For all those living in privately rented houses....

[Rhubarb]

I hadn't realised quite how many other people were in this situation and it does help just knowing that.

I have 2 kids aged 9 and 6 and we've been living in rented accommodation for 5.5 years (not the same house).

I hate it, I loathe it, I detest it! The lack of security - knowing that the owners can give you notice at any time and probably will sooner or later when they come to sell it.
The lack of a home - ours is inspected every 3 months and the first time we got an official letter telling us off for hanging up the childrens pictures in their rooms with blu-tack.
We can't paint the walls, we can't put up shelves, we can do nothing to the house. It's not a home at all, it's just somewhere to live.

I really feel as though I've failed my children. They should be able to have their own space. I long to paint their bedrooms for them, put up shelves, buy them lovely curtains etc. I feel that the security they should have in their childhoods of having their own space has gone.

I fear that we may never own our own home, that we'll always be renting, moving from house to house. It's hugely expensive too and we are just throwing money away.

I realise this is a situation of my own making but the longer we live in rented housing the more depressed I get. I am desperate to get a job to increase our chances of a mortgage, but despite applying for around one a day, I very often never hear back from them. I used to always get an interview at least. It just serves to knock my confidence more and feel like more of a failure.

It would be nice to find out how other people cope living in private rented housing.

And many are also single parents to one or more children. Imagine that!

I couldn't agree more, SolidGold.

Longer leases would definately help SGB - it would give me peace of mind and a bit more security for the children.

If I knew I was going to be allowed to live here for the duration I probably wouldnt mind spending a bit more money to help put the place right but when I could be out on a whim, I see repairs as being wholly the LL's responsibility.

It doesnt seem to be something that offered on the general market. It would probably suit many LL esp if they own the property outright but would mean that LA's wouldnt be able to reap their annual fees so cant see it happening.

I do know of someone who is renting privately directly through the LL (no LA involved). They were worried that the house was going to be sold so to entice them to stay the LL has offered them a 2 year lease - everybody happy.

Thing is, even with a longer tenancy agreement, there's language in it usually to allow LL to get tenant out at will after 6 months with two months' notice.

The law is made so that LL can get tenant out quickly to sell the commodity, because the attitude here is that property is first and foremost just that, a commodity, and not first and foremost as shelter and a home.

Yes, the UK is more likely to see buildings/land as investment potential as opposed to the potential social use. Houses should be homes. They should have soul, they should be full of memories and be loved.

Maybe I'm a romantic fool, but I always felt "sorry" for the converted family homes I lived in as a student.

Most large house around here are converted.

This a very expensive place to live and I can only imagine how much it would cost to maintain such homes nowadays.

Developers being allowed by councils to build tens of thousands of tiny flats have a lot to answer for.

yeah same in London with the large houses expat.

Very rare round here to own an entire house and it's only older people/80s and 90s buyers and the rich who do.

I think it's revolting that new builds are always 2 bed flats. As if the 'young professional' is the only type of buyer or tenant anybody wants now. Another example of childhating Britain I think.

SGB - in Belgium the standard lease is 9 years! You are allowed to treat the place much as your own with regard to putting up shelves /painting etc BUT when you move everything must be as you found it. Entry and exit interviews are done with an independant conveyancer and are very detailed.

The landlord is only entitled to give you notice if he or a member of his immediate family wants to live in the property. Also all leases have to be registered with a central authority. The rules are also clear on who is responsible for maintaing what.

This does give fantastic security. The downsides are if you move within 3 years you have to pay a penalty. 3 months notice is obligatory. 2 month's rent is the standard deposit too. This is kept in a ringfenced bank account.

Renting here too, always have (which is prob a good thing tbh).

Been in this house since DD was 1 (she turns 7 in May), and we're going to have to move in Sept as it won't be big enough. We have been v lucky here (despite not being able to decorate on a whim) and I am worrying so much about the next place - finding a landlord willing to accept HB, 3 kids and a cat (obv if it comes to it we will have to lose the cat, but I will fight like hell for her). I've given birth to 2 babies in this house, it is our home If it were ours then we would just do building to make it 3 bed, but it isn't so we have to leave.

I have always taken heart in things like the boiler breaking etc - not my problem, I don't have to worry about paying to fix it.

It is gutting that we will have to repaint throughout (in their hideous colours) before we leave though, or lose our deposit.

When i was a single mum three years ago i lived in Guildford and went to the Uni there. I moved there from Devon after a pretty crappy divorce and had no money at all.I had moved there specifically to attend Surrey University.

I was offered student accomidation for myself and my 3DD's. They took me to view two 'suitable' properties and i have never seen such shit pits in all of my life, the rent that they were asking was near enough 1,200 pcm and whilst that was heavily subsidised by the council housing benefit scheme i did have to pay a fairly sizeable proportion out of my student loan/child tax credits.

The decor, carpets and furniture were apalling and even though the house was 'run' by the student accomidation dept the landlord would frequently just turn up to complain about something or other and ask to come in as well (which really pissed me off and is, i believed not allowed without at least some notice)This particular landlord owned 11 ex council properties in total that he gave to the uni to manage - he must have been a very rich man.

