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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

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

999 replies

Nursejackie1 · 25/05/2019 08:54

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 posts:
Thread gallery
19
Whosorrynow · 26/05/2019 16:55

If rich people stopped buying multiple properties as investments to rent out, then they would be much more affordable for everyone to buy as HOMES
this^
the problem is that wealthy people with money to invest and/or access to cheap credit are elbowing would be owner occupiers out of the way, pushing up prices so that the bottom rung of the ladder is out of reach of ordinary working people

working people are forced to divert their wages into the pension plan of the landlord when they should be able to invest in their own futures using their own property as a store of value

Whosorrynow · 26/05/2019 17:01

when you shrink the rental sector there is a corresponding increase in the owner occupier sector

ie same amount of housing but those units no longer in the rental sector become available for people who want to buy a home for themselves (as opposed to an vehicle for channeling money out of the pockets of people who work for a living and into the pockets of rentiers)

ThunderR0ad78 · 26/05/2019 17:03

I'm a landlord and actually had the rooms painted as chosen by the tenant! We are not all money hungry people!

Gin96 · 26/05/2019 17:07

Before 2008the UK wasn’t like this, we had difficult times but with hard work you could always improve your circumstances. Now wages are going down and house prices have gone up to unaffordable level for the normal average working family, it is so sad. Governments, labour and conservatives could have done something about it but they chose not to, I worry about the future 😞

Foxmuffin · 26/05/2019 17:23

@HelenaDove
What crap. Do you think owner occupiers are immune to shoddy cowboys and getting ripped off?
Are all the little old ladies getting conned renting? Is that a prerequisite of being conned?

winniestone37 · 26/05/2019 17:24

You are not unreasonable at all, the rich essentially controlling the poor, in Sweden I believe all rentals are controlled by the state? Might be another Scandinavian country but I know it exists and the edic draconian rules landlords have here are replaced by something more flexible and reasonable and guess what it works. Nice to see all the landlords on mumsnet feeling threatened by this post.

Baileysmum220118 · 26/05/2019 17:26

Nursejackie1
I am a landlord. I rent my house because I couldn’t sell it. I live in a house that I rent. Ultimately if you want to paint your kids Rooms so long as you paint them back the right colour (magnolia) before you move out I can’t see any landlord having an issue with that. Its easier to rent property where the colour scheme is neutral and that is why most landlords don’t like random Lloyd schemes but ultimately as long as the colours are back to what they were before you moved out I can’t see that being an issue. I would also point out that the rent I get on my house doesn’t come close to covering the mortgage so I pay for someone else to live in my house, albeit that it my choice. You cannot assume the financial situation of your landlord.

Thisisnotreallymyname · 26/05/2019 17:28

I’m a Landlord, one house.
Our tenant has been in the house 13 yrs.
I have never minded how she decorated it, she has a dog, fine by me.
She treats the house with respect, as far as I’m concerned as long as she pays her rent, keeps it clean, she can do what she likes.
It’s a 2 way relationship.
We are fair, she respects the house,.
Not all landlords are money grabbing !

Baileysmum220118 · 26/05/2019 17:28
  • random colour schemes
HippyMama90 · 26/05/2019 17:33

Have you tried speaking to the landlord?, ours is happy for us to paint as we like but when we leave the house must be put back to plain white like it was when we moved in!. As far as pets go I can understand why a landlord wouldn't want one in their property, they can destroy gardens and stink up carpets and after all it's their garden and their carpets that'll be ruined.

We are living in a cheap area, not ideally where we'd like to be because the houses are cheaper and this means we can afford to save for a mortgage. Maybe you could think of doing the same.

amispeakingenglish · 26/05/2019 17:34

The housing situation in this country is the fault of government and poor legislation and the inflated house prices caused by various reasons. You have to go back many years to the selling off of social housing and there not being replacement homes built. There are many houses bought, often by rich foreign investors, left empty to increase in value. Let's hope brexit brings a property crash and hopefully many now renting will be able to buy. I had a property that was supposed to be my pension, then problem tenants made it impossible for me to cope with when I had my children and I sold it. They didn't pay, and left it in a total mess. Now I have no pension at all.

Oliversmumsarmy · 26/05/2019 17:35

People need homes. If some landlords sell the ones they own, the homes themselves don't vanish

A lot of places are not owned by individual landlords. They are owned by companies, pension funds and overseas companies.

How will that work.

I think a lot of landlords will just open limited companies.

amispeakingenglish · 26/05/2019 17:35

I feel for you though, none of mine can afford to buy where we live. They all moved back after uni.

HelenaDove · 26/05/2019 17:36

What crap. Do you think owner occupiers are immune to shoddy cowboys and getting ripped off?

Of course not. It happens to owner occupiers too. And thats appalling. The difference though is that owner occupiers arent forced to have the same dodgy contractors in AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN when they have already cocked up previously. Ive posted many examples on this site. This happens to tenants all the time with empty promises of "itll be different this time" And when that doesnt work ..........threats..

Or are you seriously telling me that you would choose the same contractor again if he nearly blew your place up / stole something from your home/ told you to fuck off/ all examples ive dealt with.

Because unless you would employ the same contractors again if they had behaved like that in your home it aint the same!

