance of things they use on a regular basis.

"If you are renting or a landlord I recommend using an ARLA registered agent. ARLA agents have passed exams in tenancy law and will insist on the landlord meeting certain requirements."

I do wish it was a requirement that all LL's had to be ARLA registered, there are definitely some LL's who should never be allowed to rent out property

I agree with empusa
only registered landlords who are tax registered should be able to rent out imo.
when we rented we were always going via an agency for extra security. (I know it doesn't always work out that way, but at least you know that the place is properly insured and that you can complain to different bodies should you need to)

I'm glad I read this thread. Was considering going back to private letting from a HA property. No chance now!

I am currently renting out my DMs house by an ARLA registered agent to help pay for her care home fees. First tenants were angels, a few bits needed doing here and there, but basically everything pottered along nicely. When they moved, we now have the tenant from hell (Agents words!) She constantly calls the agents to say something is wrong and that if it is not fixed within a couple of days she will withhold rent. I am constantly sending out trades to 'sort' out problems. Half of the problems created by her, which the agent fights my case for tenant paying and not me.
Does she not realise that if she were more reasonable that her tenancy would be extended? The agent has also said that when she goes, if they are asked for a reference, it would only be a factual one and that most landlords would read between the lines and know!
As far as checking goes - the agent asks the multiple trades on their books to check the general condition each time they go round. So effectively, the tenant has constantly asked for the property to be assessed. Officially, the tenant is checked once a year, when the lease is renewed. I do not think that once is over zealous

One of the biggest problems with renting, is the amount of people who just cannot understand that a landlord is not entitled to come in whenever they like!

I don't have any particular problem with pre-arranged inspections, but I do have a problem with "but I own this house [confused look]" wandering in and out.

Yes, it is your property. But I am paying you money for the exclusive use of it for 6 months!

I had to explain the concept of betterment to our arla registered agent when we left a rental property so I'm not convinced that arla membership shows anything.

Roseway, I haven't read all this thread however it would appear your screening (or something) is terribly flawed.

I have been an accidental landlord for about 15 years and up till 5 years ago found all tenants myself. Now I'm not living close by and I've appointed an agency.

I've never had any problems. Really! Maybe I'm just careful about who I let my old flat to and perhaps because I'm a decent landlord (ie don't increase rent, leave them alone, replace anything that breaks etc). You must be doing something very wrong.

OP, do you use an agent? Because (a) if you do, perhaps you need to find a different one, and (b) if you don't, maybe you should consider it . . .?

...somehow be the tenant's fault for not cleaning it properly.

And therein lies the problem.

Sorry, are you saying that if a tenant doesn't ever clean/air a washing machine, so that it fills with black mould and slime from residual detergent, that that is not their fault that the washing machine doesn't get their clothes clean (real example: last tenancy which lasted two years)??

Or if a tenant doesn't ever hoover a (brand new) carpet, it's not their fault that it is fit only for the skip at the end of their tenancy (real example: last tenancy which lasted two years)?

Or if a tenant doesn't descale a shower head, that it's not their fault that the shower doesn't work properly (real example: last tenancy again)?