Is your landlord a good person?
Posted by No_Philosophy711@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 191 comments
So I've rented around many different places in London over the decades.
My recent stint with a landlord has actually been quite pleasant. Place is super clean and well maintained - comes with a cleaner, and if repairs need doing, he brings in someone on the same day to assess/fix the issue.
PCMRSmurfinator@reddit
I know a lot of people people who say "our landlord is really nice this year, he/she always fixes things on time" etc. as if that's not their entire job. That's like getting a C on your report card.
My landlord is scum of the earth, by the way.
Furicist@reddit
Had a landlord when I was a student, he'd answer his phone any time there was a problem, day or night and would be there immediately if there was a real issue.
One time the fire alarm went off without explanation, he was worried it was carbon monoxide, got the gas man out came himself in the middle of the night, only left when he knew we were ok and cools go back in.
Other time another housemate broke his window when he kicked a stray ball on the back garden, he came and boarded it up for free and said he was fine if either he arranged a glazier or the housemate did it himself.
When leaving, the other housemates didn't clean their areas well or the kitchen. I stayed behind and did a bit of cleaning and he handed my deposit back in full and kept theirs rather than punishing everyone on the property, no problem.
The boiler started leaking from it's PRV from a housemate over pressuring the system. Engineer out and fixed in a day.
Sorted literally any issues, was polite, calm and reasonable. Absolutely no problem. Would recommend him as a landlord given everything in the house worked or was fixed promptly.
They do exist. Rent was fair for the area.
Overgrown_fetus1305@reddit
Nope. I'm fundamentally of the opinion that being a landlord is immoral, but mine is actually, particularly bad by the standards of landlords- based on my Dad comparing him to the 7ish he's dealt with. The flat itself is for where it is, a relatively decent size, but that's about the only good thing I can say about mine, in truth.
TheEnglishNorwegian@reddit
How is being a landlord immoral? Lol
xDhezz@reddit
Owning multiple homes and renting one/some out for profit and exploiting the basic human need for shelter to further your own personal wealth is immoral
TheEnglishNorwegian@reddit
That assumes people want to live in the place that is being rented out all year round, and that renting it is purely for profit, rather than to finance the upkeep and care of a historic listed building for example. There's more to it than just "this is great for profit", if we only did it for the money there's better ways to invest the capital.
xDhezz@reddit
Yes I'm sure the majority of landlords are renting to preserve the history of the building. Come on, get real.
You know the majority of landlords are only doing it for money, saying otherwise is disingenuous, they do it so they can retain the asset at someone else's expense.
And yes, the majority of people do want somewhere to live all year.
I'd actually argue no one wants to rent. They're forced to because the housing market is fucked by landlords and private equity companies.
No one is out there thinking "I can't wait to give up a third of my pay packet to someone else just so I'm not homeless"
TheEnglishNorwegian@reddit
Plenty of people want to rent, as it allows for mobility, especially if you are younger and bouncing around different jobs. When I went overseas in my 20's to work, I didn't exactly want to buy a house in any of those countries while working there, that would have been silly.
And yes, of course most landlords are doing it as an investment, it doesn't mean they are not providing a service that is needed and used (obviously). Are all of them angels, of course not, they are just people and lots of people are assholes. But the assertion that all landlords are by default immoral is such an extreme viewpoint frankly.
xDhezz@reddit
"Doing it as an investment" it's immoral to invest in something that's a requirement to live.
"Providing a service" they're not providing shit, they're exploiting a basic human need. They aren't building houses, they're hoarding them.
You wanted to travel and work overseas in your twenties. Ok?
Stay in hostels, room lets, board with people in their homes there are plenty of ways to achieve that without private landlordism.
I get it mate, you're a landlord. You're confronted by the fact that you're making money off something that is immoral, but you yourself aren't a 'bad' person.
That doesn't change the fact that being a landlord and landlords are immoral.
TheEnglishNorwegian@reddit
Stating it doesn't simply make it true. It's just a matter of philosophical differences. Some people would say drinking alcohol is immoral. It can be to them but it doesn't make it a fact of life.
Why would I want to live as a lodger or in a house share when I could have my own place and more freedom? Besides renting out a room to a lodger still makes those people landlords. Also what employed person lives in a hostel? Have you ever actually stayed in a hostel?
I wasn't backpacking about doing bar work or some shit. I was working towards my actual career in tech.
Providing a service people need, while making a small profit off it is simply how the world works. Are famers immoral because people need food to survive? Are teachers immoral for providing an education (a human right) and profiting off it? Why are you arbitrarily drawing the line at providing accomodation?
xDhezz@reddit
I'm not simply stating it, I'm making arguments as to why it is.
You're simply providing examples where it is useful, something being useful doesn't make it moral. For every 1 person that benefits from renting there are many many more who it's negatively impacting.
Alcohol is such a straw man argument, if you want to sit and consume a drink without hurting yourself or the life of others then it impacts no one.
"Why would I house share when I could have my own place" by the same token why should someone have to rent just because a landlord buys up all the housing near them?
No farmers are not immoral, the supermarket executives who profiteer from it are
Schools are free at the point of use provided by taxpayers (so imo that's a bad example)
but in good faith to your argument, yes it would be immoral to withhold education if someone couldn't afford it, so we don't.
I'm not arbitrarily drawing the line at accommodation.
I think we should provide all basic human needs for free of charge via taxation. That's literally all I want my taxes to be used for, making the country better for the people who live in it, and that includes people having basic needs met.
Also on your point;
"That's just the way the world works"
It doesn't have to be. We can and should work to change things for the better. We have repeatedly done so throughout history.
TheEnglishNorwegian@reddit
Much of the UK does charge for higher education, and also charges for access to "better" education for KS1-5 via private schools, after school tutors and programs etc.
Many teachers I know have quit teaching in school to become a private tutor as it's safer, less stressful, often pays more and you set your own hours. Are they immoral?
Like I said you can have your opinion on whatever being immoral, but it doesn't make it so just because. Some will agree with you, some won't.
For me, the world is much more nuanced to ever get to the point of all landlords are automatically imoral, there's always going to be some cases where it's totally fine and some where it is exploitative.
xDhezz@reddit
You're really latching onto teachers but avoiding the main point- We do not have private for profit education as standard for compulsory basic education. It is provided free at point of use via taxes.
