To throw away the landlord's shit in the loft?

[MuttonWasAGoose]

We've just moved in to a nice house. The landlady mentioned that the loft was partly boarded out and that they'd left "a couple of boxes in the very back that we couldn't reach."

I just went to stow some things and pretty most of the boarded out space is full of their stuff. It's about a dozen or so cartons of crap. Mostly toys and holiday decorations.

None of this is on the inventory. I'd like to use that space for our empty suitcases, camping gear, etc. There's already a large shed full of their stuff that I grudgingly accept we can't use. But the loft situation annoys me.

DH feels it would be wrong to empty the loft. I have been in this situation before (previous landlord was much, much worse and I did throw everything away.) I just have no patience for this. I think it's infantile to be unable to take responsibility for your belongings. If they can't be bothered to move it, or even inventory it, then they clearly can't really care about it.

The first carton I looked in had what was clearly a well-loved child's teddy. Even I don't have the heart to toss that. But what about the other stuff?

remember this is MN and all landlords are as bad as the worst ones. There is no such thing as a decent landlord. The government believe the same, but their legislation doesn't deal with the bad landlords. Do you know that now if you don't have proof that you gave a tenant a copy of the EPC at the start of the tenancy, you can't evict them? How does that help anyone except the crooked tenants?

I always wonder why people move into a dump run by a crook, let alone stay for years when nothing gets done. And don't tell me there's nothing else and that all rental properties are shitholes. Keep paying crooks, they keep thieving. Same as the sellers of anti-wrinkle cream and diet pills.

if this kind of bile was spewed about any other group, MN HQ would intervene.

I always wonder why people move into a dump run by a crook

How do you possibly know if a landlord is crooked until after you've lived there? Agencies won't exactly tell you that and they're unlikely to be dressed in black and white stripes with a bag marked "swag"

It's actual not that easy to find family houses in areas with decent schools to rent. The competition is fierce. Landlords and agents know this. I put up with having to fix things myself, losing money off deposits etc because I wanted to live in an Ok area, with ok neighbours. You know, just like real people (people with mortgages).

why? because it's bloody difficult to find a place to rent that is the right price, in the right area at the right time when some twat of a landlord has given you notice to move and you need to keep your kids in catchment, stay near your friends, still have a garden/parking/enough bedrooms. and then they go and try and keep your deposit too, just when you need to magic up a deposit for a new place and removal fees out of thin air. You do tend to have to take the first place that ticks the important boxes as possible.

I rented for almost twenty years between leaving him and managing to buy a place recently. I had to move 12 times and only twice because i wanted to. Out of all this landlords five of the landlords were decent (did repairs, disn't try and keep deposit, didn't rent flats full of junk) . Just under half. Th plural of anecdote isn't data, but I'd say that was about right.

leaving home, not leaving him

We've been fairly lucky. But we always rent via established agencies and we try to find out about the owner.

I always wonder why people move into a dump run by a crook, let alone stay for years when nothing gets done. And don't tell me there's nothing else and that all rental properties are shitholes. Keep paying crooks, they keep thieving.

There's a massive shortage of rental properties, especially in London. I live in Zone 3, not a popular or particularly desirable area, and a 3-bed rental property will set you back around £1,700pcm. If you want three largish (as in not boxroom) bedrooms, or a garden, or parking, or be close to a decent school or station, or want somewhere that has been refurbed within the last few years, or has proper gas central heating and decent windows/insulation - add another hundred or so pounds.

If you look on Rightmove, it looks like there are loads of lovely places, but ring up the agents and you'll be told it's 'just gone.' It probably hasn't, they probably let it out months or even years ago but relisted it because it looks great and will get people calling up, who they can put on their books and then show the crap properties to. My last rental was beautiful and popped up on Rightmove a couple of times (I kept the email alerts on) but definitely wasn't up for let - when we called up posing as a potentially interested tenant we were obviously spun the 'it's just gone' line and offered other viewings. This was a reputable chain of agents as well.

Once you've found somewhere that ticks a couple of your boxes, you then need the available date to tally with the date you're moving out, else you'll either be paying out double rent and deposit, or you'll be homeless. So the perfect place might come up but it's either available right now or in three months' time, but you need somewhere in 4 weeks.

