To think being a tenant is an absolute misery

[nellyelloe]

For reasons I won't go into, we have found ourselves having to rent for 18 months after selling our house. Luckily we are now buying again so this won't be forever.

It has been the most eye opening 18 months of my life, and I feel SO sorry for people that are stuck renting. It has a genuine negative impact on my mental health. The constant reminders that it's not your home, never feeling relaxed as you're terrified of damaging something, the constant rent increases, the inspections. It's a total misery.

Now I do understand there are some awful tenants about who destroy houses, but that's not us. We haven't even put a single picture on the wall, pay our rent early every month and keep the house beautifully.

We have to suffer inspections every 3 months as per the contract. Now I know the landlord has the right to see how the house is being kept but it feels like an absolute invasion of our privacy every time, to have some 19 year old from the estate agents come round and take photos of the house and how we live. Every inspection fills me with weeks of dread even though I know the house is spotless and exactly as we moved into it. I stupidly didn't even think about it but we got our daughter a hamster and during the last inspection were really told off for it and told they would need to seek the landlord's permission as we had broken the no pets rule. After being a home owner for 20 years, it stupidly didn't cross my mind. Luckily we got the landlord's permission and a clause in the contract to keep Nibbles 🙄 I was made to feel like an absolute criminal for it, like I was storing a body in the loft. It is awful that people are made to feel like this over a pet, something that brings families and children so much joy.

The hinge fell off the integral dishwasher as it was old and dodgy. The 19 year old estate agent came round again to see if it was our fault or if it was due to reasonable wear and tear.....it was reasonable wear and tear as the dishwasher is 10 years old but again, made to feel like some careless idiot for a faulty hinge.

We have an app where we go on and pay the (£1700😬) rent and it has a lovely countdown on it saying when our contract ends...it's really unnerving seeing it and knowing they could kick us out at this point and we would have no right to stay, even if our house purchase doesn't complete in time.
Every 6 months, the rent has gone up £100. We are totally overpaying compared to other properties but again, we can like it or lump it. We are paying £300 more a month than we did 18 months ago. Our salaries have not increased. The mortgage on our house we are buying will be half our rent.

Renting is a constant reminder that it's not your home, that you need permission to breathe and you have people round to check up on you like a child has their parent check their room is tidy.

I honestly find it hellish. The housing system in this country is fucked. The renters reform act is now abandoned. I'm so glad I will be out of this soon but genuinely so sad for others who are in it for the long haul.

Yes, it's dire. No wonder we have an epidemic of anxiety and depression, there's no security. Renting shouldn't be so shit.

Wow - we rent out 2 cottages and haven’t put the rent up in 12 years. Nor have we carried out any inspections ever. We do our best to ensure that any repairs etc are sorted out asap.

I don’t understand the relevance of the estate agent being 19

Every 6 months, the rent has gone up £100.

Are you on fixed-term six month tenancies? This seems often. I'm in Scotland, so the rules are different here (unless you're on an old tenancy, old tenancies are rolling and can only have a rent increase once per year); but I thought English ones could only increase at the end of the fixed period or else once a year likewise. I presume you're in England as you've not specified and you say there's a fixed term ending.

Dh and I are landlords and don’t do inspections, fix things asap (dh runs a building company, no tenant is ever left without heating/hot water, damp issues, cupboard doors hanging off etc), haven’t really done rent increases as long as it’s covering the mortgage, allow tenants to redecorate and hang pictures etc up.
Sorry you’re having a shitty experience and glad that you will be out of it soon.
But not all landlords are uncaring arseholes, some of us are decent people and strive for renters to live comfortably and peacefully.
We bought the properties years ago as dh is self employed and doesn’t have a pension so these are for that purpose really. As long as the rent and bills are paid etc we are happy. We have really long standing tenants and they are happy too.

Yes it is shit...however after being evicted and had our entire deposit taken from our last house we now find ourselves in a house where the landlord doesn't really bother with inspections and anything that needs fixing gets fixed. We live in relatively quiet enjoyment

There’s something about your tone, OP. Maybe it’s the references to the “19 year old estate agent”?

And I also find it a bit difficult to believe it never crossed your mind that buying a pet without running it past the LL might not go down well.

I agree. When I rented I stayed in the same place for 4 years, never late with rent, spotlessly kept, yet I was inspected every 3 months. I asked it be reduced two years in, but nope. I was only once in 4 years pulled up over anything and that was a bit of timescale down the toilet.
Everything was done on the cheap by the landlord, it was always a bodge job rather than a proper job, and it was never anything like my home.

I now own and it’s the greatest pleasure to have control over the colour of my walls.

why did you ask the estate agent how old they were??

I am renting, and your experience is not my experience, at all!
I think renting is great, easy and convenient.
Also, my home is still my home, even if I rent it. I love my home.
You do not have to feel sorry for me.

