To think that if a landlord evicts you ie makes you homeless to sell you shouldn't get stiffed for cleaning charges by the agent when you move out?

[Bleddry]

Clean your own house if you want to sell it you tightwad.

I’ve had to move from a private rented place with my family as the landlord wanted it for her son. I was able to get an alternative place. It was annoying but it was a private rental and I was well aware of the deal.

Op is really being over dramatic. She claims to have been homeless and in the next breath she is complaining about having two homes for a fortnight. She doesn’t think she should pay rent despite being a renter as the landlord must have paid their mortgage a while ago (spectacularly missing the point of renting). She thinks she shouldn’t clean up after herself as that’s just getting the place ready to sell which she won’t benefit from.

When you are renting you are paying for the use of the property over the period of the lease. If the landlord wants to sell, the tenant does get adequate notice, it’s not great when it’s your home but not exactly unexpected for private renting. And the landlord is entirely entitled to sell if they see fit.

Ofc if the place is clean enough, the landlord shouldn’t be taking anything out the deposit. But there’s a whole load of self pitying nonsense on this thread. You’re not homeless because you are moving from one place to another!

@WalkofShame your dad made the mistake of being TOO nice. It goes without saying in your situ it was the tenant who was bang out of order.

No, the reason people cannot rent an affordable property is down to 40 years of government ignoring the houssing issues in this country. That is not the fault of private landlords

Partly yes.
Allowing people to buy their council homes was a big mistake.
Allowing land to be bought and used to build mortgaged homes (that no one can afford due to banks refusing mortgages) instead of council housing is another.

But private landlords are far from blameless!

There is no rent cap so landlords can charge literally whatever they see fit.
The landlord retains the right to boot out the tenant whenever they fancy.
What about all the revenge evictions because the tenants DARED request something like a faulty boiler or mould be fixed?
What about the rented homes that are a safety hazard because they have been done in the cheap?

I accept some tenants are awful and the landlord should definitely be able to get them out quickly but private landlords have to accept some responsibility also here.

It’s not right to ruin people’s lives when they haven’t put a foot wrong because you selfishly fancy more money and think it’s okay because it’s your property
It’s not right at all.

Haven't RTFT but the fact that a prospective tenant can pay upwards of £1,500 just to move in to a rented property, then however many more fees they lump you with throughout the duration of the tenancy for then to serve a section 21 notice just because they want to sell up then yes they should clean their own fucking house. Bastards.

But this won't ever happen OP, unfortunately.

Some landlords are crap. But so are some tenants. DH and I have several properties. I have returned the full deposit to tenants who have looked after the property, including a couple who spilt and wanted to leave their tenancy early (I let them leave and didn’t enforce the tenancy to get the last few months rent, i could have) I also don’t mind tenants having pets and don’t ask for a higher deposit for them.

But when a tenant left the property absolutely filthy, I’m talking black marks on
all the walls, holes in ceilings where they had moved furniture, broken pipes underneath the sink, broken blinds, new carpets needed and the entire house re painted before you could reasonably expect someone else to live there I did withhold the deposit and that didn’t cover my costs. Said tenant was only there for 12 months and the house has completely refurbed before they moved in. That tenant said we as LL’s were totally unreasonable and vigorously defended themselves!

Our other tenants are just lovely. We have a great relationship with them. Pisses me off when people say all LL’a are greedy bustards. We seldom profit from our properties as they’re mortgagee and we do maintain them. Our rentals are in a better state that our home because experience teaches us tenants expect more. They want nice, smart homes. We make do. I’m not moaning that we don’t make a profit but short term we have a hell of a lot of capital tied up and no income. Im not wiping my arse with £20 notes and we both still work FT. If we need to sell a property to get our own money back who’s business is that but our own?

I’m sorry if OP’s landlord is an arse. Raise a dispute with the tenancy deposit scheme. They are pretty fair: let them be the judge.

It's just made me question the whole situation tbh. Why should I have broken my arse cleaning someone else's house that they're selling to another person and making me homeless in the process.