What you get is CHOICE Tenants dont.

i cant believe ive had to explain this YET AGAIN on this site for the hard of thinking. Including several times SINCE Grenfell. Very telling. There is a very sinister undercurrent here.

Zoejj77 · 26/05/2019 17:38

I took on a property where the rules are strict so I can’t complain and I stick to the rules. I am also a landlord to a property but the letting agent there seems to let them get away with all sorts that I don’t like (pets painting in colours I would prefer they don’t) and then I foot the bill after.

Whatevermission · 26/05/2019 17:38

You do realise that a lot of the housing stock that is classified as council housing is actually privately owned and the council lease it from the owner for a number of years and pay rent to the private LL

Yes Oliver's I know how it works NOW that most of the council houses have been sold off. But, I am old enough to remember when there was significant council housing stock

dorisdog · 26/05/2019 17:39

Join a renters union. There's definitely one in London. The dire situation in social and council housing means people are forced to rent privately, which is a nightmare for lots of people. But yeah, I agree, if someone was paying off an investment for me, like a mortgage, I'd let them have quite a lot of freedom with the house, I hope! I've actually had some great landlords that have been very relaxed, but a few people I know have been very unlucky.

HelenaDove · 26/05/2019 17:40

See Chalcots Wates Group are about to begin major works there.

AFTER fucking up the one in Manchester.

icanbewhatiwant · 26/05/2019 17:40

I haven’t read all replies. I own a property that I rent out. I have told tenants they can paint if they want as long as it’s fairly neutral colours that can easily be painted over. One tenant painted a really bright green, another quite a dark brown. But I didn’t say anything. I’m pleased they want to keep it smart.
They also have 3 cats. We have to put the deposit in with company, we can’t keep it. That company requires an inventory. Pictures are taken of every room and the rooms are meant to be returned to how they were. I have no control over that. So fixings should not be added. Or removed and holds fixed when they leave. If it’s as in photos when they leave the tenancy deposit scheme people return the deposit.

HelenaDove · 26/05/2019 17:41

And UNTIL things change there WILL be another Grenfell.

lauramaywharton · 26/05/2019 17:42

I rent and pay over the odds for a house already paid off I get angry with my landlord but I also think how lucky I am that a nice woman is letting me live in her house having to get all the hassle off my current agent fixing things and all sorts. As a renter I have the luxury of if my boiler brakes which it has three times I don't have to worry, it gets fixed next day and I'm not out of pocket. The painting and pet this is because maybe your landlord have had bad tenants before. some people ruin it for others, my house has scratch marks from someone else's dog on the doors I was lucky she let me have a dog as at first she said no but we sent a picture of her and told her I promise she won't be any hassle and she gave in. My property needs painting so she is also fine with that. My thing is if the landlord has spent a mint on decorating of course she ain't going to want you decorating over it getting paint on carpets ect. Unlike me I just got a house covered with flaky anti mould paint and thread bare carpet so she's like if it's an improvement do it. I also asked these questions before I rented my home. Like I said I got my house a mess so I could improve it myself with my own style and I think that's the best way.

TheAverageJuror · 26/05/2019 17:43

Just curious. If landlords start (they already did and there is quite a big drop in btl mortgages too) selling the houses how will the people who can't afoord deposit buy them?
Prices will not drop that much. So yeah. Houses won't just vanish, but there will be less rental stock and still unaffordable properties. Especially in cheap areas, the drop in selling price will be absolutely minimal. If someone in NW can't afford to save 3-4k deposit (60-80k house) and about 1.5-2k for fees and other cost, 400 won't make a difference. So it will be the same problem, but now with probably higher rents. Or am I missing something?

MrCHRIS999 · 26/05/2019 17:44

I will try and find a bit more information for you. I work with housing in the housing association sector which I know is not in the private sector but I'm sure you do have certain rights as to what you can do to a property as tennants. This also is changing all the time as private landlords become more regulated. It also depends on how reasonable your landlord is. It is a bit blunt for these people to say that it is not yours so you can't do anything, but I suspect that it's not entirely true as you pay a lot in rent and that is your home whilst all is ok and you are paying rent - and that gives you certain rights and things you can do. But further to that I will find out and get back to you. Or feel free to contact me about this subject.
I would consider an application to a housing association- even if you are not eligeable right now being on a waiting list for a "while" does make you go further up the list.

fedupwithcookingfromscratch · 26/05/2019 17:44

No, YANBU. You are a private tenant, not a second class citizen. I’ve been renting for years and do hang pictures, install dimmer switches, change colour schemes etc. The difference is that I have to organise all those things to be sorted out, (holes filed, walls repainted) when I leave. That’s the deal. I never understand why landlords refuse reasonable requests like this on the grounds that the tenant might not pay for the repairs when they leave. Landlords hold a hefty deposit so this stuff would be covered even if you did try to get out of it. I’m horrified at the entitled callousness if some posts on here along the lines of, it’s not yours, buy your own place if you want that kind of choice! I pay almost £2000 per month in rent. It’s not my property but it is my family home so I do whatever I need to do to make it feel good!

Sara107 · 26/05/2019 17:45

I think it’s different in other countries where long term renting is the norm and many people never buy. I remember reading that in Berlin many flats are rented out without a kitchen because it is assumed that the tenant will want to get their own choice fitted.