To think that if you private rent your life should not be dictated to by the landlord whose mortgage you are paying

[Nursejackie1]

So many of us are stuck in private renting with no choice paying over the odds, while landlords are making a mint. Most landlords have all these rules that you can’t decorate without permission, can’t even put a wall hanging up without asking. Often can’t or need permission to have pets, have regular inspections. I pay loads for my home and due to that cannot save a deposit. My kids have never had their bedrooms decorated in the way I would like.. having to stick with plain magnolia. Why should somebody else decide whether my kids get to grow up with a family pet or not? AIBU to think that if you are paying somebodies mortgage for them then while you are in that house you should be able to treat it as your own within reason and not have your life dictated to and controlled by them?

Op when l say l have allowed decorating, l mean that l have agreed certain reasonable colours etc, then many have done exactly what they want against what was agreed..hence the black ceiling....

I have also rented twice and l just accepted the restrictions, until l was in a property l owned.

MYTHOLOGIES it is a shame you feel subhuman, l certainly do not feel that way about my tenants, l meet them before they move in and see them as l would anybody else...
Two of my previous tenants have become good friends.

The are good and bad LL and good and bad tenants.

Did you ask him though? when I was renting, ghe same was stated on the tenancy agreement but we’ve even re-tiled the kitchen .My land lady was happy how long it was an improvement and not otherwise. The landlords making a mint is total rubish, they pay loads of taxes and insurance and majority they have it as an investment for when they retire.

Yes landlords do price people out of the housing market and shut them out of buying. FFS. I've already explained this, they artificially drive up demand on a restricted supply. The same number of people still have to live in the same number of houses - but suddenly instead of being nicely distributed, we have separate owners and non-owners, and the non-owners are caught in the trap. It's all very well coming out with all the usual excuses of not everyone wants to buy because of risk, but the risk is substantially higher because of private landlords. How many tenants or previous tenants have to tell you that we would really prefer to buy before you listen? The benefits of house ownership are obvious to all of us - otherwise why exactly are you in that game?? You're not doing it out of the goodness of your hearts, don't add insult to injury by taking the piss.

Why shouldn't people make money out of housing? It's a question of balance. Housing is one of the necessities of life, in a society like Britain possibly more so than the others: having an address is not just a physical need it is a requirement before you can have a job and partake of society generally. You eat out of what's left after the rent is paid. Some people are making too much money, and it is directly at somebody else's expense. What the tenant gets out of it is exactly the same thing that the tenant would get out of buying, far more easily with far more security.

Simple, it’s not your house it’s theirs and they can do what they like. Pets can cause damage to properties which the landlord will have to pay for when you move out. I have seen cats scratch walls, dogs chew furniture and rabbits making holes in lawns. If you don’t want to live by their rules then buy your own bloody house.

Simple, it’s not your house it’s theirs and they can do what they like.

When your tenant is spending a significant amounts of money to live there, this kind of attitude is beyond shitty.

Yes, VoiceOfCommonSense, "let them eat cake!" Smug and self righteous opinion, lacking understanding of people's varied situations and choices. Get a grip.

As if the OP will read yout post and say "hey, VoiceOfCommonSense has a point there...why don't I buy my own house? Should have thought of that...what a numpty I am..."

Buy your own bloody house

Lol, we can all stop posting now, we've hit peak fuckery.

You're either spiteful or wilfully ignorant. Neither of those is a good look.

A fairly high proportion of my past tenants can hardly be bothered to hoover let alone actually decorate.

I've been a landlord over 15 years now and I'm afraid to say a lot of tenants don't really look after the properties unless you check up on them.

I've had:

• a water leak left unreported for 6 months so £££ of damage was caused.
• a very old dog secretly moved in which literally caused the whole place to stink of dog wee - even after a deal clean and carpet shampoo.
• gardens left to look like the Amazon jungle. I now have a gardener come and keep the garden tidy which I pay for from the rent. No tenant of mine has ever looked after the garden even though that always say they will.

Tenants can also obviously leave with quite short notice. That's why neutral colours are essential. A coat of magnolia over an existing magnolia wall is a much easier and quicker freshen up than painting over a bright colour. I also wouldn't trust a tenant to do a decent quality job of painting to be honest. When it comes down to it a rental property is a business asset for the landlord and needs to be kept in a marketable state.

I know it must be restrictive for those that do look after where they live but inspections and no decorating, pets, smoking etc rules are imposed by the majority of landlords for a very good reason.

Yes thank you for that voiceofcommonsense I will just go down the estate agents and buy one. Simple. Problem solved... and all this time I have been throwing money down the drain renting when it’s that easy!

