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Original poster

The day the landlords moved in

383 replies

Ineedagoodusername · 28/06/2017 21:22

Is anyone watching this? The second landlord with his disgustingly extravagant lifestyle is making me so angry. The communal areas in his flats are horrific.

OP posts:
BaDumShh · 05/07/2017 22:17

I honestly don't get why landlords don't just rent their properties themselves and cut out the letting agents. If your property is in a decent condition (i.e. The tenant won't have any need to call you out for repairs every week) it surely wouldn't cause you that much extra work? And you don't have to pay a fee to the agency.

I really wish more landlords did this.

MeanAger · 05/07/2017 22:21

Because some of them have so many properties they couldn't do the job themselves. Or like my LL who used an agent some of them fuck off to spend their wealth in foreign countries and don't give a fuck about the condition of their property.

alpacasandwich · 05/07/2017 22:25

I rented direct from a landlord.

They let themselves into the property at random to do repairs with no notice. It turned out that their "repairs" were all bodges, the husband thought he was a plumber and wasn't. The downstairs toilet never worked the whole time we lived there.

MeanAger · 05/07/2017 22:25

Lots of landlords aren't individual people either. They are companies who just own the property. They don't even know where it is or what it looks like or how much rent it brings in.

I remember meeting a man a few years ago and in the course of conversation where I lived came up. When I told him he paused and said "I think I own a few of the houses in there, my partner and I bought them off plans when they were released" I asked which ones he owned he said "oh I have no idea, I don't even know how many we own"

Wingedharpy · 05/07/2017 22:35

I suppose BaDumShh that if you are a LL managing 1 or 2 properties yourself locally is feasible but these guys have many, many properties, several located miles away from where they actually live so therefore they pass on the day to day responsibilities to letting agents.
The letting agents are clearly getting money for old rope given that they appear to have done not very much about the different tenants concerns and in one case actually paid out for rubbish being cleared when it hadn't been removed at all.
Surely that electric meter was illegal ? That cannot possibly be acceptable.
I was dissappointed that the couple with children weren't given a bit more than £100 for compensation
given their electric meter situation.
Glad to see the other guy was reimbursed for the money he had spent on his home/their property.

MeanAger · 05/07/2017 22:42

I think the electric meter was illegal. From what I have gathered, separate tenanted properties have to have separate meter boxes. I think HMOs are the exception.

I think a lot of those LLs would be far better employing their own letting agent. Having them on their payroll rather than contracting the work out to local agencies. It would give the LLs far more control over what the agent does and they can fire them and hire someone new if they are shit. With a contract agency you are left with having to find a new agency which may be just as shite and renegotiating fees and terms again.

Rhubarbginisnotasin · 06/07/2017 04:29

Open mouthed at one of the brothers thinking anyone would want a boiler without it being housed in a cupboard.

Pemba · 06/07/2017 04:56

I think part of the problem might be that so many of these landlords buy up property in areas of the country very far from where they actually live. Then they are reliant on local agents to deal with day to day stuff like maintenance, and as we all know, many agents do a bad job, so little gets done. The landlords all say they were unaware, but they should have made it their business to know what was going on with their properties!

The landlords were all full of excuses, like last week, and making disingenuous remarks like 'oh maybe the tenant enjoys living with doors off their hinges/boiler not boxed in - their choice'. What bollocks.

I didn't like any of them as much as the son from the father/son pair last week, who seemed OK. And how stupid to put an 18 year old boy in charge! In general they were selfish leeches, as most private landlords owning multiple properties are. Hopefully this will become more and more socially unacceptable over the years, and tax disincentives and increased legislation will make it less attractive.

NeverTwerkNaked · 06/07/2017 09:00

Oh was there another episode?! Not sure whether I can take it. It really showed the polarity of our society. And how little compassion or humanity the wealthiest have.
It has shown how badly the rented sector needs better regulation and better tenant rights.
It also shows why the social housing model is better than private renting.

I couldn't enjoy life knowing that I was making money out of someone living in miserable accommodation

Rhubarbginisnotasin · 06/07/2017 10:04

And how little compassion or humanity the wealthiest have

All of them? Really?

Rhubarbginisnotasin · 06/07/2017 10:06

And how stupid to put an 18 year old boy in charge!

He looked bloody miserable and would appear to be getting deprived of further education in order to go into the family business.