Personally yes, I think we should have free access to higher education.
No people changing jobs to become private tutors is not immoral, they aren't preventing anyone from accessing a need, however Private schools are immoral, and shouldn't exist.
This is all besides the point and a straw man argument.
If you want to pretend that landlords aren't immoral and exploitative because of a tiny tiny percentage and edge cases then sure go for it, but you are wrong.
These still can be better addressed in other ways that don't involve one person owning multiple homes.
The vast vast majority of landlords (enough to say all without it being unfair) are exploiting the need for housing for personal profit and it's immoral.
Pretending otherwise is being deliberately short sighted imo.
you can keep saying it's just a "nuanced view" if it makes you feel better about being a landlord though.
TheEnglishNorwegian@reddit
And this extreme viewpoint summarises British politics at the moment, sadly.
There is no nuance left, everything is extreme one way or the other and a binary statement.
I feel fine, at this point you just come across as bitter and jealous more than anything. But you do you I guess.
As I said elsewhere, I'm not depriving anyone of a house, no one besides my family can legally live in it full time. And if it was to be sold it would have to be as a holiday house, so someone would either be renting it out on the side as we do, or only using it occasionally. But I guess that would make them immoral too! 😂
xDhezz@reddit
no comebacks on the actual argument there so you go to simple insults. Take it you haven't got anything of actual value to add anymore so I'll make this my last reply.
It's not extreme to say being a landlord is immoral, they do far more harm than good for the vast supermajority of cases, so saying they're all immoral is justifiable.
our country would be far better off without them profiteering off a basic need.
Quality of life for millions would skyrocket by owning over renting but that isn't possible due to landlords hoarding property.
Not quite sure why you're bringing the holiday home you own in another country into this.
it's not in the UK, this is an AskUK thread, about landlords here.
TheEnglishNorwegian@reddit
Moving the goalposts to define what "all landlords" mean as you can't argue against it. Lol
Beneficial-Data6892@reddit
Exactly. Most landlords are in it for easy money let’s be real. I work in construction and done work for hundreds of them over the years. And we are now in a state where notmal everyday working people are being scalped for up to half their pay checks just to have a basic living requirement of having a roof over their head.
I completely agree it’s immoral amd shouldn’t be allowed. You’ve said it quite well.
dbxp@reddit
Depends on whether the landlord funds the construction
AdRealistic4984@reddit
There’s a couple of hundred years of literature elucidating that position
TheEnglishNorwegian@reddit
Should be easy to answer then eh?
mattscazza@reddit
Or you could go find that literature and educate yourself instead of trying to bait an argument on the internet?
TheEnglishNorwegian@reddit
Why is it my job to go and read literature when someone else provides the opinion that being a landlord is immoral. It's their position, it is for them to justify it if someone else asks why they have that position, not the person asking the question. What kind of backwards world are you living in?
mattscazza@reddit
Because it's your job to educate yourself. We're not all here to serve you. Entitled much? Classic Landlord behaviour.
TheEnglishNorwegian@reddit
In which case, no one should bother replying to anyone about anything on a social platform, we should all just go off an educate ourselves and "guess" everyone's position based on assuming everyone has read the same literature and lived the same experiences?
The irony here is that I'm actually a teacher, I'm well read and enjoy learning. One surprisingly fun way of learning things about people is to engage in discussion with them. Shocking I know!
mattscazza@reddit
You're so disingenuous. Have you really got nothing better to do on a bank holiday weekend in the sunshine than to bait arguments online?
TheEnglishNorwegian@reddit
Not really baiting arguments is it? I potentially disagree with part of their stance but I wanted to hear why they felt that way before engaging further. I find the topic interesting personally.
I'm currently grading exams as it is fucking roasting outside, so chilling with my AC on, browsing Reddit and dabbling in a bit of Hearthstone while making good progress on the work submitted. Going to go jump in the lake and have a BBQ in a bit once the worst of the sun is over.
mattscazza@reddit
It was a rhetorical question. No one actually cares what you're doing.
cardboard-collector@reddit
Nobody has to justify shit to you
TheEnglishNorwegian@reddit
Of course not, but if someone states an opinion, I'm entitled to ask (as part of the discourse of, shock horror, a discussion platform) and they are entitled to simply ignore the question if they wish.
AdRealistic4984@reddit
I’m just pointing out you’re being facetious by pretending it’s the first time you’ve heard this
Overgrown_fetus1305@reddit
I think it's unethical to make money by gobbling up a rare and essential public good, and then sell it out for a premium while expecting other people to pay your mortgage, and that's if you do the repairs on time (which many landlords don't, because it's hard to get them to fulfil their legal, or even their ethical obligations). PS5 and ticket scalpers buying up the rare good and making it cost more for everyone else despite doing nominally voluntary transactions are widely seen as being greedy and unethical, it's a lot worse when you have to pay £1000/month for something that cost the landlord maybe half that when they took out the mortgage, and when not only will they eventually be free of the cost while as a tenant I will not until I move, but when the threat of homelessness is held over my head for not paying the protection racket.
We banned evictions during covid, I think as there's a cost of living crisis, we ought to ban them again. Heck, we should make eviction bans for not paying rent permanent- the water company can't just cut off the water even if you don't pay, and the same law applies to electricity if it might cause somebody to die because they need a ventilator or something, should be the same law for housing- the average life expectancy of a guy sleeping rough is about 10 years (not sure offhand of the data for women). Our hosing model's broken, and it's the marketisation of housing to blame at the end of the day.
TheEnglishNorwegian@reddit
Valid, however there's some counter arguments in some cases.
For instance, I'm a short-term landlord (holiday rentals and usually short stays, mostly a few months max, often just a week or two at a time). The property, cannot legally be sold as it is both a listed building and outside of my family no one has the right to live there full time. If it was to be sold, it would have to become a permanent holiday rental location, so someone else would just be renting it anyway.
Also, by having a steady influx of tourism to the area, it provides much needed wealth and stimulus to local businesses, who are extremely happy for us to rent it out to visiting guests when we are not using it ourselves.
