AIBU to think its a bit effing cheeky for a random estate agent to write to the property I'm living in...

[Bummocks123]

... basically inciting my landlord to put up my rent!

I'll admit that I may be a bit touchy about this today having spent another evening trawling Rightmove to be reminded that this year has priced me off the property ladder, but my lord this letter has got my back up!

I mean really, is it good manners to be sending a letter to someone's home basically saying "hey, rental market is on fire, your landlord could charge up to an extra £250 a month provided they were willing to kick you, a perfectly reasonable tenant who always pays their rent on time, out of their property"? (caveat: This is paraphrased and the extra £250 is based on an average rental price not the actual extra rental our tiny flat, in need of some serious maintenance, could achieve.)

I probably am being unreasonable, its a capitalist market after all. But its just served as a really sobering reminder that the cost of living is going to increase yet again for those of us trying to scrimp and save to get a home of our own while we pay off our landlords mortgage (who's costs wont have increased). Sigh.

It's marketing - just ignore it.

It’s just marketing trash mail, I wouldn’t worry about it.
As a landlord, my opinion is always that a reliable tenant who cares for the property and pays on time is far better than a hypothetical tenant who pays more!

They're just trying to get people on their books. We get "we have several people interested in buying your property" letters a week (only a tiny exaggeration!).
Nobody has approached any agent about buying my house, there are just an inordinate amount of estate agents round here.

YABU for opening your landlord's post.

It's not the landlord's personal post. It was a mail shot addressed to 'The Homeowner'.

@NannyAndJohn

YABU for opening your landlord's post.

Anything without a firm name and clearly junk food delivered to anyone’s house is fair game. Definitely named? No, absolutely not on.

Food? Whoops!

If you were my tenant I'd thank you for putting it in the bin. I get this from agents at renewal time "ooh you could put the rent up X amount". Urr no.

@NannyAndJohn

YABU for opening your landlord's post.

Anything addressed to "The Homeowner" is spam, by definition. How could it possibly be personal?

We get these all the time. We don't pass them on to the landlord, we're in London, they're in Southend and we never see them, they go straight in the recycling.

Bin it and feel no guilt, OP.

@ClawedButler

Cheeky gets!

A good tenant is worth more to us than the extra £100 or so we might squeeze out of them. Good tenants are reliable and look after the place, basically caretaking our asset. So we charge going rate as it was 2-3 years ago, and are in no hurry to increase to chase a few extra quid that we might never get because no-one else will pay it!

It's a random mailshot addressed to the homeowner, that's a bit of an over-reaction, they don't know if the property is rented

Would you get offended by leaflets for Stannah lifts and retirement villages? I've had those recently, I assume some computer somewhere has identified my area as one with an older demographic, I don't feel the need to go off on a rant

I'm fairly sure I've had letters about both selling and renting to every house I've lived in, both as a tenant and as a homeowner.

They've probably sent it to every address in your area. They're not specifically trying to get your landlord to put your rent up.

There is also the flipside. I was an accidental landlord (as in, I bought a place, lost my job and only other job I could get was a plane ride away so had to rent my place out) and for years I kept the same tenants (like 8 years) instead of trying to get more money as they were tenants who paid their rent on time. When they split, husband moved out without giving me any notice whatsoever and then she decided to go without proper notice either. So it cuts both ways.

They send out computer generated standard letters. I've had the same and I own my house so it isn't aimed at you personally.

My mum is a landlord and was regularly told by the letting agent she should increase the tenants rent, she never did because he was a good tenant which she saw as more valuable than more money. He was there for around 6 years so a sizeable difference in rental prices around but she still never increased. In fact he was able to save for a deposit and buy his own place in which she was delighted for him!

@AllThatFancyPaintsAsFair oh, it wasn't a rant - I was just saying that from a LL perspective, increasing the rent isn't always a good idea and we would value a good, real tenant over a richer one we haven't met yet.

Wow. Is there no rent control or tenancy board to report incidents?
I mean landlords still find away around the 4% however most are honest, the tenant could check with the tenancy board to check last tenancy rent was lower than 4% in Ireland.
If the landlords increase the rent more they must apply to prtb and make home improvements like insulation or new windows.

@EmeraldShamrock

Wow. Is there no rent control or tenancy board to report incidents? I mean landlords still find away around the 4% however most are honest, the tenant could check with the tenancy board to check last tenancy rent was lower than 4% in Ireland. If the landlords increase the rent more they must apply to prtb and make home improvements like insulation or new windows.

