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.

Caringcarer's dad is also bigger than your dad...

Cook pass carer.

We are renting while the home we own is being renovated.

I agree: it’s a total pain: the landlord seems to think we are actively out constantly to “get one over” on her. I wanted a water meter installed because the assessed household charge for water in unmetered properties like the flat we rent is extortionate. Cue 6 weeks of back and forth with her and the agents, while I repeatedly tried to explain that the provisions of the Water Act 1991 mean tenants with tenancies over 6 months long need not even seek landlord consent to instal a water meter and the legislation overrides any provision in the tenancy agreement which has the effect of prohibiting tenants from installation a meter. But no, it was a huge issue - every excuse under the sun was trotted out to try to prevent us our exercising a tenant’s right, enshrined in legislation. Then they needed pics of the meter after installation etc. Wise up.

Then, hilariously, our gas and electricity provider emailed me to say the electricity meter needs to be changed to a smart meter because the signal that powers the current old Economy 7 meter will be switched off next year and it’ll no longer work. I asked agents whether they wanted me to arrange this (at my own inconvenience as I must be there to let the engineer in). Unsurprisingly, when it was suddenly in her interest to have the meter changed as the old one will no longer work, she immediately said yes to that - mysteriously, no attempts to invoke the relevant clauses of the tenancy agreement.

We have actually actively improved the property since we have lived here (“professional clean” of the bathroom before the tenancy began, my fat ass - I was scraping years of caked-on limescale off taps to make them presentable).

Landlord clearly just sees us as a big cheque book and wants our cash while having to do the bare minimum in terms of fulfilling her responsibilities as a landlord.

Can’t wait to move back out.

still as many people wanting to rent but now far less houses available to rent.

Your sentence is inaccurate. Most people don't want to rent. They need to because everyone needs a home and, with some exceptions*, majority private renting don't have any other option. They can't afford to buy and there's not enough social housing

*Private renting suited me when I was young. I wasn't at a settled stage of life. It's also something people do like OP when in-between house moves, and also people who only want to stay in an area short-term (work secondments etc).

you push house prices up. This puts home ownership out of reach of people who might otherwise be able to afford it.

When I was looking as a FTB, lots of flats advertised said 'suitable for FTBs and investors'. FTBs have to compete with landlords, which as LameBorzoi says, pushes up prices.

It's not like it's easy to find a private rental on a low income either....

This. PP saying private landlords fill the need for people on the lowest incomes are ignoring that few landlords accept benefits. Many on the lowest wages need benefits to top-up their earnings and many disabled people are unable to work. So the taxpayer ends up paying lots of money for hovel like temporary accommodation.

I don't think all landlords are Bad and there is a place for them but I agree with PP the problem is the ones who own a string of properties. Separately there's a urgent need for more social housing because private renting isn't the answer for people on the lowest incomes.

I'm still shocked about the article I found last night. Very relevant imo to all the talk here, on the news, and by political parties, about the issue of increasing numbers of people unable to work, and also related to heavier burden on the NHS.

Especially worth noting there's an increase in older people private renting. 40s, 50s, and 60s. Relevant to the news about an ageing population. Especially that many are going into older age in poor states of health.

Just a note – it is not necessary to disclose to a landlord you are on benefits.

Some may ask to see wage slips or bank statement, however it’s not necessary to volunteer the information

The majority of professional landlords use a referencing service which also checks income. If you are on benefits you wouldn't pass my referencing/affordability checks.

I always think it's crackers that tenants can't do referencing/affordability checks on landlords. It would be good to know how likely they are to try and pull a fast one with the deposit, or take the piss with repairs, or need to sell because of money problems, or have ever been bankrupt etc.

@GordonBlue ha, ha- I totally agree.

Yeah we had a horrendous landlord and one before that wasn’t great either. Would’ve have liked to have reported them both

The theory sounds good, and I know most decent landlords wouldn't have an issue with it. But the problem is 'bad' landlords who fail in their statutory duties, with little or no enforcement of the current laws.

Legislation without enforcement is just another nail in the coffin for decent landlords. They will follow the rules, which will inevitably be costly and the shit landlords won't do anything and will continue giving the rest of us a bad name whilst breaking the law.

By the way I also feel strongly that landlords should be subject to CRB checks too. That's something very easy to introduce with it being compulsory to include a copy in the Tenancy agreement paperwork.