There's also not a housing shortage in the area, so it isn't holding anyone back. The house is outside of the UK in Norway on the coast. We use it a lot during the summer months.
MrReadilyUnready@reddit
Being a landlord is inherently parasitic. A single human cannot occupy two homes at once, therefore they should not be able to own two homes at once. Your landlord is nice because you are paying his mortgage.
Purple_Kidneys@reddit
Not arguing for or against here, but would just like to know your solution?
So they get massively taxed, so stop doing it. All these houses then become vacant.
Not everyone can afford a deposit for a house, or indeed have the want to own a house, where do they live? Are we wanting the government to step in and become the new landlords? If so are they charging the same rent and paying new staff to manage all the new properties or will it be tax payer funded?
Again, just curious as I see these views every now and again and just wonder what the alternative would be.
web3monk@reddit
Government and councils should reclassify land they already own or cheaply acquire and mass build new homes with a percentage sold and percentage kept as council housing.
They make the insane profits property developers are making while cutting the absurd amount they spend on paying people on benefits rent to private landlords that is sending many bankrupt.
Seems like common sense so will never happen.
Emergency-Assist-421@reddit
Building affordable housing will make the council a significant loss on every unit. It’s simply not feasible
web3monk@reddit
Not what I said though.
Build 100 houses sell 50.
Make huge profit on 50 sold. Basically zero land cost.
Emergency-Assist-421@reddit
That simply isn’t the way it works. The profit margins are extremely slim, so much so now a lot of developers are just banking land for when building becomes more feasible.
web3monk@reddit
Because of the price of land... If it's free different story
Emergency-Assist-421@reddit
The price of the land is usually a minute cost in the overall scheme of things. Especially outside London. Local authorities are rarely sitting on vast tracks of unused land that are perfect for housing. By the time utilities are installed, the land passes environmental surveys and is prepared for building its no cheaper than a private enterprise.
web3monk@reddit
Sorry man but you're just flat wrong "purchasing the land remains the largest upfront capital cost, often making up about a third of the completed home's value"
And you can see the land councils own. It's vast.
Being able to grant planning permission is like printing money and councils can do it for themselves.
Emergency-Assist-421@reddit
Ah yes an unverified quotation, well done. You have all these amazing solutions but yet nobody implements them. Maybe it’s more complicated than you think? Dunning-Krueger and all that.
MrReadilyUnready@reddit
Well firstly property prices would massively fall if multiple home ownership were taxed out of existence, so a lot more people would be able to purchase a property.
And secondly, yes, I expect local councils to purchase housing stock. Before the 70s council housing made up the vast majority of rental stock. Private rentals existed but were uncommon. People like doctors and mine workers alike were eligible for council housing because there was enough stock. It was normal to live in council housing.
Then a certain politician came in and introduced right-to-buy, and prevented councils from using money made from RTB to build more social housing. This lead to the fucked up private rental market we have today.
Tonythepillow@reddit
Do you rent or own a home currently ?
Emergency-Assist-421@reddit
RTB was one of the best things to happen to this country. The state should not be involved in housing normal people. I want to own my house not rent it from the council for eternity.
Ambitious-Concert-69@reddit
I agree we need landlords to manage short term rental properties, but your logic is flawed. As the landlords sell up, the house prices fall because the market has been flooded with new listings. People who couldn’t afford to buy before now can. The houses don’t sit vacant with no owners.
RedRamblerUK@reddit
Why not. We had it years ago, council housing!
FallowfieldPark@reddit
If we want to rent, who would be the landlord? There has to be a landlord for us to rent. Nkt being sarcastic, I’m just curious as to what your answer may be
RedRamblerUK@reddit
Local authorities used to manage it before Thatcher.
Emergency-Assist-421@reddit
So there were no landlords before Thatcher?
RedRamblerUK@reddit
Very, very few in comparison to local authority who bore the brunt.
The local authority replaced the slum lords who rented multi generational housing post ww2.
Emergency-Assist-421@reddit
The private rental sector housed around 25% of households in 1970. That’s hardly very very few.
RedRamblerUK@reddit
Yes it is.
Emergency-Assist-421@reddit
That’s more than today?
MrReadilyUnready@reddit
There were very few private landlords. The vast majority of rental stock was social housing and everyone was entitled to it.
Emergency-Assist-421@reddit
Yet 25% of households in 1970 were in privately rented accommodation?
TheBeAll@reddit
Social housing is used for foreigners and refugees now. There aren’t enough for short term lets.
The__Pope_@reddit
I'm guessing their answer would be it's council owned or something. It's something I've wondered, we're always hearing how broke council's are. Why don't they buy houses/flats to rent out? The start up cost of buying the properties in the first place may be the issue idk
TheBeAll@reddit
Used to spend £30bn a year building new council houses, now we spend £30bn a year on housing support via UC. If you tried to spend it on building houses people would be up in arms about the harm to the poor even though it would benefit them in the long run. And we can’t afford to do both.
Emergency-Assist-421@reddit
You would get far fewer houses for your £30b nowdays. Plus you still need to cover that housing support bill for years while those houses are built. Finally, in places where people actually want to live there is no space for new builds.
TheBeAll@reddit
It compounds over time. Might only be 100,000 homes a year but in 20 years time that’s 2mn extra houses to the stock.
This is what I mean, we can’t do it because nobody wants to cut the support that would fund it.
It’s not about space, it’s about buying up 2 streets of housing a building three or four large flat buildings of 5/6 floors.
Emergency-Assist-421@reddit
Yes but the country doesn’t have the money. It would probably take £100b at least in excess spending to put a sizeable dent in those UC figures. Whether it’s nationalisation, building more houses or defence spending everyone seems to forget that stuff costs money and the government has no money.
I would support slashing the welfare bill by removing the triple lock and tightening UC eligibility and funnelling all that cash into housing.
MrReadilyUnready@reddit
Before the 70s council housing made up the vast majority of rental stock. Private rentals existed but were uncommon. People like doctors and miners alike were eligible for council housing because there was enough stock. It was normal to live in council housing.
Then a certain politician came in and introduced right-to-buy, and prevented councils from using money made from RTB to build more social housing. This lead to the fucked up private rental market we have today because council stock dried up.
