The thing about the rock vs hard place thing landlords face, is that the hard options which relate to not making as much money as might be possible, aren’t comparable to the lack of security of tenure and losing your home faced by tenants.
The LL- tenant relationship is a legal one, but the way it works in this country is very much one of inequality. LLs are in the stronger position. Their property is their investment and they already have an owned home usually, elsewhere. When they sell, they are rarely homeless or having to move, often at a totally inconvenience time. This is what happens to the tenant.
The difficulty here is that tenancies are short. On one level, they need to because LLs do struggle to get rid of troublesome tenants who don’t pay or cause damage. It’s the big LL fear and there are enough troublesome tenants around unfortunately. However, the reality is that no or few tenants can ever get security. Many LLs will only give a 6 month let - it’s no good saying to tenants ‘well don’t take one of those’ when that’s mostly what’s available. 12 month tenancies normally have a 6 month break clause meaning they can become 6 month tenancies in reality. many tenants face being given notice at the 4 month point, so effectively just 16 weeks after moving in. In a rolling tenancy, which is what most become after an initial period (periodic) the LL can still give 2 months notice….it can happen at any point and without warning. There is no security.
LLs who happily rented themselves in their 20s while young free and single, can’t really imagine what it’s like to have kids and to have to move 7 times in 10 years, with none of the moves being by choice.
Why does it happen so often that people are given notice and moved on? A lot of it is because there are lots of so-called accidental LLs. It’s a market where many don’t I tend to stay or to provide secure homes for tenants or see it as a long term business. Lots are financially unstable and can’t weather maintenance costs and interest rate rises. When they say they couldn’t afford to sell so became a LL instead, it’s often a sign that they haven’t got much behind them to manage the difficult times that come with all markets. When they need the rent to fund their mortgage and can’t manage if mortgages rates rise or there’s a void or a big cost, they aren’t actually in a financial position to be running a business successfully…..and given this is people homes and lives, tenants need LLs who ARE secure and capable, not those with a high failure rate.
In some countries, tenancies are long term (3 years) and LLs are licensed and have to show they can support their business. They are professional and tend to own multiple buildings and know what they are doing. They make money and they also provide medium term security. It is possible to sell-up, but LLs plan ahead to liquify their assets oerhaos 4-5 years ahead. There’s none of this, ‘I’m having a baby in 6 months so need to have my tenants out, property sold and to have bought myself a new house in 6 months’.
For me though, the real problem evidenced by lots of people on this thread, is the attitude of ‘because I can’. It’s ignoring the fact that this isn’t an investment in widgets or an inanimate object, but something that is people’s home, even if it’s your house….a refusal to acknowledge that all people need somewhere to live, and that LL choices often make those lives really difficult and awful…often with little thought given to those consequences. It’s people who aren’t LLs also thinking that those who rent aren’t entitled to any security and that being a wealthy person with assets means you are more worthy and tenants should just be grateful someone has been willing to let them live in their property for multiple thousands per year…they should be grateful and accept intrusive viewings when it’s being sold out from under them, because by not being property owners they can have no expectations of anything better.