Because it was YOUR shit. HTH.

Although you may feel annoyed with the landlord for evicting you, it's not personal

It certainly feels like it, when you have been paying your rent on time and they want to raise the rent by more than 10% (or whatever it might be) 2 months notice, and then they are renting the property you lived in for god knows how long for at £800 for £1500

The whole thing needs looking at, people keep going on about its not about private landlords, but looking at private renting I was informed I would need to prove I had 3 times the monthly rent, I got told no benefits.

The renting market is very quickly starting to become nothing more than a rich persons field, especially in the world of universal credit

Landlords run a business, they're not a charity or social housing. Why are people so outraged that their priority is money?

Why would you expect to get something out of the sale?

I'm sorry for your predicament though. When do you need to be out by, and will it be straightforward enough to find another place where you are?

Selling council properties was not and is not wrong. What’s wrong is buy to let.

I strongly believe landlords should have to operate under licence, should be subject to stricter regulation (essentially as if they were in the public sector) and that - aside from rentals - a basic limit on property ownership should be brought in.

All in all, property should not be used speculatively for any period. Houses and flats are for living in; sale and purchase should generally only be for the purpose of an alternative to live in.

If a non-professional developer wants to do up a wreck and sell it for a profit, fine. If that person wants to rent it out they should become a properly (i.e. highly) regulated landlord. One necessary rule would be that a year’s statutory notice of sale should apply.

I’m all for freedom to do what you like with your money, but not in the business of operating rented property. It’s a scandal.

At least 2 posters have complained that landlords “can charge as much as they like” and “more than the property is worth”. Perhaps a basic education in economics is in order here - landlords can only charge as much as tenants are willing/able to pay, as otherwise the property sits empty. It’s impossible to charge more than a property is worth because if you find someone to pay your price then that price is what it is worth.

OP your bleating about homelessness is offensive to people who really are homeless. Try taking your sob story under the arches at Waterloo and see if they shed a tear for you.

Landlords run a business, they're not a charity or social housing. Why are people so outraged that their priority is money?

For me, it’s two things.

First of all, there is no charity/social housing, well, there is, but demand so massively outnumbers supply there is practically none.
So if people can’t get the bank to give them a mortgage the private landlord is their only hope of a safe, warm home.

Secondly, it is the distinct lack of care and compassion for your fellow man (or woman)

I have no problem really with people profiting from property but I do think that it is reasonable and ‘right’ to consider the person paying you, consider that they will have work and families nearby and the potential catastrophic impact eviction can have on them and avoid it if they are ‘good’ tenants.
Consider that most renters are not in as good a financial position as most landlords and bear this in mind when calculating rent.
Most rents are WAY above what a mortgage would be and there is nothing to stop a landlord charging more and more with every renewal.
Consider that everyone wants and should be able to live in a decent, safe property with good working heating systems, no mould, good plumbing etc.
Don’t deliberately do up your properties on the cheap and ‘fix’ problems on the cheap or worse, carry out revenge eviction when tenants quite rightly expect things to be in good working order

People shouldn’t be viewed as money and I think that is exactly how most landlords view them.
Not as living breathing individuals but as money.

landlords can only charge as much as tenants are willing/able to pay, as otherwise the property sits empty. It’s impossible to charge more than a property is worth because if you find someone to pay your price then that price is what it is worth

Not really, you end up with a situation where people in average jobs who have worked hard all their lives in their area are suddenly forced to leave and go to more deprived areas where prices are low, poverty rates are higher, higher rates of unemployment and ill health and they can all rot together while the rich get to enjoy the nice areas...

I see it a lot in my area, people having to move because they simply can’t afford the ridiculous rents anymore despite working their arse off all their lives.
Some lovely houses were built near me recently.
It just so happens my BIL is friends with the estate agent.
They were almost all bought by rich businessman to be used once or twice a year, probably less, for a night or so to host so empty virtually all year.

Rich/poor divide again.