Tonythepillow@reddit
So they should put up their houses for sale immediately then and those that are renting should buy them ?
Ok. Might we foresee issue with that?
Emergency-Assist-421@reddit
Even ignoring the affordability issue a lot of people like renting. It’s flexible and convenient.
Emergency-Assist-421@reddit
I’m currently occupying three homes. My normal house, my summer house and my winter chalet.
Sea_Appearance6837@reddit
Don’t speak to me until you have a refuge in rural New Zealand for when these peasants revolt.
EcoNorfolk@reddit
Try to work out the result of that for a nano second. Can you see an error in your thinking?
DigitalStefan@reddit
The last landlord I had, which was 2017-2022, was my employer.
For a while I was managing my own rent invoices and payment allocations.
It was a sweet deal. £400/month plus £50 service charge. Included all bills except council tax. Free electric.
Employer asked me to get involved in a huge project, to which I agreed because it was going to look great on my CV. At the height of that project when I was putting in lots of hours and managing complex workflows, they tried to sneak in some changes to the tenancy agreement at renewal.
The main change was I was going to be on the hook for electricity. The person who changed it was the person who asked me to do this huge project for them. They sent a flunky to my office with the changed paperwork and expected me to sign without reading.
I read it. I sent the flunky away and I sent a very polite message to the Finance Director (the person who drafted the changed agreement) asking to talk about the renewal.
She came to my office. I said "At what point were you going to talk to me about making a substantial change to my rental renewal terms and what would it be like for you right now if I quit in the middle of this project?"
Her eyes went wide and then she started actually crying in front of me.
My renewal terms were reverted back to the original. I completed the project. I got paid the agreed bonus and the wheels were set in motion for me to leave. I handed in my resignation on Christmas Eve, just before a 2 week break. No regrets.
Spicymargx@reddit
No he’s not. He is extremely cheap and I’ve had multiple workmen tell me he’s either not paid them or underpaid them. He doesn’t care about his tenants at all and doesn’t consider the cost of maintenance as something that’s part of his business but rather a “favour” he’s doing for us. When you really push him on a repair, he threatens to use eviction proceedings to get you out under the guise of renovations being incompatible with someone occupying the property at the same time (I’m talking things like cleaning the gutters), and then when you tell him you know he can’t do that he gets very angry. He also kicks off if you put things in writing.
split-tennisball@reddit
They get us a box of Ferraro Rocher for Christmas each year.
Ambitious-Concert-69@reddit
My landlord sent the rent request email on Christmas Day. It’s an automated email that comes on the 25th of each month but still funny.
DigitalStefan@reddit
A landlord once sent me an eviction notice with the eviction date set as 25th December.
Joke's on him. The house almost entirely collapsed and had to be shored up at great cost by the council and then extensively repaired.
phatboi23@reddit
I once got a letter saying they'll be visiting about my TV licence one year on December 25th.
I don't think they did but I wouldn't know, was at my mates smoking brisket haha
AirconGuyUK@reddit
One landlord I had bought the house we were in for £41k in 1997.
We paid him £22,000 while we lived there.
One time I called him up about the boiler and he said he'd have to fix it tomorrow as he was 'at the races'.
When we moved out, he stung us for £200 (£300 in todays money) for a small bleach stain we got on the lino in the bathroom.
The next place I moved into the landlord was even worse. I moved in and within a week he told me I'd need to move out at the end of my tenancy (6 months) as he was selling the place. For 6 months I refused every request to let potential buyers come see the place, as per my rights.
I hate landlords.
DebbDebbDebb@reddit
You don't need to you can leave or if the chocolates are an issue hand them back.
split-tennisball@reddit
You don't say
96JY@reddit
Found the landlord!
Questjon@reddit
You can easily afford that Ambassador.
mousey76397@reddit
Cheaper than buying them in Tesco nowadays.
No_Philosophy711@reddit (OP)
Lmao
poliver1988@reddit
I don't rent anymore, but every landlord I stayed before thought they were a good person lol
HoboStrider@reddit
The last man one was always at the building pottering around doing something but really nothing. He was just always there or always checking up on the building. I don't think he had anything to do so would come around and be a dick. The property was nice but I genuinely wish I never met him. He would always say something nasty and I ended up having a go at him before leaving.
Natural-Ad-4423@reddit
This is going back a few years ago now but mine appeared to be okay. I put in my notice after my partner passed at a young age. I didn’t have the heart to do much with the place except empty it and clean it. There was a hole in the wall from when my partner passed out and hit his head which I knew needed plastering.
My landlord seemed really understanding. Place was cleaner than when we got it, the only issue was a chair I didn’t remove and the hole in the wall.
Well.. he told the estate agents that he wanted to keep my deposit, he expressed he wanted to clean it (fine if you really want to) dispose of a chair (and other things that were there before we moved in) and plaster the small area that needed it. Told me moving the items (that were not ours) would cost £200, cleaning £250 and plaster the wall. So wanted my entire deposit.
The estate agents give them credit where it’s due got me back £200 out of the 1200 deposit.
MostFortune1093@reddit
We rent from a housing association and I can tell you with 100% certainty that almost everyone that works for them is a piece of s*it.
So the answer is a really fu*king emphatic 'no'.
eques_99@reddit
80% of them are good people.
trouble is that 20% is a LOT of stress and bullshit to have to deal with.
they can also give you a bad reference, which makes it hard to find new places.
Gloomy_Custard_3914@reddit
No. My current landlord is possibly the stingiest human being on earth
Klakson_95@reddit
Plot twist, you are the landlord
Fickle_Acanthaceae17@reddit
I would've said yes. Hes lovely in every aspect, except i was having a conversation one time and he said some very racist shit. Threw me right off. Other then that lol yeah.
Square-Ad1434@reddit
nope, does absolutely nothing and doesn't care about gas/electrical safety certs
lornamabob@reddit
Our last landlord was the best I've ever had. He was super chill and actually cared about our wellbeing. Always responded to issues immediately and didn't take any money off the deposit.
Exp3r1mentAL@reddit
It had been a mixed bag for me.
First landlord - absolute mug who was sub letting. House was never clean and I had bloody bed bugs all over my stuff..
