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Landlord won't let tenants decorate thread 2

105 replies

WhiteDust · 27/05/2019 23:24

So the thread has reached 1k. Hoping
NurseJackie
makes another one but if not, here's post 1001 from me in reply post 1K

Like I have already said...how many of you homeowners have lived next to a house of multiple occupancy where the residents are ex offenders.

1st,2nd,3rd 'home' : Rental properties. Studio flats in rough area of city. Druggies everywhere. 3years.

1st mortgaged house : Terrace. 2 up 2 down in very rough, poor area. Mattresses in back passage used as trampoline by local kids. Car broken into numerous times. Teens and druggies in same place hanging around at all hours. On edge of rough council estate. Damp and grim house. 5 years there.

2nd mortgaged house: 2 bed semi slightly further out. Quieter but still troubled area. Backed onto railway line used by people doing their stuff. Near high school. People always hanging around. 4 years there.

3rd mortgaged house: Nice house on quiet estate. Nice area. Mortgaged to max. Couldn't afford to decorate for 10+ years, too busy saving for/ paying for new roof & fixing damp/ electrics, kitchen/ bathroom. Decorated some of it after 10 years. Parts of house still need decorating 15 years after purchase. Can't afford to yet. Just paid for new boiler/ windows.

27 years OP of renting/ paying mortgage.
Our mortgage is up next year and I'm most likely the very person you look at and think has it easier than you. We haven't lived in luxury. Far from it. Like I said earlier. The colour of walls is the least of many home owners problems. It's taken YEARS to get this far.

OP posts:
WhiteDust · 27/05/2019 23:26

Other thread: To think that if you private rent your life should not be dictated to by the landlord whose mortg... http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/amiibeingunreasonable/3594722-To-think-that-if-you-private-rent-your-life-should-not-be-dictated-to-by-the-landlord-whose-mortgage-you-are-paying

OP posts:
HelenaDove · 27/05/2019 23:59

Maybe there should be an awards ceremony White Dust. You could definately be nominated for Home Owner of The Year.

Meanwhile the millions of rented homes covered in unsafe cladding...................id say the colour of their walls is the least of their worries too. Id also say though that the attitude towards tenants which Doreen Lawrence dubbed institutional indifference is what led to the denigration and dehumanization of tenants which led to landlords and contractors not caring.........corner cutting on workmanship and safety and then Grenfell. It didnt happen in isolation.

HelenaDove · 28/05/2019 00:05

HelenaDove Sat 30-Jun-18 02:24:44

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/jun/28/private-high-rise-towers-flammable-cladding-grenfell
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HelenaDove Sat 30-Jun-18 02:40:39

THIS DOCUMENT. Myatts Field North refurb.

www.geog.leeds.ac.uk/fileadmin/documents/research/pfisocialhousing/MFN_PFI_Refurb_Experiences_Report.pdf
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HelenaDove Fri 14-Jul-17 22:10:33

Residents were told to remove their pets, but no compensation was offered to cover the
costs involved.
 No consideration was given to residents who worked night shifts.
 Workers used electricity paid for by of residents, without offering compensation.
 Doors were left open and residents were able to wander in unchallenged by workers
who did not know them.
 Quality alterations that residents had already made to their homes were ripped out to
make way for inferior alternatives.
 Supposedly completed electrical rewiring was found to be substandard and occasionally
dangerous.
 Supposedly completed pipe works and its housing were found to be substandard.
 In some homes, odd sized radiators and kitchen unit doors had been fitted.
 Flooding in one home had been caused by an unsupervised apprentice.
 Households were left overnight without running water or a toilet.
 At least one resident was left without electricity for a whole weekend.
 Some workers were found to be abusive, bullying and inconsiderate, especially towards
elderly or otherwise vulnerable residents.
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HelenaDove Tue 12-Jun-18 18:10:02

HelenaDove Fri 21-Jul-17 16:39:36

peoplevspfi.org.uk/2017/07/21/myatts-field-north-regeneration-a-pfi-horror-show/
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HelenaDove Fri 21-Jul-17 19:50:21

www.theguardian.com/society/2017/jul/21/the-real-cost-of-regeneration-social-housing-private-developers-pfi?CMP=share_btn_fb
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HelenaDove Fri 21-Jul-17 19:52:14

