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?

I'm a landlord charging below market rent to my lovely tenant. I make no profit at all (an actual loss) at the moment due to the mortgage repayment, annual service charge, repairs and maintenance, tax payable on gross rental income, to name a few. It's a worry. I absolutely take exception to your statement OP, that landlords are making a mint. If my tenant asks me, I have no objection to any reasonable request. That's the way it works.

I agree with the PP that we make choices in our lives that dictate our future. Whether we work hard in education, get good grades, have none,1,2,3 children, prioritise holidays or not, work 2 or more jobs....the list goes on. I have been a tenant myself for a good 7 years. I found ways to save, lived in awful areas as they were cheaper, knew I could change it around one day. I'm sick of landlords being blamed.

"Look to the chain of events that led you down your life’s route. "

This would include: the introduction of Assured Shorthold tenancies which made the private letting market much more attractive to mortgage lenders, and therefore contributed to the increase in house prices; the growth of inheritance in some sectors of society, which has enabled people to buy second homes to let out, either with mortgages or outright; the delay in introducing tax changes to make btl slightly less attractive. Various others, also outside op's control.

Owner occupation in the under 40s has fallen quite radically (sorry not sure how old op is) so op is not unusual to be in this position.

problem is that some tenants may promise they will redo decoration & take care but can leave behind so much to redo that it will cost far more than the deposit. Most rents cost less (believe it or not!) than a full mortgage & you don't have to pay for house insurance, servicing of boiler & ongoing repair & lots of "minor" repairs that as an owner you would - there are bad landlords who don't -stupidly, I have always thought, because upkeeping a property makes sense for a ll as well as the tenant, I know - but you have factor that in. Perhaps the LL has had bad experiences & LL can easily change his mortgage or his insurance as people sometimes think. Soft furnishing can make a property yours & whether you would choose magnolia you have to admit you can work with it as it is neutral - In social housing you can come in with no floor covering at all!

Of course YANBU. The UK rental market is skewed far too far in favour of the landlords. And the person who said that renting is by definition temporary clearly has no idea of what sensible countries do in terms of guaranteeing tenants security. People are entitled to stable housing, whether they can afford to buy or not. Children should be able to have their bedrooms decorated and have a pet.

Apologies I haven't Rtft but as a landlord we are always open to allowing pets and redecorating as long as Tennant paperwork to say they reinstate property to original condition upon leaving.

If we have had a tenant in for a couple years who then moves on we wouodnt ask them to reinstate paintwork as after a couple years we wpiod be repainting ourselves anyway so it seems cheap to make them do it for us just for the sake of it (although Noone has ever painted in daft bold colours).

One of our tenants has done a lot to their home, bold wallpapers, lots of colour etc but they see themselves there for a lonb time so we are more than happy for them to make their home their own.

In fact they have asked my husband to do a few random home improvements that he's been happy to do as they are great tenants and we want them to be happy in their home.

You need a better landlord OP (I know it's easier said than done)!

Sorry you are being unreasonable here.

It's not landlords faults that you can't buy. High rents are set by area and probably housing costs. Of a house costs a lot to buy then they will charge a premium to rent (especially if they have to cover their mortgage) of course not all landlords have a mortgage to pay or if they do it could be smaller if they have had the property a long time but the market rate will still set the price and it's reasonable they charge similar to others in the area.

You are renting from them and they are perfectly entitled to limit what you can do that will affect the fixtures and fittings do yes pets and decorating and putting holes in walls affect these things.

Not all landlords are as strict though, I have family that rent and they are allowed to decorate as they see fit so maybe you need to be looking for a home and a land loaded who meets your expectations rather than complaining about one who doesn't?

The thing is, many people who own a home can't afford to decorate how they want - we have been in this house two and a half years and our kids rooms have not been decorated - I don't feel they are any worse off for having magnolia walls still!

Some people on here are so blind to the realities of life. I do not have to explain to anybody how I have not been in a position to save for a mortgage but I can tell you that I have worked more than full time hours since I finished school, worked 3 jobs while at uni and earn a decent wage. However to all you lucky people who have no grasp of reality sometimes things out of your control happen, sometimes people just choose to rent. However, renting a home however you look at it while you are paying your rent you should be able to feel at home. I am talking within reason.

our places look good, and a tenant painting them = making them look worse generally.

Interest rates are currently very low and we do make some money on the properties; not long ago they were much higher and we made a loss each month - and that didnt take into account periods of tenants trashing places and not paying rent (it would have been cheaper to have left our place empty for a year than rent to the last tenant)

I'm a landlord and I definitely dont 'make a mint '. Properties are expensive to buy and maintain as you know and then other things that come along with it. Having said that I do allow pets. Can you find other properties you might like and explain to their owners that youd like to be able to decorate etc?

Also it's the government's fault for selling off all the social housing. If there were plenty of council houses to rent, then private landlords wouldn't be able to charge so much.

This is also true. A good stock of social housing keeps the local rental market in a place that helps tenants.

Where I am there's been a lot of new housing association flats built (old empty ones pulled down and rebuilt). Putting around 100 (I'm guessing just looking at them) social housing flats on the market over the last couple of years knocked the very bottom of the private rental market out - the scummy landlords who charge a fortune for damp, dangerous flats that people only rented through desperation.

@soonerthanithought well said

I am assuming you were happy with the terms of the rental when you took it on OP? Or you would be living elsewhere.

If you want to decorate with other colours offer to give your landlord the costs of redecoration first, I expect he/she will be happy with that.

NotSuchASmugMarriedNow1 ok, but suppose you can’t get on the ladder until you’re past child bearing age - does that mean you shouldn’t have kids in your 20s/30s even if you have an income to support them but don’t have the savings for a deposit? Even if the timing, cash flow, age etc is right but you don’t own a property, you shouldn’t do it?