Second landlord - was not directly liaising with them as it was the agency handling it. But they were so unprofessional. Once their handyman came inside the flat unannounced and no apologies.. absolutely took ages to get our deposit back
Third landlord - fantastic gentleman. He had multiple properties and was handling the tenancy tenure via his company. Never had any issues..and gave us parting gift when we moved to our new house..
boringfantasy@reddit
Mine just disappears. I pay rent and he sends someone over if something is broken. I only met him the day I signed the contract.
OldVegetable9573@reddit
Out of the 5 we had in \~20 years, the current one (and hopefully last) is the only cool one.
ValenciaHadley@reddit
I've never met my landlord but my bedroom window has been slipping out of the wall since January and it's still not been fixed. From what I can gather from repeatedly asking about it is that the handy man put a couple screws in the outisde wall to stop it going completely so it's good enough for now and they'll replace the shitty windows sometime in the summer.
Desperate_Cook_7338@reddit
It's my dad. And no not a good person.
PKblaze@reddit
Never even met em, they seldom do anything, and they put the house up for sale without informing us. Only found out from the letting agency and it wasn't listed with sitting tenants, so there was a possibility that we would have just been forced to move on the whims of some southern fuckwad.
dbxp@reddit
I've own my own house now but I've had relatively good luck with landlords.
My last one was disconnected from the economics of regular people. She says she wasn't privileged but went to uni in China during the early 90s (top 3-5%) and her parents were doctors. She also has 2 ex husbands who were European low level millionaires. However she did rent rooms below market rate as that let her choose good tenants.
The previous one was loaded but down to earth. Rented the flat below market rate as she didn't seem to know what to do with it. It was an ancient building split into two flats, I'm not sure you could sell it for owner occupier even if you wanted to.
penguin62@reddit
Yes. He's my partner's dad who bought the flat while she was in uni. Half the rent of other flats in our building, immediately fixes any issues or reimburses us if we fix it ourselves.
LadyInAllPower@reddit
Last I rented was just temporarily after a divorce. And my god I felt fortunate that I don’t rely on landlords for my permanent home. He was a petty and spiteful piece of work, and was more interested in telling me I needed to tidy up or do my laundry in a particular way than actually fixing the many problems in the house! That said, one of my kids does have a decent, very responsive and very fair landlord.
But the fact you might get a decent one int good enough. People need the security of a decent home
Bossman_Mike@reddit
At my final rental place the landlord was alright. It was the letting agent that was a pile of shit.
DebbDebbDebb@reddit
And the security of a decent job. And the security of decent NHS And the security of a decent pension And the security of paying taxes to help the poorer And the security of mental health services. And the security not to be abused. And the list goes on.
Big companies make huge profits why can't a percentage be taken and put towards social housing for many. How much shops and business can make money . Once everyone moves over to less rent through government, council and private money the landlords can p off.
The__Pope_@reddit
Last time I rented, the landlord was fine, fixed things when needed etc. But every time I called him about something he'd do a big sigh and moan about how much he was spending.
Overgrown_fetus1305@reddit
The entitlement they have- they should try having to be a tenant making a loss to pay somebody else's mortgage, if they think it's so bad.
Lost-Activity6231@reddit
You are I would get on very well.
LadyInAllPower@reddit
Poor him!
DebbDebbDebb@reddit
Yes and sort it with the government and council. Moaning about landlords all the time the government the councils and very rich are all having a great laugh.
Funny the people in mega houses why are they not requested to become HMO and share the wealth.
Bossman_Mike@reddit
He's an absolute helmet who dislikes calling people up and having tradesmen tramping in and out all of the time, despite not being too practical himself. His DIY results are pretty average and simple jobs take longer than anticipated.
The garden is also a bit of a state and he moans it's too hot to do anything about it.
(I'm a homeowner and that landlord is me)
BeneficialVariety171@reddit
I’ve had 2 landlords in my time and they both fixed things pretty quickly and were nice and friendly.
I own now and don’t fix things as quick as they did lol
Electronic_Score4838@reddit
I’ve had a similar experience with my landlord - very responsive if there’s any issues, and hasn’t put my rent up when there is a fairly strong argument I’m paying significantly below market value (🤫)
But I’d say my experience is generally out of step with friends and family who are also renting. Crazy how common landlord horror stories are, which makes me realise I’ve got quite lucky.
grokebomb@reddit
Haven't seen her since the day I moved in. Been living here for over a decade.
EcoNorfolk@reddit
No, we are all evil dontcha know. Forget the thousands we sink into properties, the 24hr free of charge repair service. The rental cost that in my case is much lower than a mortgage. Etc etc. forget that my properties were uninhabitable when I bought them so no mortgage would have been available. No, forget that. Landlords like me are scum.
Right up until you can’t get a mortgage and need a really nice place to live in.
AllThatIHaveDone@reddit
Landlords shouldn't involve themselves in threads like these. There's no justification for your behaviour that you can make that won't sound false to anyone who has rented property in the UK.
EcoNorfolk@reddit
I’ve rented property in the past. The issue is that the navel gazing class warriors cannot accept that “landlords” bad narrative is beyond stupid. Im not a saint but i provide high quality housing at a reasonable cost. My bad.
This sort of thread isnt useful to anyone tbh as it distracts from the main issues.
(Home ownership as a right is a weird concept - the German model appears better imo)
AllThatIHaveDone@reddit
Like I said, there's nothing you can say here that's not going to make you sound like a worse person than you already do. Just give it up, you won't be changing any minds with this approach.
EcoNorfolk@reddit
You’re right - closed minded cretins abound. No ability to reason. Perhaps that’s why they are moaning about renting all the time.
AllThatIHaveDone@reddit
You've been your own worst enemy in this thread, my friend. In the future, just keep schtum.
EcoNorfolk@reddit
Not asking for advice fella
AllThatIHaveDone@reddit
I don't think I need your permission to share my opinion, fella.