I lived in 2 private rents like this 1st was relatively ok but had a mould problem when I moved in they knew about it but had hid it only found out after a while when my shit was damaged and they said yes we've had a issue for ages we just paint it before tenants 🤦‍♀️

2nd landlord was wanting regular checks every 2 months got so fed up with it

I rent but I have a housing association property so it's a different scenario, it's not "my" flat but I can decorate it how I want and have a lifelong tenancy.

I'd hate to have to private rent. It's £750pm absolute minimum for a 2 bedroom house in my area nowadays, and it's not even a nice area. If you're on minimum wage that's half your wage gone.

I rented 3 houses between getting divorced and buying my own home and it was the worst experience. I felt on edge like you and the way that lots of LL (NALALT I know!) think your deposit is theirs to take when you move out is crazy. I left those houses better than I found them but had to go into deposit dispute every time. The whole administrative fee used to get me too. Ragged trousered philanthropist was right, with the poor pay twice ethos IME (I was made destitute by my marriage breakdown and learnt firsthand about robbing Peter to pay Paul and how soul destroying the system can be. I had to leave for our safety as exH attacked me so it was absolutely not of my own making).

Yanbu. Rented for 25 + years, had ONE decent landlord.
As for this: I don’t understand the relevance of the estate agent being 19
Do you really not? 🙄
Well, I’m assuming it’s a bit humiliating having a near child whose mam probably still buys his underpants walking round your home to check up on you.

My experience of renting was largely okay too.

They let me bring the feathered kids, but I did ask and didn’t just secret them in or accidentally “forget” and buy a pet once in situ.

They didn’t put the rent up but did charge me £50.00 when I was leaving for a couple of drops of tap water in the bathroom sink. 🙄

I also wasn’t overly fond of the damp and mushrooms growing on the inside of the kitchen door.

But overall, could have been a lot worse.

EXACTLY this. I knew someone would pick up on this like I'm unreasonable. I knew his age as he's the same age as my son and we spoke. I was never rude to him. But yes, humiliating to be 45 and have a 19 year old take photos of how I keep my house and inspect it. It's dire

I'm lucky to have a lifetime tenancy with a HA. Been here 15 years and had a couple of inspections after I'd first moved in but that's it, can renovate, decorate and have pets.
Previously I have privately rented and rarely had an inspection, rent increases yesterday.
The laws surrounding private lets have got better recently but there's still a way to go

We rented for a few years after owning and were SOOOOOO lucky with a fabulous landlord who told us to make the place our home and welcomed our pets.

It was so reassuring to have the freedom to make his home our own while we stayed there

wish the same for all tenants x

Agreed.

I rented for many years and it was generally awful, albeit for different reasons in different properties.

It doesn’t need to be awful though. We could legislate our way out of it.

And - I do know people who rent that have long-term secure tenancies with fair landlords and minimal rent increases.

I’m a landlord. Long term tenants. I might get around to a catch up every so often but in general I leave them in peace.

It might be my bricks and mortar but it’s their home and I respect that.

I am proactive, fix things expeditiously and take care of the fabric of the building. They’ve been with me 7 years.

I am a good landlord and my tenants are good tenants. That forms the basis of our relationship. I’m sorry you’re having a tough time with your landlord’s agent. It sounds suffocating.

Yes agree the inspections are truly awful. Ours comes & takes a video every 6 months and sends it to the owner. I’m expected to drop everything & be available to let them in. Feels like an absolute privacy invasion

You do realise you are the exception rather than the rule

Most tenants have a pretty thin time of it.
I loathe renting for all the reasons the OP states.

I used to work in property management, we used to inspect annually, and do an inflation rent increase every two years. If we acted like your agents did then we'd have a high turnover of tenants. It would keep the reletting fees coming in, but peeve our long-term loyal clients. Mind you it's about 20 years since I finished the job. We always said don't put a tenant in a property that we wouldn't have in our own house, and trust gut instincts when vetting tenants.

Re repairs and maintenance we'd comply with agreement and legislation, but wouldn't go over and above, if that makes sense.

I agree with you OP. It’s the lack of security above all else. Though my current landlord is a decent person. But it doesn’t change the fact I have no security.

I rented for 10 years before buying and am now a landlord.

I think the issue you've got is with the letting agent to be fair.. when I used to have inspections, he was a horrible man who always made comments while walking around, especially about the dog who was known on the tenancy.. he would put things down like 'wet pawprints on the kitchen floor', I can't tell you how much I despised him and his visits, like yours he seemed oblivious to the intrusive nature of his presence and unnecessary comments.

I never had a single issue with any of the 3 landlords though, but I think I fell lucky with long term professional landlords, my step sister on the other hand got kicked out of her houses 3 times in 5 years with landlords who wanted to either have their house back or sell the property, and she kept her house immaculate, it's just bad luck sometimes.

I have someone manage my property and they have 6 month inspections, but don't take photos. they are however constantly hassling me to put the rent up (because they make more commission the more the rent is), but as a previous renter I know how much difference that extra £50/£100 can make, so won't do it unless I really have to.