So you finally find something you like and manage to be the first one to offer market rent and everything tallies up date wise, you move in and guess what? The oven is on the blink and it takes three hours to cook a quiche, and the ignition switch on the hob doesn't light, and the back door doesn't lock, and the seal on the freezer is cracked so it frosts up really quickly, and the shower is basically a dribble, and the hot tap on the bath dispenses cold water, and the cold tap hot. (All of these have happened to me in my last two rentals). If it was your own home you'd fix everything in a couple of weeks/months, but as a tenant you seemingly have to pick your battles - so you decide which are the most important things to fix (oven and back door, in my case) and which you can maybe solve yourself without causing damage (freezer) and which you can probably live with (hob, taps and shower) so as not to vex your brand new landlord.

That's basically how and why.

I suspect that the crook landlords don't advertise that they are crooks, either, Mackeral.

I don't think they're usually crooks. They're usually just clueless.

Thank you for the support upthread.

I always wonder why people move into a dump run by a crook

There speaks someone who has never had a month to find somewhere to live that is available within four weeks, that is close enough to schools and work that all members of the household can get to where they need to be in under an hour each way and that can accommodate everyone in terms of bedroom and living space.

Also, one in three private rental properties are substandard. Chances are that if you're renting you'll end up in one of them at least once.

But yes, if tenants are living in dumps it's their own fault. Ffs.

The agency we msot recently rented with were excellent and no wonder they've got such a good reputation in our town. Being professional and ethical with tenants, landlords, buyers and vendors is good practice. Someone who rents with them today may be buying from them tomorrow and then selling after that. But, we're in a small town that doesn't have a lot of people coming and going. Get a bad reputation here and you're done for.

When we were looking a few years ago I viewed a property and strongly considered it. Then a girl in a cafe said to steer well clear as that agency charged all sorts of stupid fees, including for things like handing over the keys, checking the inventory, doing the annual inspections. So I dropped that property from my list of possibilities.

I have just RTFT and I think your ll is behaving unprofessionally. You are paying her for a service, and from your posts it seems that she is not acting like she is being paid to provide a service. I am glad the issue about the boxes is going to be resolved. It should not be your responsibility to dispose of the TV, you would get charged for it if it was the other way round. It would really piss me off to be told to dispose of the items in the garden boxes, again not your responsibility. And the shed really should be available to you, it is your home. I am really glad to see your windows can be opened, that would really bother me.

Some years ago, my grandmother had to move to a care home, and she owned her own home. My family and I considered whether it would be a good idea to rent out her home instead of selling it. But we all agreed that being an amateur landlord is not a good idea - bad for the tenants and bad for the landlord. So the house was sold instead. I wish other people would not assume that being a landlord is something you can do without going about it professionally and giving it proper commitment.

Bp I don't know what sort of a committment you need to make.
It's not rocket science to call out your plumber if there's a problem,

in fact my tenants have my plumber's number on hand in case they need him and I'm uncontactable.

Running a house remotely is no different to taking care of your own house surely.

One of my tenants is a bit naughty. Even though the property was very clean and comfortable when she moved in she will insist on improving it even though I've told her one day it will be old.

The last I heard was she had new interior doors fitted.

Apart from redecorating throughout, last year it was at least one new carpet in the lounge.

What do you do?

And sold even!

I am the op, having done a name change.

Nothing was ever done by the landlord regarding the stuff in the loft.

We're still here. They have never been to get anything from the loft or the shed.

We have a new need for storage space. I'm considering breaking into the shed.

Nusy throw a couple of the boxes away, ones without teddies or anything you've mentioned. She had a cheek to ask you to pay to store her stuff

Are you able to open the windows yet?

Yes she should clear the loft. It's not 1 or 2 boxes.

She sounds a nightmare. Looking at the thread, my initial view was that some of your first posts had a bit of an attitude, but if she's been piss taking like this for two years, it sounds like you were right!

Is there a written record of any of these objects? I don't just mean on the inventory, but also emails etc. Because if there isn't, they'd have no chance of retaining any of the deposit if you did chuck them. I lol'd at the post on the first page from the person saying they wouldn't let you keep it. Wouldn't be their decision to make!

Send a formal letter to the ll requesting they move their shit as you need the space. Give them a date by which they should respond. As a landlord, I would not leave lots of my stuff in a rented house. God knows what would happen to it.

Oooooh, I remember this thread.

You sound delightful!!