Radiant-History-5630@reddit
I mean, what do you expect people to do? Be voluntarily homeless because they don't like landlords? We hate landlords because there is no way around it. Got to have a roof over our heads
EcoNorfolk@reddit
Some of the class warriors here (likely nightmare tenants that leave places filthy and damaged) likely deserve nothing else because they don’t see the real problem and go for a soft target (the ones giving them a roof over their heads).
madeonworkstime@reddit
God you sound like a right bell. You aren't giving someone a roof over their head, they're paying you rent for it, giving you a monthly income whilst your property appreciates in value.
EcoNorfolk@reddit
Perhaps I should stop renting it then. I have no problem leaving it empty or turning it into a Airbnb.
madeonworkstime@reddit
Nobody cares mate.
EcoNorfolk@reddit
You clearly do.
Iamtir3dtoday@reddit
It's not free of charge for repairs, rents are higher than ever lol
EcoNorfolk@reddit
Okay - so go buy a home. Then when your boiler breaks without notice find £5k instantly to buy a new one. Major issues are dealt without cost at point of occurrence.
Even-Way9768@reddit
Meh, I agree with some of your other points but surely this is all part of maintaining an asset... Boilers don't usually break irreparably without notice if they've been well serviced and aren't kept in service long past their useful life
Iamtir3dtoday@reddit
I do own a home, you fanny.
MrReadilyUnready@reddit
You do all that because it makes you money, not because you want to help out society. By purchasing multiple properties you are taking away the opportunity from othets to purchase said properties to be their own home.
EcoNorfolk@reddit
What part of inhabitable didn’t you grasp?
MrReadilyUnready@reddit
Again, you do it because it makes you money. Don't act like you're a saint. You took away the opportunity for a first time buyer to purchase and redo the property for your own gain.
EcoNorfolk@reddit
What part of “was uninhabitable” (ie unmortgagable) don’t you grasp?
Emergency-Assist-421@reddit
It’s a free market. Go compete meaningfully on that market.
Sin_nombre__@reddit
There are basic things a landlord should do in return for rent, the place should be habitable and basic repairs should be carried out. You run a buisness to make profit.
There aren't enough houses, landlords buying up multiple properties does have an impact on prices. There are better ways to run an economy but you are allowed to do what you do to make a profit. Let's not pretend the profit is not the primary motive.
You don't really hear other buisness owners banging on about how socially useful they are. Shop owners, for example.
EcoNorfolk@reddit
I haven’t made a profit on one of my properties in the last FY. Hope that helps.
Emergency-Assist-421@reddit
You really do. Check the news anytime a small business is about to close
MelonBump@reddit
I'm not on the "all landlords are scum THE END" team, as I don't think blaming individuals for systemic inequalities is productive; but you seem to think you're performing a public service for which you should receive accolades, doing tenants an enormous favour by fulfilling your contractual obligations (and by repairing the property they are paying to live in if something breaks?). This is exactly the kind of attitude that doesn't typically bode well...
HotSector8167@reddit
My old one was on Watchdogs! He got his license revoked but ran the same business under a family members name instead. Our suspicions were confirmed when he visited us to do a lazy repair. This was in Leeds.
No-Extension-2378@reddit
Currently renting from family and it's a delight compared to previous experiences.
Last landlord took my rent and didn't pay her property fees so the rental agency had to put it up for sale ( I don't know the full details)
The one before was a houseshare, the landlord split from his wife so moved himself into our communal living room. He used to pee with the door open, clean his teeth in the kitchen sink and kick off about my housemate having her partner staying over. I moved out very shortly after.
Way back in the past I had a landlord who decided if and when I was allowed to buy electric top ups from him (it was like a ticket machine thing) I ended up getting the tenant upstairs to buy double from him and paying her for half. He also threatened to kick me out if I didn't keep my curtains open during daylight hours because neighbours had complained and having curtains shut during the day causes damp.
heartpassenger@reddit
I’m very fortunate not to be renting anymore but I did for about a decade, and had a massive range of landlords. First rental was council flat in a council block as I was vulnerable and under 18. Council were decent, if the sink blocked they’d send Big Steve round with his arse crack hanging out as he drilled with his drain snake (ooh matron)
Moved to London and lived in a range of disgusting HMOs. First one was so bad the toilets backed up and there was a layer of shit water all over the floor. Landlord did sweet FA about it so I said sod this and fucked off. Lost my deposit but I doubt he had it in a protection scheme anyway.
Landlord after that was for a shared flat and he was reasonably okay, mostly absent, as long as we paid rent on time he didn’t bother us. If there was an issue he would sort it but only if all 3 of us flatmates badgered him about it.
Another landlord was a bit weird, he used an agency to let the property but did all the management himself. He was always coming round to mow the lawn and once chided me for leaving our curtains closed (middle of summer, btw) because it made the neighbours think we were uncivilised. He was a bit weird but I think his heart was in the right place as it had been his family home.
I guess variety is the spice of life but I’d much prefer a world where we don’t necessarily need private landlords, or the rental market is much more strictly controlled and there’s more social housing. I hated how it was basically luck of the draw whether or not you got a decent person controlling your home and sense of safety
justwindcone@reddit
Mine is really weird, he hires a cleaner for the house, insists on modernising all the fire systems, is generally very helpful. But when we had mice in the house, it took him MONTHS to deal with it, so much so I had to get the council involved. We found a pile of mice shit that was about a year’s worth of dropping under our fridge and he said he would clean it in two weeks!
I think he tries to be helpful but actually has very little sympathy for us living in the property, which leads to this dichotomy. Anyway fuck all landlords greedy bastards.
a3minutehero@reddit
Current landlady is excellent, friendly and approachable, takes care of things immediately, told me recently no imminent rent increases as they're happy with the value as is (I do pay slightly over average for my area but it is a nice place, though very small).