I'm not sure if that's the case in the UK? I could be wrong.

Think it's just EA scouting for business, try not to take it personally.

We are now looking at letting our house out and have said we don't want top whack for it, I'd much rather someone lived there and looked after/appreciated it and could save for their own place one day, paying £100 less than go through tenants every 6 months.

I know it's just marketing and not specifically intended to make my landlord put up my rent as they don't know the status of my house.

But for some reason the content and intent of this letter seems more morally ambiguous than the selling homes one. With those, they are aimed at all owners whether they live in the home or not, it's tempting those who are already considering selling for whatever reason. I can't get mad at the thought of my LL wanting to sell, because I don't think an individual should be forced to own a home longer than they want to.

However, this letter is aimed solely at rental properties, the vast majority of which have tenants in at the moment. It just seems a bit mean to basically start a marketing campaign on the basis of increasing rental costs. Properties that are due to come on to the rental market will naturally do so as tenants give notice and move on. Those will naturally go for market value. Sure, you want a marketing scheme that encourages LLs to choose your estate agent over another. But this letter, the way it is worded is "are you charging enough" and is basically suggesting interrupting the natural flow of rentals by suggesting that LLs should do a rental review, thereby increasing prices for the sake of it rather than an agreement that is already in place and working well.

@Bummocks123

Cheeky. And daft! I know of some similar dumb marketing...

My aunt (who is in her mid 70s,) lives in a little cul de sac, in a village on a bus route. The village is 1.5 miles from a small market town with a train station, and all the shops she needs. The bungalows were built in the early 1980s and are almost all bought and paid for. And even when one sold recently (when one elderly lady died) it went for £145,000. Lovely area, but as it's north-ish, the properties are decent prices.

Her best friend lives in the next village in a little bungalow too, rents from a really good local social housing group, and pays £63 a week rent, with all repairs and maintenance done.

On several occasions, they have had pamphlets pushed through the letterbox, advertising a new development of 'apartments' for senior citizens, in the little market town nearby. Each apartment has a kitchenette/diner, a lounge, a walk in shower, and a pull down bed in the lounge. Not even a bedroom. Basically glorified Travelodge rooms!

Oh, it also has a common-room for you to meet up with the other residents, with games of bingo and quizzes, every week for the residents, and a little cafe. If you want to join the residents association, (so you can partake in all the 'fun,') it's a snip at £50 a month. £600 a year!

And the price they are selling these 'glorified Travelodge rooms' for, in this complex? £300,000 each! One selling point is that it's 'only 10-15 minutes walk to the canal. Just like half the properties in the little market town, and just like my aunt's bungalow - AND her friend's!

And they shove pamphlets through the doors of people who live in lovely 2 bedroom bungalows, in a lovely village, on a bus route, 1.5 miles from a train station and all the shops. Why the F would anyone who already lives in a lovely area, with their bungalow paid for, or with a cheap rent, and all repairs and maintenance done, want to buy one of these 'bedsits' costing £300,000???!

The people who push marketing leaflets through peoples letterboxes, REALLY need to do their market research first!

They send these things out randomly, they don’t know whether the place is owner occupied or rented. We regularly get invitations from local EAs to have our house valued, for sale or rent - ‘We have clients anxious to buy/rent in your area…’.

I agree that it’s crass to suggest whacking the rent up though, but so many letting agents do routinely urge LLs to raise the rent at every opportunity - all grist to their commission-mill.

They're standard letters just scouting for properties.
I thought an agency contacted the landlord directly.
I'd ignore it.

"The Homeowner" is not the landlord.
Anyone writing to the landlord specifically would know their name and the address where they actually do live.

It's whoever lives there, primary renter or owner.

If such a letter came through the door of a council property, you wouldn't pop up to the local council offices to hand it over to the housing department, would you.

Hang on a sec though. I rent. I get numerous letters to "The Homeowner", offering various utilities. Should I give them to my landord. Do you think he will arrange for my gas and electric to be switched. Hmmm...maybe he'll pay for it too (can but dream).

I used to get these years and years ago. It's definitely not a new thing and they just send them out generically whenever the housing market booms.

It's annoying, but you really shouldn't waste your energy and thoughts on it. Just bin it.