"Hodkinson carried out a qualitative survey of 14 homes refurbished by Rydon that had been the subject of a huge number of complaints. Showers were fitted next to electric fans. A toilet was installed so close to a wall that you could only sit on it sideways. Some households went for days without electricity and weeks without cooking facilities. Cupboards were fitted with wrongly size doors. Tenants who complained reported that they were treated dismissively. One remembered the site supervisor saying to him, “It ain’t Chelsea, mate.” Regenter’s out-of-hours emergency line linked to the wrong database, so callout engineers weren’t available. The striking thing was how long problems could drag out: one family’s flat was flooded in January 2014, and repairs weren’t even scheduled till September. Two years later, their flat still hadn’t been fully repaired and redecorated. Even at the most straightforward level, the work wasn’t done to a decent standard.

When approached for comment, Rydon said that since the complaints were made, three years ago, attempts have been made to remedy the problems. They said the comments were not reflective of most of the residents, and that there was a good level of satisfaction among the residents now.

For tenants with more complicated requirements, the situation was worse. The Cifuentes family, one of whom used a wheelchair, was left without ramps, hoists or any means of escape in a fire, and without a lock on the front door. Repairs were so slow and haphazard that, at one point, the family had to move out for over a month, and the disabled member could only have his needs met by going into a respite unit – whereupon they were threatened with losing their carer’s allowance, their disability allowance and their car."

"it aint Chelsea mate" Basically the attitude shown on the previous thread.

WhiteDust · 28/05/2019 00:07

Maybe there should be an awards ceremony White Dust. You could definately be nominated for Home Owner of The Year.

The worst homeowner of the year. It's been a PITA.

Grendel is a different matter all together and scandalous in every way. The Government (and previous governments) have a lot to answer for.

The OP on the original thread was complaining about not being able to decorate to her taste and seemed angry that she was not afforded the same luxury as 'homeowners'./ couldn't afford to buy in a reasonable area.
My point: not all 'homeowners' can afford that luxury either.

OP posts:
HelenaDove · 28/05/2019 00:17

WhiteDust. The attitudes towards tenants is what leads to dehumanizing them. Hanging a few pictures up is normal behaviour This place has got some strange fuckers posting. OP gets it in the neck for wanting to put a few pics up yet spliff smokers get defended on here Seen that just last week.

Nearlythere1 · 28/05/2019 00:19

I'm sorry are we meant to feel sorry for you that poor you owns a home that you haven't been able to deck out in luxury? At the end of it you still own your property so stop trying to make out you're in an equal situation.

And no, Grenfell isn't an entirely different situation int he context of a generally shit attitude towards tenants as if they're second class citizens who don't deserve decent living accommodation despite paying through the teeth for it.

HelenaDove · 28/05/2019 00:24

i meant the OP of the other thread obviously.

WhiteDust · 28/05/2019 08:27

nearlythere The original OP's situation is not comparable to the situation of the victims of Grenfell and the awful conditions many others still live in around the country.

It's insulting to say it is.

OP posts:
Sparklesocks · 28/05/2019 08:30

Are we meant to feel sorry for you that you own? Sorry I don’t really understand the point of this thread or what its meant to prove. You’ve been on the ladder for many years? Ok..grand

Laiste · 28/05/2019 08:31

You're not listening WhiteDust.

Grenfell isn't an entirely different situation int he context of a generally shit attitude towards tenants as if they're second class citizens

In the context of. Not literally.

Laiste · 28/05/2019 08:32

Making money out of housing other people is not something anyone needs to be pitied for.

Laiste · 28/05/2019 08:33

Or applauded for.

NailsNeedDoing · 28/05/2019 08:37

Grenfell is completely different. It was an outrageous situation that still ongoing, but you're talking about people in social housing not even having basic safety there. The OP in the other thread was talking about not being able to decorate and put up pictures in a private rental. Two totally different, unrelated subjects.

C8H10N4O2 · 28/05/2019 08:40

but you're talking about people in social housing not even having basic safety there

Grenfell was by no means solely social housing. There were also private tenants and private ownership in hte same block.

WhiteDust · 28/05/2019 08:41

Thank you Nails.
Exactly that.

OP posts:
C8H10N4O2 · 28/05/2019 08:45

Two totally different, unrelated subjects

Sorry pressed return and posted. Grenfell was not solely social housing and it is part and parcel of the overall situation for renters in this country.

