aibu to be annoyed letting agent dropped rent by £50

[toohoottoday]

I have just found out my letting agent has dropped the rental for the property I rent by £50. This rental income represents over half my income, and I can't really afford a drop. He had chatted with me about rental but we didn't agree to drop it. He had said we may have to, but then rents had increased since our last tenant came in, so the drop due to the covid situation may even it out to the current rent level, and that he already had three households interested before it was even advertised. So given that, and being as we never agreed a decrease, I wasn't expecting it to be dropped. There are now several tenants who all want to rent it and he has asked me to choose this weekend. I am therefore surprised therefore after checking his website to see he has advertised it as lower than the previous rent.

AIBU to be annoyed about this? I don't suppose there is anything I can do about it now. That is £600 a year that I will be poorer off and I am already on a low income with two kids to support.

Presumably he’s dropped his fees to cover the deficit? If not, it’s no skin off his nose but you’re left £600 a year short.

I’d tell him where he could shove it.

So if the original rent you wanted was the going rate & you're not over priced compared to the norm for the area,, tell him he's got wrong end of stick & it's the original price. If he had x 3 interested before, he will again. Its not his place to drop price without permission.

DomDoesWotHeWants

If OP's tenants had bought the property, rather than renting it from OP, their monthly housing outgoing would probably be much less. To illustrate: mortgage repayments on a three bed house near me are nearly £200 per month less than rent payments on the same size property on the same road. Hence not being able to muster much sympathy for OP's £50.

If OP's tenants had bought the property, rather than renting it from OP, their monthly housing outgoing would probably be much less.

That's hardly OP's fault. She has a budget and that requires a certain rent. She needs the rent to live on. Tenants can either pay the going rate or look elsewhere. The landlord hating on MN is pathetic.

Why do some people think rent should be equal to a mortgage on the same property? The rent has to cover a lot more that just mortgage, there are service charges, ground rent, inspections etc.

Amazed at the vitriol for landlords. I own now but rented for more than a decade in various flats. Should we all live at home till we're ready to buy? I'd accept the rent for now but I like you would be annoyed.

Can you look for another job that pays more OP or find a part time job to cover the money you need? Your lucky you even have a tenant in this market! Rents are dropping.

Amazed at the vitriol for landlords.

I'm surprised that you see vitriol being directed at landlords. All some people have pointed out is that BTL landlording doesn't really contribute anything to society in terms of making anything or providing a service, but just skims off the top.

As a result, on this thread, I've been called a 'wanker' (by the OP; clearly a class act); a 'cunt', a 'dried-up hag' and various other things.

Who are the ones spouting vitriol? certainly not me.

Why do some people think rent should be equal to a mortgage on the same property? The rent has to cover a lot more that just mortgage, there are service charges, ground rent, inspections etc.

But the service charges and inspections are for the landlord's benefit, not the tenant's? How is having someone poking round your home once every few months a 'service' that people should have to pay for?

Clearly, if there's ground rent to be paid, then that's an additional cost to the mortgage that would need to be borne.

But the service charges and inspections are for the landlord's benefit, not the tenant's? How is having someone poking round your home once every few months a 'service' that people should have to pay for?

By inspections I meant for the gas boiler. Basically whatever costs are incurred by the landlord need to be passed on to the tenants, the same as a hotel would work. I charge enough rent to cover about 85% of the mortgage and then my costs involved with the letting, there is no additional profit on top.

Prices are not set by the cost of the mortgage!

you already said your margins are good and don’t know where you’ll save the fifty pound from. You must be living it up.

We all know landlords have been greedy with rents for years.

Do people really think rent only needs to be enough to cover the mortgage?

What about buildings insurance, licencing costs if you are in a licensable area, training costs if these are a stipulation of the licence, annual gas safe inspections and boiler servicing, electrical inspections, legionella risk assessment and review, fire risk assessment and review, HHSRS risk assessment and review, provision of an inventory, funds to redecorate internally and externally periodically, funds to replace any fixtures or fittings as they become worn or break down, funds to cover emergency call-outs if required... I could go on and on. There are over 140 pieces of legislation that landlords have to comply with, many of which come with a cost that is over and above the cost of the mortgage on the property.

Small time landlords and my favourites, 'accidental' landlords, so often pop up on here complaining. Don't be landlords if you operate on such tight margins that the loss of £600 a year will cause major issues. Give it up and leave it to professionals and associations.

I'm surprised that you see vitriol being directed at landlords. All some people have pointed out is that BTL landlording doesn't really contribute anything to society in terms of making anything or providing a service, but just skims off the top.