I am with you op and so are a lot of people,known as Priced out and Generation Rent.Millions In this country have to rent because house prices are so high,partial because of all the landlords that have bought in the last twenty odd years.
But there is starting to be a push back.
Tax relief on mortgages has been cut to level the playing field between home owners and landlords.
Tenant fees are going to be banned.
Landlords who would have got tax credits ie working tax credit,will be unable to claim anything when it goes over to Universal Credit.
This will all have been done to partially appease tenants.
If house prices drop and more people are able to afford to buy,then the situation should improve.
But if the situation does not improve for tenants then there will be more call on the government to step in by either further taxes on landlords,rent controls,longer guaranteed tenancies.

Of course housing in this country needs reform. But that will require significant government intervention and a massive shake up of public policy and spending.

Expecting individual landlords to personally shoulder the burden in the meantime out of the goodness of their hearts is wholly unrealistic and unfair.

The fact that we have to have food banks in this country is outrageous. But that doesn't mean it's fair for me to insist my local Waitrose charges less that the market will bear for their products to allow me to buy food there.

We have no idea what has prompted OP's landlord to sell. Maybe the property is his pension, maybe it's to cover care home fees etc. Assuming he's a grasping Scrooge seems a bit of a leap.

Ruin people’s lives? Selfishly fancy more money?

Which bit of ‘it’s their property’ do you not understand? That’s a fact of life when you rent privately, guaranteed lifetime tenancies in private renting are not a thing. They might need the money for any number of reasons - retirement, funding dc education, emigrating, financial difficuties - and even if they want to put the lot on black in Vegas and spin that wheel, again, it’s their money.

I know it sucks living with the insecurity of renting but when you sign on the tenancy agreement dotted line with a private ll you know what the deal is.

@PCohle completely agree!

Which bit of ‘it’s their property’ do you not understand?

I understand perfectly, but just because something is lawful right now doesn’t necessarily make it right.
The UK is way behind, on a number of things but housing for sure compared to other countries.

My brother had a BTL and has just sold it. He had to sell it because he broke his back and will be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life and needs the money, along with the sale of the house he lives in, to buy a new house suitable for his disability. But if he were your landlord you’d no doubt just presume he was a greedy arse selling on a whim. You have no right to stand in judgment about what anyone chooses to do with their property.

I’ve been in this situation a few times. I was privately renting when the house prices were soaring so a few LL decided to sell the houses I rented. I lost deposit money each time on the cleaning issue despite cleaning it on leaving. It got to the point we did end up homeless because we simply couldn’t afford rent and deposit up front any more after so many moves and being low earners.

However it did turn out ok as because we were then homeless with young children we got offered a council property which we’ve lived in since for the last 15 years :).

As you hate landlords so much perhaps they should all sell up. There will be no rental properties available but no evil landlords. When you are really homeless you would really have something to cry about then.

I think that landlords get away with way too much. They are running a business and will need to pay for professional cleaning between tenants! Landlords seem to want 100% profit and absolute minimum outgoings. Yes, homes should be left in a clean condition by tenants leaving, but a professional,deep clean should be paid for by the landlord anyway for the next tenant. Or should landlords just have the outgoing tenant clean for the incoming one and have no responsibility for their own property that they are making a tidy profit on? Most landlords I encountered were CFs who'd let
out a property that was not particularly well cleaned before moving in, and then have absurdly high standards on the cleaning expected on moving out - any excuse to hold on to some of the deposit!

Landlords seem to want 100% profit and absolute minimum outgoings

But that’s every business out there from the hole-in-the-wall pop up craft shop to amazon. They’re all in it for maximum return for minimum output. Why is private housing rental the sole business model that is perceived to be morally obliged to benefit the customer at the expense of the business owner?

Surely the elephant in the room isn't the damn cleaning issue....the poor sod is being made homeless because the landlord now wishes to sell. It should be written into law that suitable alternative accommodation has to be found for tenants at the landlords own expense in this kind of scenario.

Exactly the reason why I 100% disagree with the whole private buy to let bullshit. Landlords want it every which way!!