I absolutely agree that you should be in a secure financial space before you have kids, but not everyone can afford a deposit even if they’re in a decent job. I don’t like the idea of dictating who should and shouldn’t have kids based on their income and asset ownership.

.....If the tenant decorates the house better than it already is then what is the problem?? ''Look at the chain of events that led you down your lifes routes'' OMG this makes me so angry! Maybe if they didnt teach crap in school about bunsen burners and if x = 7 what does triangle equal and taught budgeting and finances etc then people would have had more guidance. If you are at college and meet your partner and have had zero guidance from school or family members on the best route or choice to take how the hell are people meant to know at such a young age?? Are you supposed to be born with a gene to know to save for a deposit! It really fucks me off this whole renting system! Yes better choices could have been made before you set out to live your life but how are you supposed to know the best route in life if you don't ever get taught on how to plan your life for the best!!

I do think landlords should have to be registered like they are in Scotland. That instantly removes a number of people who simply shouldn't be involved from the market.

@saffy have a look on rightmove etc. It’s very hard to find a private rent that does not have a contract saying you must ask permission for every little thing. If there were lots of contracts out there that would allow this I obviously would have gone for one. But there arent. So no choice.

I can understand that it’s frustrating that you can’t decorate your children’s rooms, but your taste might be black walls (or something equally ridiculous and difficult to get rid of). Why should the landlord have to deal with a botched decorating job and have to redecorate? It’s his or her house not yours.

The no pets rule I can totally agree with, cats and dogs stink! When we were viewing houses to buy we could tell which houses had a pet from just walking through the front door. We actually ended up buying a house that had 3 dogs (I regretted this decision for months!), we had to rip up every single carpet and wooden floor to get rid of the smell, it took about 6 months for the smell to go. It was disgusting. Why should someone risk having their house trashed by a dog or cat?

As annoying as it is having such rules imposed it is someone else’s property. I understand how difficult it is to save and get onto the property ladder, we actually moved back in with our parent’s after we finished uni to save and avoid paying someone else’s mortgage. If we hadn’t done that we’d have been stuck renting too. You have my sympathy not being able to buy your own home to do as you please with.

Of course YANBU. The UK rental market is skewed far too far in favour of the landlords.

This. I think it's inherently immoral for people to profit from others' homes. People should be allowed to rent out no more than 1 house for profit in my opinion. Any further houses owned, e.g. due to blended families, should just cover costs, so that the house is an asset, but no on-going profiteering is possible.

I think society should be the main provider of rented homes.

I used to rent and when I wanted to paint a room, I asked the landlord, despite the lease saying I couldn't. Landlord said yes, thereby varying the restriction in the lease, and I paid for the paint and painted it.

Have you actually asked the landlord if you can paint / hang pictures? A reasonable landlord would say yes, provided you pay for the paint and make good any holes in walls from pictures at the end of the tenancy.

You are not paying more than a mortgage would be at current prices. Otherwise you would buy somewhere. Landlord will have invested their money in the property and will pay tax on the return. Blame the government not the landlords. The reality is that the way buy to lets are now taxed many will exit the market and rents will go up. That won't help you buy as you still won't have a deposit. Consortiums will buy the properties and then we will all be fucked.

I wish the situation in the UK was a bit more like in Germany/Austria. Rental properties are let out for a much longer period of time (obviously disadvantages of that - if you need to move for whatever reason you have to get someone else to take on the rest of the contract). The rental property is considered to be your own home and you can decorate as you choose, hang pictures on the walls, have pets etc. You should return the property in the condition you found it in - deposits are higher though.
Some rental properties have no kitchen so you have to get one installed or buy the kitchen from the previous tenants.
Obviously there are some disadvantages but the idea that it is your own home while you are renting it is correct and should happen in the UK. The longer tenancies mean you can't be asked to move on as quickly as in the UK, if the landlord decides to sell or wants the property back etc. A greater percentage of people rent in Germany and there isn't that awful attitude shown by some people on this thread that if you can't afford to buy a property you are somehow some kind of failure. Many people have absolutely no chance of affording their own home for all kinds of reasons which are not their own fault.

I do think people who buy to rent are lucky to be in that position
It’s not luck. It’s because they decide to take risks and have probably made money by making good business decisions or even making personal sacrifices. It doesn’t always take a millionaire to build up a property portfolio.

You consider it a problem that you can’t choose any house because of your cat. You consider it a problem you can’t paint your children’s bedroom. Other people would see those as sacrifices in order to live the way you live.

You want to decorate, buy a house.

I understand where you're coming from OP, but also do see the landlord's POV. My auntie has rented all her life and repainted some bedrooms even though was in the contract not to (said she'd paint over it when she leaves). The landlord actually prefers the colour and said to keep it how it is. Obviously this is an exception but I do think some landlords should be more lenient.

I rent and we have minimum storage space and could really do with some shelves, but not allowed to put them up. Mirrors we brought with us all sit on the floor, which I hate as I have a young child. Same with units that should be attached to the wall to stop them toppling on children... I know lots of other people who do it anyway and then fill in the holes which I'm considering for the large heavy things.

Nurse jackie, yes of course tenants should be able to feel at home. No one is disagreeing with that! Most good landlords are very keen for that to happen. Don't tar us all with the same brush please.

I think it’s reasonable to expect the tenants to be able to live reasonably without having to ask permission for every little thing.

Define "reasonable" in a way that applies to the renter who likes black painted walls and ceilings; plus the one who likes the minimalist look and wants to rip up all carpets; plus the one who collects exotic animals etc.

Your reasonable is not everybody's reasonable. Hence why there is a general rule of "landlord decides".