Question for homeowners - do you look down on or judge your neighbours that rent?

[Sophiehoney]

I've always been a renter, for reasons not relevant to the question
I live in a large three bed house in a nice area, everyone around me owns, as do most people in the street.
I've noticed since moving in that all the neighbours who own talk to each other and my nice owner NDN said that as soon as she moved in, everyone was so nice and welcomed her to the street, I've noticed they will always stop and talk to her by their cars.
If I say hello or I wave good morning, I get ignored or I get a grunt or hurried answer. I've never made any noise, been anti social in any way, or had enough of a conversation with anyone to have possibly upset then!

I've also seen things online that made me 😮 someone complaining about someone taking up an on-street parking space - "he rents! Everyone else here owns!" as if owning your house makes you more entitled to the road next to it.
I also saw a thread on Facebook about bad neighbours and someone said "never buy anywhere near a rental property, tenants don't care about their homes or their neighbours" and loads agreeing with her. The OP hadn't even specified if the disruptive neighbours were owners or renters!

I've also had a block management company refuse to give me an access code to a side gate in the flat I live in even after I proved I was a resident because "someone keeps letting people into the building who shouldn't be here so we're only giving the code to owners'.

So I'm wondering if this is a common theme - be honest, please. Do you look down on renters? Do you judge? Think they are going to be trouble? Think they have less right to be there?

Just FWIW, I'm a working professional, I'm clean, tidy, considerate, friendly, and I pay more in rent than a lot of people pay for their mortgage, and all the same bills the owners do.

No. Get a grip.

No. But I think renters tend to move on much faster than people who own so people make less effort getting to know them until they've been there a few years.

How odd, I actually have no idea whatsoever whether some of my neighbours own or rent, I only know some own because they’re moved in since we’ve lived here and seen the ‘for sale’ signs but tbh I don’t particularly care.

Some mortgage owners/homeowners do, and will judge you for renting your home sadly.......

Just give these people a wide berth. Ignore them.

I hope this thread doesn't turn into a renter-bashing thread.

People who rent are not beneath people who have a mortgage/own their home.

No. My husband and I rented for a few years, until we managed to get a council mortgage (back in 1985). One of our adult kids rented for a few years when single.

How would I even know?

i don't live in the kind of area where people are snobby about stuff like that anyway.

I don't even think about whether my neighbours rent or own tbh, I don't think reasonable people care so long as you're not a nuisance neighbour.

No but I’d make less effort with them since they typically move on quickly and the ones in my road seem less bothered about keeping gardens tidy and investing in the area, as do their landlords, which makes sense but I can see why people who own would be less keen on them. It’s not snobby I don’t think, just different priorities

Not at all. Though I think many do. There are 6 of us with identical houses (originally anyway?) & 2 are owned & 4 rented. I feel sorry for the renters as the LL's are all a bit shit & the rent they pay is extortionate!!

the rented ones aren't as well maintained & do look 'scruffier' but that's down to the shit LL's, not the renters!

is there anything else different about you that might be creating this 'off ness' in THEIR view?

I judge them because they are dicks.I don’t judge them because they rent.

And the others around I have no idea who owns what.

I have no idea who owns or rents near me except the lady next door in the 1 bedroom flat and that's only because she said when she dies she has told her family we are to get first refusal to buy it as it used to be part of our house but it was split and sold.

I don’t even know who rents and who owns. So why would I? If I did know then why would I judge when rent is usually higher than a mortgage payment for the same property?

Plus so many people, myself included, had help to buy at least in the current generation so I wouldn’t judge someone because it’s not like we all bought off our own backs anyway.

They’re probably not being as nice and social as people assume renters will move on whereas owners stay longer.

The FB posts are right though that renters often don’t take care of their properties to the same level (often not always). I don’t see renters scraping the moss off the street outside their house or painting the gables (why would they it’s not their house? But to the absent landlord they don’t notice it).

Well i think you are right that certainly people wherever I've lived definitely know who is renting and who owns their property.
I think the perception quite often is that renters " don't care" about the area they live in and " don't care" about the upkeep of the property or garden they live in. And actually a perception that the landlords of the properties don't care very much either.
In my experience there are irresponsible tenants and landlords but also homeowners who don't maintain their houses and gardens either and arent interested in the local community . And there are tenants and landlords who do care
But I do think snobbishness and stereotyping is quite common.

We rent- have done for about 10 years now.
We live in a fairly affluent area...there are afew rentals but all the school families tend to own the 4 bed detached houses.
We are a couple with 2 kids in a 3bed privately rented semi.Love our home and area but unlikely we could afford to buy here.
I'm not going to lie I do feel inadequate sometimes and whilst many people wouldn't know if we rent or own, I think there is a snobbery amongst millennials about home ownership...almost like you haven't made it if you don't own a home.

Our incomes are low average but we are decent responsible people with good standards and don't live any differently in that regard to all those around us in homes they have brought.

I must admit though, I don't think it's inaccurate that rentals can often attract people who don't look after their home as well or aren't the best neighbours.Of course that's not always the case and there are many people who own homes and keep them badly or cause trouble.But I can see that perspective isn't wholly untrue (and have experienced it twice when living next to other renters)

What I don't think is fair is looking down on people or seeing them as lesser or inadequate because they rent, regardless of what sort of people they are.

Lol nope.

No such drama around here.

Plus only about 65% of people in the UK own their homes.

Absolutely not in the slightest!

What annoys me (regardless of who does it) is people dumping their items in the communal bin area as we all get charged for it to be taken away. Take it the dump.

Also noisy neighbours, people smoking outside (I know but it wafts in), and anyone who is obviously dealing drugs from their home. I suppose people more likely to do that will be renters but I don't look down on renters as a whole group.

I live in a block which is shared ownership and social rental properties. I think mixed housing is a good thing - for example there were people dealing drugs and we all banded together in reporting it, there were numerous police raids.

So whoever was there is now definitely on the radar of the authorities, which is a good thing - they will either get their shit together, or fuck their lives up; their choices now.

Absolutely not. I live on an estate where around three quarters of properties are owner occupied and the remaining quarter are inhabited by council tenants or tenants in privately let properties. On my corner of our street, we're all friendly ‐long-timers and more recent arrivals- and some of us are even 'close', irrespective of residency status. If anything, I admire my lovely neighbours in the privately rented houses as their tenancies are the least secure and I know this can be stressful. Although, having been here nearly 20 years, I know most of the landlords, and they're all good people too.

So no, definitely no looking down on a neighbour who rents.

@Anon501178 and @Howareyoufeelingtoday and @EveSix Exactly! ^ In my street (of about 30 homes,) around 9-10 are rented. You would never know which ones if you were just driving by. The people who rent look after their home and garden as well as the ones who own/have a mortgage.

I mostly don’t know who owns or rents in my street, but of the three I know rent, I feel sorry for one because the landlord is a wanker, and am flabbergasted and appalled at what all of them are expected to pay for pretty ordinary 3 bed semis.

They are all nice people, I say hallo to them all, and chat to the young couple that live next door.

No.

if you’re unlucky, they do.

No. I’m equally indifferent to all of my neighbours.

No.
I judge the neighbours who can't ever be bothered to bring their bins in or even plant a single flower in their garden.

This ^
For some reason my renting neighbours are actually nicer and I say hello and smile to all three of them. Out of homeowners one guy is really unpleasant and we never say hello to each other.

Only the ones who scream and shout in the street in the middle of the night while their 2 little kids stand by crying; the same ones who have drug dealers pulling up on electric bikes outside my house. Those ones I do judge.