Where I've had issues in the past is with propert management companies, those people as worse than useless and seemingly do anything to avoid actually helping you. I would never again rent through such an organisation.
rotunderthunder@reddit
I've only rented once and the guy was a total slimeball. Took the place but on the proviso it was deeply cleaned first. They 'deep clean' dumping a load of rubbish in our front garden which we then disposed of because the landlord and the letting agent never bothered. When one of the fridges broke down he came round to inspect and denied to my face it wasn't working unless I bought a thermometer and gave him temperatures. He questioned why the empty (broken) fridge smelled funny. I also told him about the periodic leaky washing machine. Didn't happen every time and of course didn't happen when I turned it on in front of him. He suggested the video I showed him could have been me spilling water on the floor. Only got someone out because I pointed out that as a renter it was very little bother for me to throw a towel on the floor and he would be the one left dealing with rotting floorboards. Then when we left he blamed me for the already dirty carpet and the wallpaper I partially removed WITH HIM because there was black mould on the walls of the hallway. When I sent him the pictures which showed it was the same from when we moved in he said if I was going to call him a liar he wouldn't be speaking to me anymore. He took 10% of the deposit for this which I should have contested but between all of us was £33 each and we would have had to wait for the rest whilst contested.
iamagardner@reddit
We rented a flat in northeast London for a decade before finally buying our own place, and broadly speaking our experience with our landlord was positive.
Rent wasn't cheap but was definitely under market value, and only increase £200 over 10 years. They were always responsive when we needed something fixed, didn't do any inspections or give us any hassle etc.
When we were looking to leave, they were very accommodating about moving to a rolling contract, and returned outlr deposit in full immediately. Even got us a card and a bottle of champagne to say congrats for buying our own flat, and told us to cancel the end of tenancy cleaners we'd book so we could save money for furniture etc.
Compared to so many other friends in London especially, we always felt pretty fortunate.
insomnimax_99@reddit
No idea, never met or interacted with them. Only ever dealt with the estate agent.
Is it common to actually know and speak to your landlord?
fearghaz@reddit
Out of the 10 or so properties I rented, I knew one. The worst one.
falkens_maze_70@reddit
I had a landlord who couldn't understand renting is a business transaction and he wasn't one my mates.
gto-lm@reddit
Never had a single problem with an individual landlord, all 3 I’ve had have been incredibly helpful and polite, putting things right quickly and treating us well.
HMO management companies acting on behalf of one though, horrendous.
Super-Craig@reddit
Define "good" ?
I don't really consider myself to be a good person. I care far too much for my friends and family to be a proper good person. And the lengths I'll go to for friends and family nudges me down the slippery slope of evil.
Of course that doesn't stop me from doing good Landlord deeds link.
Umbral_Choir@reddit
You shouldn't say that you're not a good person when you very clearly are! I wish I had a Landlord like you!!
Wandering_ENTJ@reddit
Besides that and that guy who lost is dad, mum, wife and three daughters. What other good deeds have you done?
Umbral_Choir@reddit
What's the story with the guy?
Wandering_ENTJ@reddit
One of his tenants lost nearly their entire family during covid. It was just the father and his son left. He couldn't afford the rent anymore. So he stopped charging them rent.
Umbral_Choir@reddit
That's incredible! I don't get it then. Why are they calling themselves evil when they're very clearly not??
Super-Craig@reddit
As a Landlord or in general?
SwansEscapedRonson@reddit
?
No-Lawfulness1159@reddit
Rented in central London (Chelsea/Fulham) almost 20 years and have been fortune to have the best landlords I could have asked for.
fearghaz@reddit
I'd be pleasant if I could live for free too.
The fact that so many are objectively twats anyway is astounding.
Beware the smiling crocodile
Kezmangotagoal@reddit
Yep. Been in my flat since Covid and the dude has never put my rent up. Charged the same amount the entire time. Overall friendly guy, doesn’t interfere and trusts me to look after his property.
I’ll never get a landlord like him again. It’s one of the reasons I’m not ready to leave!
PiesPiesAndPies@reddit
The world is full of both good people and not so good people.
Randa08@reddit
My last landlord let the house rot around us, he never increased the rent in 10 years, but by then end we had no kitchen.
steveakacrush@reddit
Over the years I had landlords who were good or meh, but only one who was shite.
The shite one took 2 years to fix a leak in the shower, ignored electrical defects, and was banned from talking to the letting agency because of his abusive nature (they would only deal with his wife).
Cleffah@reddit
Hahaha no. Hell no. Fuck no. Absolutely not. NOPE. Nah.
Fist-sized-river-roc@reddit
Our last house was a rental. We moved in lockdown so we weren't able to view it properly before moving in. The landlord hadn't done anything to upgrade or improve in probably at least a decade if not longer. The lintel was crumbling and rotted. The carpets were awful. Everything was old and well past it's 'best before' They used an agency so any issues we had to report through them but I've never come across an useful or competent letting agency. It was a constant game of me chasing the agency, the agency saying the landlord wasn't giving the green light on fixing things because of cost and then the landlord ringing me to say that it was the agency at fault The handle of the upstairs window snapped off, just because it was old and we couldn't fully close the window in the 5 years we were there. I should have reported it beyond the agency because I'm aware that the landlord had a legal responsibility to fix the window so it was secure but honestly I didn't have the energy. I told him multiple times it was his responsibility to get it fixed and he said the agency had said WE were responsible for getting it fixed.
He was delusional and tight-fisted. We moved out, just round the corner- the place needs a complete overhaul if they want to attract any new renters but so far, nothing has been done in the 7 months we've left the place
Transasaurus-Hex@reddit
No lmao
sleepyprojectionist@reddit
I have never met my landlord, but the management company he uses is an independent business with maybe three full-time staff. Getting anything fixed is an uphill struggle.
I live in a converted flat in a building that is 150+ years old. Based on some of the fixtures and decorating in communal areas I don’t think that anything has been updated since the 1980s.
The building had a smoke detector system that was on a hair trigger, and one neighbour in particular used to regularly fall asleep with food in the oven. It got to the point that the alarm would go off for the whole building at least five times a week.
The landlord decided that this would be too costly to fix, so he simply came in and disconnected the whole system.
One of my neighbours likes to buy cars at auction and fix them up (directly below my window, buts that’s another story). One such car he managed to set on fire, and he took out one and only fire extinguisher to put it out. This has never been replaced.
I only live here because it is literally the cheapest studio flat for miles around. It is really the only way that I can afford to live alone, but I am looking at options to move and I definitely feel like I am going to report the landlord and management company for all of the safety violations.
TheEnglishNorwegian@reddit
I would like to assume I am a good person, but who's to say really.
