howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
11 October 2010
22:0974590#1
how many of us have suffered due to someone buying a neighbours house and letting it out to anti social people.
before i rant the houses either side of me are rented out by responsible landlords who vet tenants thoroughly beforehand and ensure the good state of repair of the property.
unfortunately they are the minority, most just see the system as a cash cow from the benefits people and do not care what havoc is wreaked on the community.
tonight i learned that the "buy to let" systems is booming, over 11% of the properties in our fair and pleasant land are owned by the get rich quick merchants.
in my view the rented market works much better with local authorities or housing associations controlling the rented market.
what do other members think?
Ross Miller
- Location: London Road, Dover
- Registered: 17 Sep 2008
- Posts: 3,709
11 October 2010
22:2574594#2
I think you do the majority of landlords both large and small a disservice.
Most landlords whether they are people with one rental property or hundreds behave responsibly and look to manage their investment both in terms of the regular rental income stream as well as the underlying capital growth in the bricks and mortar. Letting to any old tom dick or harry who trashes the property really does not meet the needs of most landlords as the costs of restitution more than outweigh the income generated.
Whilst there is a place for social rents (local authorities or housing associations) they are generally inefficient and ineffectual and in the case of local authorities have a legal duty to be the landlord of last resort, so far too often end up with the very people you are complaining about and cannot or will not throw them out.
"Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today." - James Dean
"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength,
While loving someone deeply gives you courage" - Laozi
Guest 696- Registered: 31 Mar 2010
- Posts: 8,115
11 October 2010
22:2974597#3
Howard I quite agree with you, that there should be a kind of regulatory statute and supervising office when it comes to renting, but as for the get rich quick factor, I always end up in dispute with Barry, who claims that housing is not too expensive in Britain. I say it is.
But when all is said, it still leaves open a question specific to your current thread, which is how people should behave within a rented place. I think it goes beyond the benefit-sindrome, and more into the 'how to behave oneself' subject.
Often, it needs only one member of a household to be a trouble-maker, even occasionally, and the results can be quite devastating. Whether the house is rented or owned.
Jan Higgins
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 5 Jul 2010
- Posts: 13,931
11 October 2010
23:0874599#4
We have a bedsit house a few doors from me that is full of the dregs of Dover. The immediate neighbours lives have been made pure hell ending up with police involement which seems to have helped. The annoying thing is the landlord lives in the same road and gives me the impression he could not care less so long as he gets his rent.
With regard to private versus council etc, when there are bad tenants, I doubt if it makes much difference.
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I try to be neutral and polite but it is hard and getting even more difficult at times.
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Guest 694- Registered: 22 Mar 2010
- Posts: 778
12 October 2010
07:1874609#5
can i chip in from the other point of view...
i am a good neighbour ( ask the mayor of faversham! she loves having me as a neighbour) however I refused to move in until it had been painted, the landlord said it would take weeks, i said i would paint it and it took days.
My windows are soo ancient they are starting to fall apart, but as the landlord is pretty much noncontactable.. i cant get them fixed.
On the flip side, he is evicting someone from one of his flats as they were dealing from it.. so not all landlords are bad
The guy opposite me rents as well, and has an loud music ban for his flat, but his landlord doesnt seem to care and he can blast it out..
I am at the bottom of the council housing list, families with children come well above me, so Mark and I have no choice but to be in the private sector.
Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
12 October 2010
07:4174611#6
Ross is absolutely right in what he says.
Jan - I too have a house of multiple occupation close to me and that too is a problem, populated as it is with the dregs placed there by social services some straight out of prison.
These though are different to rented homes.
Alex - I have not denied that houses are too expensive. Where you and I differ is in the scale of the problem. In January, on my return from a regular conference I attend, I did say that house prices were to resume a downward trend despite a temporary upward blip we had then. The point is that houses find their value in the market based on what people are prepared to pay and the availability of mortgages.