And several more people have pointed out that providing housing IS a service! You still haven’t explained what you think people who can’t buy and actually want to rent should do. Do you live in a magical world where everyone happily lives with their parents until they move out into their first, owned home? Not everyone wants to buy as soon as they can afford to live independently. Not everyone has a good enough relationship with their parents to even be able to stay with them until they’re ready to buy. What about people who need short-term accommodation or to move quickly for relocation or migration? What about couples who are ready to live together, but want to give it time to see if they works before they make as big a commitment as buying?

Do you have answers for any of those questions? Or will you just keep asking the same one about a hypothetical broken boiler that’s been answered several times?

@StillCoughingandLaughing

I'm a landlord and been on a similar thread previously and asked the same questions, and got no answer. There are no answers that fit the narrative.

I’m a long term renter and always will be. I’m no great LL lover but I’ve had some good ones and some bad ones, so I don’t burn with hatred. The people for whom I do burn with hatred are letting agents. They cream money off both LL and tenant for doing virtually fuck all as far as I can see. They actually make things much more difficult than they need to be, and they screw everybody over for the privilege.

Bin off the agent OP. I much prefer dealing with a LL direct and I bet many other renters do as well.

I would go back to the agent and tell him there has been a mistake, it sounds popular so relist it.

@Iwalkinmyclothing

Small time landlords and my favourites, 'accidental' landlords, so often pop up on here complaining. Don't be landlords if you operate on such tight margins that the loss of £600 a year will cause major issues. Give it up and leave it to professionals and associations.

She isn’t complaining She’s asking advice.

Are you saying it’s okay for agents to screw their clients over simply because you’re bitter and jealous of landlords?

To answer the OP’s question - YANBU to be annoyed that your Letting Agent has deprived you of £600 income per year without your agreement.

I have no idea if the rent you are charging is high, low or average for your property in your area - but that’s not really the point is it. The point is surely that it’s your property so you should be fully involved in agreeing the price it is advertised at, as well as any other terms of the rental 🤷🏻‍♀️.

For all the blanket landlord haters, have about 10 seconds of consideration for someone else's circumstances before throwing shade.

I'm a landlord. I didn't want to be a landlord. But I owned a flat and Grenfell happened and now any flat without a new regulations fire safety certificate can't be sold with a mortgage. It's worth £0 on a mortgage valuation. It's perfectly safe, but there's a minimum two year wait to get the required checks to get the required certificate. And rightly, the buildings that are potentially unsafe, where it's imperative for the tenants to know that, are a priority for getting them fixed.

I moved out because I wanted a house and a garden and to move on with my life. I couldn't sell it, and owe £130k to the bank, and would lose my job if I went bankrupt. Any suggestions for what I should do?

Appreciate this may not be the OP's situation. But we don't know the OP's situation. Let's remember to be kind shouts pointlessly into the MN void.

(And, for what it's worth, I make about £1,000 "profit" a year in a year of no repairs, no voids, no service charge overruns and managing myself without agents fees. Obviously, I never walk away with £1,000 in my pocket. Breaking even is a good year).

Let's remember to be kind

SuperrHann my stores of kindness took a bit of a hit when I was called a 'wanker', a 'cunt' and a 'dried up hag' by various members of the BTL crowd. There are of course decent exceptions but BTL landlords are not noted for the kind and fair treatment of their tenants.

And you're right, we don't know each individual landlord's circumstances. But you can be damn sure they will usually be a lot better than those of the tenants they exploit.

Last, and forgive my if i've misread your post, but are you seriously grumbling about having to comply with fire safety regulations on your BTL that were brought in following Grenfell?

If I missed this before I apologise, but the agent made a mistake so why don’t you ask the agent to take the hit in the fees you are paying him? Or split it. Not with the tenant as they have nothing to do with this, and renegotiating their rent after the deal is pretty much done would set bad blood (even if split to 25). But why not hold the responsible party responsible? I just don’t get that.

i think people are being hard on the OP. let's face it, there are very many people who, if they could, would love to make a living out of exploiting others whilst not really contributing anything to society through hard work, intellect, etc. Personally, I'd sooner remove my eyes with a spoon, but it's not for me to judge others' choices

@thedancingbear It's hard to imagine, when your this post of yours was clearly written with such great stores of kindness, at not at all with sneering contempt and hatred, that it caused people to call you names in response. I can see how you are confused and upset. People just couldn't see your decency and caring but instead thought you came across as a nasty spiteful wanker. It's so unfair!

@alwaysanewlife