We had people on the other thread stating that here, where a landlord can give anyone a month's notice without reason, that all the laws are on the side of the tenant.

The explosion in Buy-to-let both pushed house prices too high for most first time buyers in many areas (ie the areas with work) and encouraged a large cohort of hobby landlords whose focus is maximising the take from the property rather than seeing the landlord/tenant relationship as longer term and mutually beneficial.

On the back of buy-to-let we have reverted away from home ownership back to >50% renting, most of those will never own. We need to get the tenancy laws back to something designed for long term renting rather than assuming that renters are all youngsters just on the way to mortgage land.

WhiteDust · 28/05/2019 08:45

Do people think I'm comparing my situation to that of the victims of Grenfell?

I f'ing hope not. Are you mad?

OP posts:
SachaStark · 28/05/2019 08:47

I don’t get what your OP on this thread is supposed to be about. You’ve owned three properties... good for you, I guess? You couldn’t paint them for ten years... oh well, I guess? I’m afraid you won’t get much sympathy from the tenants who truly struggle.

You probably should have just written a fresh opening post, as opposed to using the response you would have ended the last thread on.

It’s unlikely that DH and I will ever own property, like most of our generation, despite the fact that we both have good salaries. House prices are just absolutely stupid at the moment. And frankly, even if we did have magical family help (the only people my age I know who’ve managed to buy all had five figure sums gifted by family), I don’t think it’s at all RIGHT to look at a three-bed regular semi, and go, “Yeah, that seems reasonable at half a mill.” Ridiculous.

Grumpymug · 28/05/2019 08:47

I disagree that Grenfell is completely different. It's an extension of the attitudes towards tenants, at one end you have the LL that says no, you can't put up a picture of have a dog because it's my house, through to the LL that leaves a family without heating or hot water for a couple of weeks because they want the cheapest contractors to do the job and they're not available, to things like Grenfell that are unsafe for the people living in the building. It's all down to the same attitude - "It's my property not yours and I make the decisions" be that about putting a picture up, or what type of cladding goes on the outside.
While in essence it's true, it also totally ignores the facts that the tenant, not the LL has to live with the concequences of an LL decision, that the tenant is paying and it's not some wonderful favour bestowed by the LL, and that when all comes to all the LL has the asset when the tenancy is over, not the tenant.

NailsNeedDoing · 28/05/2019 08:49

Fair enough, there may well have been private tenants at Grenfell, I stand corrected as I don't follow any news in much detail, it's too depressing. But my point stands.

If the original OP had come on complaining that basic safety standards weren't being met in her rental home, she would have received very different replies to the ones she got for complaining that she couldn't paint. People pointed out the valid reasons why landlords have the rules they do. No one would have defended landlords whose rules made somewhere unsafe to live.

magicBrenda · 28/05/2019 08:49

I don’t get the hate on here for landlords.

Don’t see car hire companies getting this much grief.

We sold our houses because we were sick of tenants trashing them. The last straw was when a tenant burnt one down after we spent a fortune plastering and decorating (as previous tenant punch holes in the walls, ripped kitchen cupboards down ect)

We even got estate agents to manage them towards the end but people still took the piss . A house we renovated and every thing was brand new, it was beautiful. But from the first month in they stopped paying rent. Both worked references checked. Luckily they fucked off when we put the for sale sign up.

Too much hassle and stress.

We did let tenants decorate but after they moved out we always had to redecorate because it always looked a mess.

WhiteDust · 28/05/2019 08:50

Sasha it's a continuation of a 1K full thread.
My opening post was in direct response to the last post the original OP made.

OP posts:
iano · 28/05/2019 08:51

People need to read the thread OP linked to. Her OP makes sense in that context. Whether you agree is another matter...
For what it's worth OP, I get the point you're making and agree.

SachaStark · 28/05/2019 08:53

Yes, I understood that, WhiteDust, and I read the previous thread on and off over the last few days.

As I said, though, your post makes little sense here as an OP. Should’ve written a fresh one. It starts the tone off as, “Homeowner whinges that they have had to deal with owning property for 27 years.” Oh no, you poor thing.

WhiteDust · 28/05/2019 08:57

Iano
Thank you. I'm glad a few people have read my OP properly ! Grin

On a side note... so many people saying 'homeowners'. A mortgaged property is technically owned by the bank.

OP posts:
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