House values boomed for one big reason, the availability of cheap easy cash, this created an appalling housing and debt bubble. I have said many times on here that one of the many big mistake Brown made was in his setting of the inflation brief to the Bank of England which ignored most housing costs. Interest rates were kept too low too long as a result feeding the craze. This problem was compounded because many amateur landlords tried to get in on the buy to let craze pushing up prices - many of these have lost out severely as a result. I spent some years warning clients and potential BTL buyers to avoid this.
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
12 October 2010
09:1774625#7
surely the main point on this is that a house is owned by the local authority or a housing association then you know who to contact when there are problems.
most private landlords are uncontactable.
jenn mentions her landlord evicting a drugs dealer, i suspect this is because the police nowadays can board up a property like that for 6 months and the landlord is stuck with no rent to collect.
Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
12 October 2010
09:3574627#8
That is not so Howard - you contact the agents and they deal with the matter.
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
12 October 2010
12:0874639#9
tried this in the past, the agencies then say that they are employed purely to collect rent and they are not allowed to pass on details of their client to a third party.
about 12 years ago i had the top half of a house with 2 flats below, after an eviction all the furniture was dumped in the front garden that belonged to me.
i got the details of the owner of the flat from the letting agent after i threatened to dump the stuff outside his office.
i called twice at the owners house and left messages for him to contact me.
after getting no reply to my phone calls and visits, i did the obvious thing and hired a van and deposited it in a haphazard manner all over his manicured lawn and rose bushes.
never had any trouble with his tenants after that.
12 October 2010
12:4174641#10
Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
12 October 2010
13:2574644#11
Howard - I have never personally rented (not since being a teenager anyway) but I do have experience second hand from clients who are BTL owners and also from my ex who rented after our seperation. In the latter case she had some problems, faulty oven being one and contacted the agent - they got onto the case and sorted it. So you see it is the agent who should be contacted. True some agents and some owners will be better than others but nevertheless there is a system and a contract that sets out the terms.
It sounds to me like you asked the wrong questions, Howard. Data Protection should certainly prevent an agent from giving you details of the owner these days, probably not in force at the time you refer to with the dumping incident.
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
12 October 2010
15:0674655#12
barry
the agent was duty bound to deny me the name of his client.
sensibly he realised that having his business entrance blocked by a load of personal effects including rancid mattresses was reason enough to help me out.
Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
12 October 2010
21:2474730#13
Data Protection today would prevent him from revealing such information Howard, at least since the Act came into force.
Going after the owner was the wrong thing to do - you should have checked your lease.
Ross Miller- Location: London Road, Dover
- Registered: 17 Sep 2008
- Posts: 3,709
12 October 2010
21:3074733#14
Howard we had problems a some months ago with a flat in a house a couple of doors down, environmental health were helpful but ineffectual; so I took matters into my own hands, paid my £2 and did a land registry search and found out the last owner then wrote to them, the letting agent and the council pointing out their responsibilities as landlord and agents and that if they did not sort out the problem tenant then I would see them in court; funnily enough within 2 weeks the problem was sorted and 4 months later the tenant was out as the landlord refused to renew his tenancy.
All it takes is a little understanding of the law and you would be amazed the results a well worded letter will get.
"Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today." - James Dean
"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength,
While loving someone deeply gives you courage" - Laozi
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
12 October 2010
22:0374738#15
ross
the land registery search can come up with a hong kong based company.
barry
if i had gone the legal way mr singh and his army of legal people would have shafted me. a visit with my neighbour(an 18 stone irish roofer with a temper control problem) was much more effective and cheaper too.
20 odd pints of guiness was money well spent.
Ross Miller- Location: London Road, Dover
- Registered: 17 Sep 2008
- Posts: 3,709
12 October 2010
22:0574739#16
Howard it can but is often more likely to come up with a Dentist in Margate or Doctor in Canterbury etc.
"Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today." - James Dean
"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength,
While loving someone deeply gives you courage" - Laozi