Wooden_Adeptness_136@reddit
My current landlord takes care of us, sort of. Very cheap labour usually and it's just people he knows, but he fixes everything in a timely manner and he comes by each year for the gas engineer in case we aren't home. The flat is in alright condition, he let me pay for the installation of a bath tap (I knew it would be on me to cover costs) and arranged the labour for me.
We do think he's an alcoholic, you can't ring him after about 7PM as he gets aggressive on the phone, but he's absolutely lovely in the daytime.
He's the best landlord I've had so far in my almost-decade of living and renting in London.
CreativeAdeptness477@reddit
Actually yeah, despite the trope. I'm "up norf" instead of London, tiny little flat for dirt cheap that's very close to my job. Private rental because the former letting agency went bankrupt during lockdown. The guy lives 5 minutes walk away, gets folk out to fix things quick enough when needed, and otherwise I have zero contact with him whatsoever.
h00dman@reddit
My last landlord was fine, it was the letting agency that were crap.
After several non-attempts on their part to contact him, when they eventually did and he realised how long they'd delayed everything, he just gave me his number and from then on things that needed sorting were done so quickly.
Ambitious-Concert-69@reddit
I’ve never had a good landlord. I have rented 9 different places they all put the bare minimum money and extracted the maximum possible profit. Not saying they’re inherently bad people but to them it was solely a money making opportunity, the fact it was someone else’s home didn’t factor into it.
They all tried to rip me off for the deposit, all would avoid any maintenance work and all charged exactly the market rate with regular “adjustments” (increases). They all paid for the lowest quality of maintenance and all breached the right to peaceful enjoyment at least once. They also started chasing rent at least week before it was actually due. They all tried to “accidentally” double charge for things, e.g. “forgetting” to subtract the holding deposit from the first month’s rent.
MagneticEmu@reddit
I’ve not had a nightmare landlord but the last one before I got out of renting was a dick, didn’t care how much we rectified in the house and cleaned up from the previous tenant only cared that the grass was a little too long. The one prior to that though was excellent kept our rent well below the local average and gave us free reign like it was our own.
TheViscountRang@reddit
My first landlady was the human incarnation of the antichrist. Our boiler started leaking through to our downstairs neighbours, she took a week to call out a plumber and when he came he said it was a slow leak so must have been leaking for years to rot the floorboards to the state they were in (this wasn't visible until the boiler was partly dismantled). We'd been there for 6 months and landlady tried to claim it was our fault and wanted £500 for excess on the insurance (obviously we didn't pay). Turned out it wasn't even insured, which we found out 2 weeks later when we had an insurance policy copy delivered to our door (the idiot had put the flat address as the delivery address) which showed she'd claimed no existing issues. We basically blackmailed her at that point to stop being a see you next Tuesday or we'd report her for insurance fraud.
Our last landlady was an angel. Refused to raise our (already way below market) rent due to the cost of living crisis, regularly volunteered to help maintain the garden because fiancée & I work long hours full time (landlady was retired), gave us free rein to do what we wanted with the place, and when we told her we were leaving because we'd finally managed to buy a place she bought us a bottle of champagne and a card that said thanks for being such great tenants. She's now put the house on the market for sale and we're sharing it to everyone we know that's looking to get on the ladder to help her get it sold.
Good deeds bring good deeds.
EasyCheesecake1@reddit
Never met them in three years, it all goes through an agent but yeah.. I've had no problems, things get sorted.
omnishambles1995@reddit
Kind of the ideal scenario. If stuff was still getting sorted, I was more than happy for my landlord to be faceless/absent.
Sea_Appearance6837@reddit
Mine is. He offered me some helpful furniture as it’s my first time living alone. He also met my dog when I viewed the flat and remembered his name when messaging me about adding him to the contract haha.
Helpful_Body6715@reddit
Absolutely not
mrfatchance@reddit
Yes. First one that’s been good after maybe 13 years renting.
LichenTheMood@reddit
No. I don’t think the two things are especially compatible honestly.
iamtherarariot@reddit
I’m generally not a fan of venture capitalism and believe that housing is a right and so on, so I don’t love landlords as a whole especially the more parasitic ones who take the piss.
However my wife and I have rented my flat for the past five years. They’ve raised the rent once in that time and it’s still below market rate. It’s not perfect, but we pay the rent on time and keep it clean and tidy, and they generally leave us alone. The estate agent comes in for five minutes twice a year and goes “yep all good” and the landlords have been over once and seemed genuinely appreciative that we’d made it a home because apparently the previous tenants had trashed the place. From what I can ascertain, they’re a middle aged couple who travel a lot and use our flat as passive income. I have no real reason to dislike them even if I don’t agree with making money from property as a concept.
demidom94@reddit
I've only had one really shitty landlord out of the 8 landlords I've had in 12 years, I've been quite lucky all things considered.
In my last place, I was lodging with the landlord and he was absolutely amazing, we got on so well and I genuinely miss living with him.
Although I wish I didn't have to have landlords though, it would be nice to own my own place one day.
WhalingSmithers00@reddit
Never had a problem with them. Fix things when they go wrong, don't bother us with inspections, rent is cheaper than similar properties around us.
New_Orange9702@reddit
Mines pretty good. An elderly lady and her son who helps her. Never cause an issue, if I have a problem, they fix it pretty quickly. Nice property, well renovated by them to a good standard. I actually don't personally have a problem with good landlords like this one.
BenjiTheSausage@reddit
My landlord is great, if we get an issue he gets it sorted, only one rent increase during our time here, lets us have pets, never really hear from them until the gas inspection needs doing.
Automatic-Cow-9969@reddit
I don’t rent any more but when I used to my wife and I had a mixed bag. Two really good landlords, one Chinese investor that we never met and one arsehole who tried to rip us off at every opportunity
yoloswaggins92@reddit
This question is an oxymoron.
Iamtir3dtoday@reddit
I've actually had one decent landlord who bought the place when she was in her early twenties and then didn't sell when she met her husband and they moved in together. Really lovely flat as well.
Other than that they've all been a bit crap. I'm about to start renting again and I'm not looking forward to it.
Disastrous-Place-846@reddit
Only ever had one landlord, he was a plumber by trade but if we ever had a problem he would come fix it himself within like 48 hours.
No_Philosophy711@reddit (OP)
Good man!
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