Landlord told us to take political poster down

[Thedriftofstars]

We live in a nice rented house. Been here for three years, no problems whatsoever. We both work full time, have two DC. Just your average family and have never caused any problems! We take most minor maintenance on ourselves as well. Have yearly inspections from the letting agents, however last week after the inspection the LA told me the LL wanted to come inspect the property for himself.
So when he came round, he explained he wasn't happy with the Labour Party poster we have displayed in our front room window. DH and myself are both active in our local Labour Party, and do a lot of leafleting, etc, so are known by the neighbours as the go to people for involvement with the party.
The landlord said he doesn't want his house being used to promote politics, particularly when it's not something he supports himself.
AIBU to think he has no right to tell us what we can and cannot display when we pay the rent? There is nothing in our tenancy agreement about it, and he is fine with us having photos, paintings and so on hanging on the walls, as well as letting us redecorate to our tastes!

So the LL would probably have to go through a very long court process and would need to pay costs with very little hope of success

Or he could just not renew the agreement,,.

Sounds like you will be looking for a new home soon

I'm completely with your landlord here op, especially as it's a Labour poster.

We have recently let a house and I would react in the same way as your landlord.

When you have your own home then you can have posters supporting any loony party you like!

When you have your own home then you can have posters supporting any loony party you like!

Just as OP can now. It doesn't matter whether you agree with the ll, you are wrong, same as them.

OP does have her own home.

It's not actually that easy for a private landlord to find tenants who pay in full regularly and treat a house as their own and don't cause irresponsible damage. If there's any way I can get my "good" tenants on an assured shorthold tenancy agreement to renew regularly (with no increase in rent), then I'll happily let them put up posters of people or causes I dislike!

I am a landlady and would be perfectly happy with a Labour poster, not enthusiastic about a Conservative one but would not complain, but if someone stuck up a BNP poster or similar I would have words regardless of what the tenancy agreement says.

OP does have her own home

Of course she does, but she doesn’t own it, as such this always will put her at risk when renewal comes up if she is in disagreement with the landlord, this is the issue. Howver she’s fine with moving, so it’s in this context a non issue.

It’s standard in tenancy agreements

I would certainly be telling my tenants to take down a UKIP poster so I would really to be fair have to tell them to take down a poster of a party I agree with

Or he could just not renew the agreement,,.

Doesn't necessarily mean no lengthy court process would be needed, though. The fact that an agreement isn't renewed doesn't mean people automatically leave! I'm not suggesting OP should stay there until there's a court order, but LL cannot rule out the possibility of that happening.

And Susannah if you feel as you do, the onus is on you to make sure the contract reflects that. If it doesn't, you'll have no more legs to stand on than OPs LL does!

It's possible the LL has received a complaint from a neighbour. Otherwise, why did the LL make a special request to view the property himself after already paying the LA to do the yearly inspection?

"DH and myself are both active in our local Labour Party, and do a lot of leafleting, etc, so are known by the neighbours as the go to people for involvement with the party. "

This might be the crux.

It's not actually that easy for a private landlord to find tenants who pay in full regularly and treat a house as their own and don't cause irresponsible damage

I think this depends on where you are and your property. On the properties I rented out literally I had a waiting list and they were never empty, I was picking the tenants I wanted and refusing to renew would not even have been a minor inconvenience as an agent managed them.

However I did live in and rent two properties and both the landlords struggled with getting other tenants. So it really is dependant on location and property. For some it’s easy for others it’s not.

This might be the crux

I suspect this, either someone has complained, he’s got wind of the activities or he’s seen the poster and taken exception and decided to go in himself. Some folks, like the op, have very strong politics. The landlord could be one of them.

Bluntness, maybe I'm using the wrong managing agents, then!

It's not actually that easy for a private landlord to find tenants who pay in full regularly and treat a house as their own and don't cause irresponsible damage
Agree with bluntness. It all depends on supply and demand. The property I own is very high in demand. Pure luck, it's in an area that has grown in popularity, but mainly where three bed houses in nice neighborhoods are hard to come by as most are home owners, so when one comes up for rental, they are very popular. As such, we were able to pick the family we wanted and went for one with no pets, only one child, both professionals in secure jobs, excellent references and as expected, they have been perfect tenants, very respectful of the house, treating it as they would if they owned it.

OP, your home, your choice.

As you say, until he issues it in writing then there's nothing he can do.

If you don't mind about pissing him off, leave it up!

I bloody would

@SusannahL so you think ownership of a home is the prerequisite for being allowed free speech in a democracy? Wow.

SleepFreeZone
Thing is you are potentially inviting problems to the house by displaying a political leaning so publically. Let's swap Labour for a Britain First or even Conservative poster. That could be inflammatory and I suspect your Landlord would rather not risk it.

I agree with this. If a brick came through your window with a tory leaflet around it, would you expect your LL to claim on his insurance -
increasing his premium or losing any NCD - for the window to be fixed?

I'm a LL, I'd be fine with it. However, if it was Ukip, Tory, BNP any far right party like that I wouldn't.

If I were you OP I'd either take the poster down or find somewhere else to live. If I was planning to find somewhere else to live, I'd kick up a stink about the poster and refuse to take it down first.

No it is not the OPs home, It is the OPs house and the tenants home.

Don't take it down because the landlord has asked, although check carefully through your agreement, if there's anything about upsetting neighbours as well, think carefully if you havethe sort of people living in your street that might complain.

But I'm not really sure why you think it's a good idea to have a poster up all year round. It's not about swaying anyone to vote Labour as there's no election on. So it's more about feeling the need to tell the world what your political opinions are. Why do you think your political opinions are so important to street?

Its pretty symptomatic of the UK approach to renting.

It's pretty disgusting really.

In countries on the continent, it's your home when you sign the contract and pay your rent. You could put shelves on the ceiling and have a donkey in the living room if you wanted, as long as the house was returned exactly as you got it when you move out.

I think its really sad that you can live for years with your family in a house you're indirectly paying the mortgage for, but can't put up a fucking poster.

The saddest thing of all I find is the no pets rule in British rentals. What fucking right should a landlord have to dictate whether you have a cat or not, as long as the house is returned in perfect condition at the end?

Its absolutely disgusting and is a big reason why people are obsessed with home ownership.

And OP if the lease is not renewed and you have been good tenants, I would not leave until a court tells you to.

He probably thinks you're reducing the house price. Try a Tory party poster and see what he does - should give you an idea of whether he objects to politics or your politics!