To think that Landlords have a bad name.

[Arewe29]

NC for this.

Is it just me or are all landlords frowned upon a MN.

We own and rent out 3 properties all our properties are rented out to young families, just under market rate, we allow them to decorate their homes how they like, and if there is any issues or problems they just call us and we sort it out ASAP.

I know that there is some terrible landlords out there, that should be dealt with but there are thousands of other that are decent that follow all the laws and their tenants are very happy.

Landlords have a bad name because a lot of them are either bad, incompetent or just plain greedy. If you choose to go into a market with a reputation like that then..... Well it's going to happen isn't it? I work in hospitality, there's people who insist I haven't got two brain cells to rub together because I do that job because that's how those roles are perceived.

I think it's interesting though that you describe the houses as 'just an asset' that you don't make money on. That's an asset (or 3!) that is worth thousands of pounds that you can actualise should you wish to, an asset that maybe if not making you money, is maybe not costing you money to maintain either. Therefore it's something that does benefit you and will benefit you if you need it or if you want it in the future.

The other reason landlords have a bad name is because as you rightly say, they provide a service, but, the service aspect of it is often forgotten in favour of the attitude that landlords are somehow doing their tenants a favour, conveniently forgetting that the tenant is essentially the customer here, that they are paying their hard earned money in return for that service and it is an arrangement of mutual benefit, or at least should be, but there's those who believe tenants should be grateful to be allowed to hand over large amounts of money each month for a roof and 4 walls.

Even you seem to have a bit of the attitude that your tenants should be grateful that you rent your assets out and certainly that you don't treat them badly, fix things and charge a fairer rent than others in the area, while trying to insinuate that because you don't make an income every month from it (although it does still benefit you) you're a good landlord and shouldn't be tarred with the same brush.
Treating those who are your customers essentially with a bit of respect is the least that you should be expecting, as you said, you're providing a service, and it benefits you as well, so stop expecting a pat on the back for doing what you're offering you will do by offering this service.

On the reverse - there's good and bad tenants.
Why are we not up in arms about the BAD tenants - believe me, they are 100x worse than the bad landlords and they get away with it most times.

People are honestly trashing homes and causing such damage. Currently doing remedial works on a house which was left to rot by tenants. They never turned the heating on, infact they have removed the boiler !, never opened windows, never cleaned, its mould central. I estimate this cost will be 70% of the total rent they ever paid (14 months) plus the fact it's been empty 2 months trying to heat/dry it out.
This is why multi landlords are reluctant to do 'nice ' things for tenants like new bathrooms and kitchens, carpets, as every other time it gets trashed!

Yes i think there are good landlords. However they don't make the headlines. I have one buy to let- which the rent is £200 cheaper than my mortgage a month. However it will be my daughters home when she moves out so I see it as an investment and anything that needs doing gets done quickly in it.... I don't know if in 15 years I would have money to help with a deposit- but I can afford £200 a month (plus the nealy £1000 tax I pay on £7000 of income a year) so I doit... lots of my friends have a property for similar reasons (for their children)....

I hear you. Nationally last year LL's sold more properties than they bought. This resulted in higher rents and less rentable accommodation so more families with little kids in temporary accommodation. Most LL's only sell 1 house per year because of CGT but more will sell this year too. In Scotland where they had rent caps there was a higher rate of LL's selling which resulted in even more people in temporary accommodation.

A massive factor in why there are 10 year waiting lists on social housing is because Thatcher sold them all off and the landlords have cashed in on it. We need more balance, more social housing and to stop landlords hoarding cheap housing and leave some for others to either rent or buy at affordable rates.

As a renter I appreciate that you are a good landlord, but it really frustrates me that private landlords are the reason rents are so high in general, and housing so short in supply. If there were a limit on the number of houses landlords were allowed to own / rent out then there would be much less of a housing crisis. It pisses me off no end that I pay more in rent than most people do for a mortgate on an equivalent property - this keeps me in poverty. And yes we also need more houses built. I'm not blaming it all on landlords here but many of them are making a profit and gaining assets at huge expense to people trying to get on the housing ladder.

I don't believe anyone needs 3 houses. You don't need more houses than you can live in at any one time.

🙄

The idea that house-prices should always rise and property is an investment and not somewhere to live is one of the things that has caused many of the housing problems we see today in this country.

The whole market has become distorted.

There isn’t a beneficial tax regime for landlords. It’s the only business where you are taxed on income that’s not profit

You're right - nobody ever criticises bankers... 💁

So, profit?

That's very new legislation brought in to try and encourage BtL landlords to sell.

Imagine the Relationship board if everyone had to get a mortgage and buy a house before living together?They would not be able to co-habitat first with that quick escape route after seeing what an arse their boyfriend was. I moved to a new area and we rented because I did not want to tie myself in with a boyfriend who might turn out to be an arse and in shock news, not everyone has a massive amount of instant cash to spend on a deposit. My landlady was testing out her new partner before moving in with him, we rented her house cheaply, she let my cat move in- we still regret buying a house as loved that rental house so much and no stress re household maintenance which now causes lots of stress.

Rents have gone up more in Scotland than elsewhere due to anti landlord laws. Punishing landlords won’t increase property supply which is what’s needed

A fact which will go conveniently unnoticed by most on this thread, unfortunately!

If they have the deposit saved and earn the money required to pass the bank stress test they can buy their own home. I'm not stopping them. Lots of LL's have sold up over the past 3 years. There are plenty of houses available to buy = more people in temporary accommodation. The more btl houses sold the more families homeless. With all these houses empty why don't renters buy if they want to own their own homes? You know why they don't have the necessary deposit or couldn't pass the bank stress test. Why is that LL fault? As more LL's sell up there will be more and more families stuck in temporary accommodation because councils or housing associations are not buying these houses.

@PeaceOnThePorch I'm not sure what they eye roll is for.

Of course. All of the homeowners on this thread that are slating LL are all going to collectively sell their houses for 15% under the market value because profit is dirty and they want to do their bit to reduce prices…

Obviously sarcasm

That's how the housing market works. All owners of property would expect for their house prices to go up over time. We live in a capitalist society. Average families own most property yet only LL get the blame. Some people are so naive.

I've always owned the food I've bought and I can't say I've ever had it snatched back off me on the whim of Tesco. So it's not quite the same thing.

Fairly obvious really. If you want to talk about what any of us ‘need’, I’m sure most of us have got an excess of many things, and many of them probably exploit someone somewhere. Do you feel you’re perfect?

So your answer to that is that they should start paying extortionate rent? Because that's how you save up a deposit?

How about - and hear me out - banks stop asking for fucking mental deposits and take income into account like they do for their other loan products?

But the OP said they weren’t doing it for profit, and weren’t making a profit. They’ve insisted on this thread that they don’t make any profit and when I asked why they’d do it, if not for profit, your answer seems to be “duh, for profit”…

My landlord is wonderful. He fixes issues without delay, has dressed down my next door neighbours who were being very difficult regarding shared side gate access, he raised my rent 10% this year but I wrote back to ask if we could meet half way and he agreed as he didn't want to lose me as his tenant. I couldn't ask for more from a landlord tbh and feel incredibly lucky I found this rental for myself and DC.