I felt constantly scared of mine and my girls position in terms of keeping a roof over my head. I also knew that when my degree ended we would ostensibly be homeless (and whilst Guildford may be percieved as an upmarket place which it is, it also has two of the worst and rough council estates i have ever had the misfortune to come accross - our one was on sky's road wars!)

I can completely empathise with what Expat is saying about the anti social behaviour ourside her door because it was the same where i lived and i hated sending my DD's to the local high school school too but every other decent school in Guildford at the time was oversubscribed.

Renting is shit, we couldnt own a dog (although i got a tiny yorkie cross puppy for DD's and just hid him in the car whenever there was a 6 monthly inspection and thought sod them) Renting made us feel very insecure and i dont think that there are enough laws to protect tenants in this country.

I lived in Stuttgart, Germany from 16 to 20 with my parents and nobody owned their own property, my sister has lived there since she was 19 and she is now 48 and she never has owned her own house either but its just different there, people tend to stay in houses for years and years and their rights are protected by German Law.

The UK stands to gain alot more people who are also going to be forced into a position whereby they can only rent, i dont see my children being able to buy so its about time that condtions were changed and the same goes for the laws surrounding renting.

I met my wonderful DH and we dont rent but had to move away from Surrey because of the astronomical prices (he was from Wiltshire anyway). That ex council house that i moved out of in Guildford was apparently worth £250,000 well wev'e just bought our first house together and its a largeish 5 bed detached (4dc's now and planning one more) for not far short of the same price in Wiltshire ... tell me how the hell that works? For the priveledge of living close to London? My ex also bought a one bed studio flat in Highgate in London for around the same price, FFS its just crazy!

We have a lovely landaldy and have been ehre 5 years, she is allowing us to paint the boy's rooms and we have pictures up. It's a very old house though, one more picture hook will not make a diference with all the cracks in the plaster tbh, and we will make good before we go.

We love this house, it was where ds4 was born.

BUT it's the insecurity;I don't knowe how old her kids are- teens- but the house was left in trust to them so they could sell for uni fees, want to move in, we never know what id happening beyond the next november and we know we cannot get another local private rent so will end up in a hostel, which with 2 sn kids, an sen one and a toddler who is seeming a little atypical as well scares the shite out of me tbh.

We can afford rent but our invcome is a bit cobbled.... dh lost job from redundancy last year, so works PT and is a student whilst I am a carer; local agencies are well known for hanging up the phone on you unless you have a FT job, and we do not have a Guarantor either for non agency places.

DH has 6 months rent put aside so that if we did lose it we could try to negotiate some kind of six months paid in advance contract but we have no idea if that is even legal. Can't think of any other options right now though, i'dlike to work but simply cannot, and DH is already struggling to find time to eat and sleep with what he doe

Our hope is that we will get at least 2 more years here, as Dh will be abck FT by then, we have no way of knowing thjough but we do know the rental agency is gradually pulling out of the village and has closed the lcoal ofice so where wonce we thought our excellent record might trigger some leeway they no longer have houses here to rent regularly, and we are limited where we can go due to the schools they attend

my brother has recently bought a large 4 bed new build house on a new estate.....he has now taken issue with the fact some of the estate will be owned by an housing association,therefore that MUST mean scumbag families lowering his house price!!!

i gently reminded him that i,along with his nephews and nieces also live in social housing.....he hasnt got a clue! he thought my place was council,and councils have powers to make people behave,and that housing associations housed offenders/trouble makers. i'm not too pleased with him

Oh whilst the village we live in is quite posh (chosen only becuase of Uni, reason we moved) the rent is the same as on the horrid ex council house in a rough area alongside an A road we used to have. However, if we could move into the city we'd be £200 pcm better off, but would lose the boys school palce (complex when statements and SN are involved).

price differences are astounding.

We did own once upon a time but DH became very ill for a while, and was let go from work as a result. First time it took 3 months and we coped whilst he found new work but he ahd a relapse, and it took 6 months, I was pg and 38 weeks at the time of the redundancy (not techniocally as was under a year) and so only getting maternity pay as well; we just couldn't finance everything so sold up and cleared all debts etc. back then though I cheerfully worked when Dh was ill, now I cannot becuase of the boys and as such feel trapped; Dh does his best love him but what can you do? he was in last job 5 years, we thought safe as they [posted record resukts then asset strippers bought them.

Sometimes I think i'd like a council home for security, I was raised in one but it would mean a big drive each day with the boys for school (awkward as we have to be around for ds3's SNU taxi and that would be same time as we needed to be in the car... ditto pick ups), plus whilst one estate is IMO fine, the other is so rough I ahve seen threads on here by people saying 'OMG how awful it is' and tbh it is.

There is no 'council' in many areas. The housing stock was transferred to a HA. That's how it is here.

It's council here but slowly in the process of going over to HA I beleive