YANBU & I'm a landlord. The house I rent out is a family home & I belive kids should have pets & wallpaper with tractors on it. My tenants are good & have been in situ a long time, I like to keep it that way, so whatever they want to do is fine by me (within reason).

Fleet - we continue to live here because I have 2 autistic sons (no neighbours to hear the meltdowns plus ability to go outside without having to deal with social anxiety).

Trees I do agree with you about the power imbalance but my comment was more about the attitude that people have towards each other. Many people end up renting who would never have expected to,perhaps because of a relationship breakdown or a change in financial circumstances.

I just found it quite depressing that some pps see renters as people who have somehow failed at life. I know this is slightly off topic but it seemed symptomatic of the divide that appears to be increasing in the UK where people seem to incapable of understanding that not everyone is the same.

Anyway, as I said, it is slightly off topic, but this jumped out at me as I was reading the thread.

This thread demonstrates how disastrous a lack of social housing is,

Some private renters dislike the fact that LL are running a business and can not accomodate the emotional issues of a home.

LL are inevitably putting their business security as top priority.

The two simply don't mix well. Running a BTL is not a charity.

@LaurieMarlow I'm with you. I would be really really upset if my tenant didn't feel the property was his home and felt unwelcome. What's the point of finding good tenants if they then want to leave because you treat them like crap. There's almost always a way to compromise.

YANBU. For the amount of money landlords get they can surely fork out for a pot of paint when you move out if needed. In fact they should be doing that anyway.

As for a pp complaining about tenants not taking care of the garden - did you provide them with the tools to do so? After all, as we've been repeatedly told on this thread, it's your garden so why should they have to buy lawnmower, fork, spade, shears, hedge trimmer etc and possibly have to leave them behind/sell them at a loss when you give them six months notice and the next home they find has no use/space for such items, just to keep up maintenance on something they categorically do not own?

YABU. If you want to hang a mirror, paint the walls or have a pet buy your own home or move. You are feeling sorry for yourself and are clearly jelous of your landlord's lifestyle. You decided to have children and live in an area with good schools. You cant blame your landlord for the fact you now cant afford to buy. Also, cats cost on average 17k over their lifetime-a good amount for a house deposit. Maybe if you prioritised differently you wouldnt be in the situation you find yourself in. It is your responsibility.

FWIW, I rent and am saving to buy. I dont touch the walls or have a pet because it isn't my property. When I can afford my own home I will decorate as I please. I'm not annoyed at my landlord about this, it's his house and I agreed to the terms before I moved in. You sound like a petulant child OP.

Yes. Every time I want to hang a mirror I buy a house. Anything else is bent fucking entitlement of the highest order.

You sound like a petulant child OP

No, she really doesn't. I won't say what your smug self satisfied post makes you sound like, because I'd get banned.

@NotSuchASmugMarriedNow1

You have to provide a government how to rent guide to each tenant on commencement of the tenancy. That goes some way to give tenants guidance on rent.

@DarkAtEndOfTunnel

Whilst I don’t disagree that’s theres many who privately rent that would prefer to buy, that’s not to say renting doesn’t still have its place.
Ie those that move for work, don’t want to stay in an area permanently and want the flexibility, those between houses they own, those with poor credit who can’t get a mortgage, those trying living with their new partner out. I’m sure there’s other examples but it’s not fair to say everyone would prefer to be an owner occupier at any given time.

This differs from another business transaction because of the emotion people attach to their home. Rightly or wrongly. But essentially it is a business transaction and that’s just it. Landlords aren’t solely responsible for the state of the economy or housing market. It’s the culture and decisions of policy makers over a great number of years that have lead to the way things are now.

I think chickenshit is bang on actually. I spent five years failing to get to any appointments I'd arranged because I wasn't so entitled as to think I could tack a calendar to the wall of a rented house. You just put up with it! I certainly didn't moan about it!

There does seem to be an attitude around that people who own property somehow have had them fall into their lap. I made many sacrifices to afford a property including not having children, a car, or going out for coffee, or even going for a drink, and not having holidays until I did. Some people aren't willing to make those sacrifices and that is their choice, but they should stop complaining. And it isn't landlords fault either, it's a business like any other.

Some people aren't willing to make those sacrifices and that is their choice

And some people are not able. They have no choice.

I'm a landlord and one set of tenants badgered my husband into letting them do extensive changes, even moving a radiator. They promised to rectify everything when they moved out. They did a very bodged amateurish job. I feel you should only insist on changes if you can guarantee you can return things to their original condition. ie leave the house as you found it.

@LaurieMarlow why not?

Some people aren't willing to make those sacrifices and that is their choice

And some people did, and they bought a house, and then their husband left or they lost their job or they became disabled or their business folded and they lost everything . Not too difficult to imagine is it?