MrWriter · 06/07/2017 10:19

Watched this last night, missed the previous weeks episode. Both LL seemed clueless, and didn't care about the tenants until a TV camera was in their face.
We rent one property out, we are in no way rich but it was the only way we could move house. In answer to a pp question, we use a company as its safer, if you're renting directly and the tenant stops paying rent and refuses to move out you have very little come back.

This happened to my sfil, when his mum died he rented out the house, the two women who took it on seemed lovely, paid rent for about 6mths then just stopped, refused to pay or leave. It was a nightmare situation for him, very difficult to get them removed and when they eventually did leave they wrecked the place.

MeanAger · 06/07/2017 11:02

we use a company as its safer, if you're renting directly and the tenant stops paying rent and refuses to move out you have very little come back.

You have exactly the same come back whether you manage it yourself or use an agent. If an agent has told you otherwise they have lied (but who is surprised at that?)

Soubriquet · 06/07/2017 11:10

We got conned with a shared electric meter that we had no clue about.

Had a bill come through for £1000 for 3 months worth of electric.

Now I know we don't use that much, and even the provider was shocked at the high bill. But then it turned out that we were being charged for next door electric too and we wasn't aware of that. Though the letting agent was.

We refused to pay, gave it to the letting agent and moved out.

Bastards

alpacasandwich · 06/07/2017 13:47

making disingenuous remarks like 'oh maybe the tenant enjoys living with doors off their hinges/boiler not boxed in - their choice'. What bollocks.

Because they think their tenants are worth less than them. They don't deserve the standard of living they would choose for themselves. It's revolting.

WindyWednesday · 06/07/2017 14:14

Not all tenants are wonderful. Some treat the property with total lack of respect. I have let a house in perfect condition, new carpets, freshly redecorated. After 4 months it looked like a squat.

The tenant is in their rights to live like that, they have the right to peaceful enjoyment of the property. As long as it is returned at the end of tenancy in a decent state. Sadly this is not always the case.

I have seen so many sights. The tenants who didn't clean the bath for 18months, because they didn't know they had too....
The tenants who left the property before the end of the lease and left all the windows wide open. Nothing I could do as legally I couldn't enter the property. I'm sure you can imagine the state of the place after the windows had been left open for over two months exposed to the elements.

I know there are bad landlords, but honestly not all tenants are perfect.

MeanAger · 06/07/2017 14:17

What inspired that post windy? No-one had said anything about tenants being perfect. This thread is about landlords experiencing what their tenants are living with/in.

MotherOfMinions · 06/07/2017 15:25

The whole point of this thread Windy is that there are a lot of landlords living in luxury whilst their tenants live in poverty in poor accommodation for high rent. If you want to start a discussion about badly behaved tenants you need to start a different thread

JustDanceAddict · 06/07/2017 17:38

We also rent out our old flat.
Have taken out very good insurance after being shafted last time. Will get rent paid if our current tenant doesn't pay. So far so good.
Wouldn't touch a letting agent with a bsrgepole. They take so much commission as well - for doing eff all.

alpacasandwich · 06/07/2017 17:55

Windy I'm sorry that some of the people who pay for your lifestyle didn't meet your standards. I will be over here playing a song on the world's smallest violin.

Rhubarbginisnotasin · 06/07/2017 18:21

Windy I'm sorry that some of the people who pay for your lifestyle didn't meet your standards. I will be over here playing a song on the world's smallest violin

You're twisted. Your insides must be pickled in bile.

WindyWednesday · 06/07/2017 18:58

I'm not living in luxury. Did you see my earlier post?

NeverTwerkNaked · 06/07/2017 19:43

Fact is, if you don't like dealing with difficult tenants or having repair costs at the end then you are in the wrong business. Sell the property and stick you savings in the bank.

WindyWednesday · 06/07/2017 20:20

I don't think I said I didn't like it. I was only saying the facts of being a landlord.

I clean it up and make it good for the next tenant.

I don't live in an ivory tower.

I am really conscious about the responsibility of being a landlord and want my tenants to be happy. I am a good landlord, not like the ones on the to show.

Repairs and other issues are all part of the job. Where exactly did you get the idea I wasn't happy? If you knew me you wouldn't be so quick to judge me. No need to make me out to be the bad guy here.

JustDanceAddict · 06/07/2017 21:26

Don't worry Windy, some people are just bitter.