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?

Essentialhummus you sound reasonable. My problem is looking for a new place and 80% of the properties I like I can’t even consider due to having a cat. The house I have been in over that last few years I have not been able to decorate the kids bedroom. I do think people who buy to rent are lucky to be in that position and those who have to pay alot of money to be there usually paying more than a mortgage should within reason be able to live without asking for every little thing. We should be able to feel at home in the rented house for what we pay, as long as the house is well looked after. I am not talking making huge changes obviously just being able to live a normal life!

I rent privately and my landlord is lovely.
We have decorated and redone garden etc (asked first) and I will just repaint it back to magnolia when I leave.

I do see your point though tbf but there isn't a lot u can do about it.

Bluntness100 what's with the humphy wee face? Of course the rise in btl is reason for soaring house prices! You're not stupid.

You're technically borrowing someone else's property though. If you borrowed a dress you'd take care of it and wash it before giving it back, you wouldn't return it ripped and covered in make up, you have to be respectful.

I know where you're coming from though, I rent and it can be a nightmare finding somewhere that accepts kids and a cat!

They are minor issues your real anger is because you can’t afford to buy your own property. Look to the chain of events that led you down your life’s route. See if you can change something, in reality you may not be able to but your frustrations are directed incorrectly.

OP, to repeat what others have asked - what do you want and to do in your property and have your asked the landlord if you can do it?

Or is this just a general rant about private renting?

YABU OP. Your Landlord is not the reason you don't own property yourself. It's an odd mindset to say that renting is restricting and/or controlling your life!

Your landlord isn't the reason you can't afford to buy

Exactly.

I have friends that moan it's all the landlords fault. Nothing to do with choices they made of course

Yanbu to want to decorate to your taste. YABVU to use the language of devisive hate about all Landlords. If you feel such a burning injustice in housing and so resentful, do something political about it.

We own properties which we rent out. We’ve no issues about tenant decorating but it has to be returned to the original state when they leave. I would withhold their deposit until it was done and it would have to be to a professional standard.

I understand you OP, and all these comments that it’s not the ll’s fault you’re not in the position to buy are very cruel. Buy to rent inflated house prices stupidly. I have family members who bought multiple houses when it was easy to and are living a perfect little life with no worries as all the houses are paid off and rented out now. When it came to me, every year the house prices increased and rent has increased and it’s impossible to save for a deposit. After 10 years we’re finally in a position to start saving but it’s going to be a tough slog with both of us having 2 jobs to do it. I’m not even sure how much the house prices will increase again in our area so will it be all worth it?

You have my sympathies OP, maybe ask you LL if you can make some changes?

Also there are rules for housing in every circumstances. I’m a homeowner and I can’t just whack a massive extension on the back - it needs planning permission, which I can apply for. They might say yes, they might say no. It is the same with renting, you can ask to have a pet, they might agree. They might not

“Whacking a massive extension” on the back of your house is slightly different to having to ask permission to keep a pet hamster or hang a painting.

@Nursejackie1 I am a landlord and the house that I rent out is actually my home. We had to move abroad due to unforeseen circumstances...and I rent where I am now. Not all landlords have a hoard of properties! 🙄

YABU.

I am a huge proponent of tenants having more rights and security but, on the flip side, with those rights come responsibilities. You are leasing something of someone else’s and you have a responsibility to look after it as they would wish. Of course, a tenent could have a clause that says they can do whatever they want to a property, decoratively speaking, as long as it was put back to its original state before moving out, but in reality a lot wouldn’t bother and owners would be left to pick up the bill.

And it’s not necessarily the landlords’ fault that your rent is high - I’ve see mortgage companies that demand that rent charged is 145% of the mortgage.

It’s a shame you haven’t found a land lord you can’t discuss painting to your scheme op.

But it’s not landlords fault you can’t buy. 60% of the population rent- higher in Europe so I think it’s more you’ve not found the right landlord.

At the end of the day it’s their property- it works both ways- you could up stocks a go if you’re on a rolling contract.

*sticks

Your landlord isn't the reason you can't afford to buy

Oh yes it fucking is.

I'm a landlord with currently two houses let on short leasehold tenancies, one to a family with children. They've been renting a long time with me but they can give me a month's notice at any time and I can give them two months. That's the way of the law here.
We've had a discussion about pets and they now have a rabbit (didn't need to ask me about that one).
We've had a discussion about changing the garden and we have reached a compromise we are all happy with.
We've had a discussion about decoration and it looks lovely.
They text me when things go wrong - depending who has the right contacts, they or me arrange for it to be fixed and they or me pay for it, always in agreement.
I don't put rent up as I would rather keep my lovely tenants. My rents are slightly below market rate for the area.
I have a shed load of responsibilities that I comply with to the best of my ability (e.g. gas checks, smoke alarm stuff, legionnaires checks, repairs, insurance) plus when I take on new tenants I have a load of legal stuff to faff with (including right to rent, ability to rent, contracts, cleaning, safety, electrical checks).
When I bought the properties they were on open market. One had been empty for a long time so I got it at a good price.
I respect the properties as my tenants' homes.
They respect it as my investment. Seems to work - communication is most definitely the key.
I deal with my tenants directly as I don't like or trust agents. I think that is most often where relationships fall down.

Badly drawnperson lol how ridiculous I have not expressed any hatred towards anybody. Talk about drama. I am simply saying that I am caught in a private rent trap as many are, a huge contributor to this is the buy to let issue in this country and I am saying that if this is the situation I am in at least it would be reasonable to be able to live without asking permission to live a normal life! Normally people can decorate their kids rooms. Can have a family pet. Can hang A mirror on the wall. Of course I look after the house. Of course I would put things back as they were before leaving the house. I am not talking about extensions or installing anything outrageous. Just living normally without asking permission for the smallest things!

Re children’s rooms, OP. When DS was born, we lived in a rental propoerty, and I did feel a little sad that we couldn’t decorate his nursery as I’d have liked to. But then I found these removable wallstickers on amazon - there are loads of different themes and designs and they peel off painted walls without leaving a mark. We put up zoo themed stickers in his nursery, then when we moved to a second rented property, reused the same ones, then once we bought our current house when he was one, we put them up in his new bedroom rather than painting!

This poster is just wrong. The law states that such permissions may not be unreasonably witheld. All you need to do is email your landlord and ask. Incidentally you cannot legally up the deposit if it is already at the equivalent of 5 weeks rent. Please people do get your facts correct.

Bibbity, you made me laugh there "humphy wee face"

Basically because I believe people need to take some personal responsibility. In many instances life style choices, from the job people train to do, the pets people chose to have, to even when they chose to have kids,is what dictates whether they can buy or not.

Blaming it on landlords and taking no personal responsibility for any of your own lifestyle choices isn't right. Nor is the huge sense of entitlement the op is demonstrating.

Of course she's not doing the landlord a favour. She's paying for a service. She's no more doing them a favour than she is when she buys an item from a retail outlet,or pays for her utilities.

I agree OP, i hope to buy a house some day and nothing will be magnolia in it.

Most landlords will let you decorate provided you return it to how you found it. If you can’t afford to do that then you lose your deposit. The landlord doesn’t owe you anything for free.