Updating post from Reddit.
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My personal rule is, if a tenant pays the market rate of rent and keeps the place in reasonable order, then I don't increase the rent for 5 years. I would very much like to have a good tenant who pays their rent on time every month. If they hold up their end of the bargain, then my end is that I think tenants should be able to keep their pay rise each year and not have me grabbing for it, which should allow them to save and plan for the future and have a bit of fun. I don't think renting one place forever should be for anyone (unless social housing maybe) so that's why I think 5 years is enough.
I can't put that in writing because who knows what will happen, but when it comes time to potentially increase the rent for my current tenant, I will be raising it by a nominal £1, so that legally they know they are protected for another 12 months.
I wish that was how it worked in general. In my day it felt like being a quality tenant actually meant something but despite all the complaints you see these days about how bad tenants are landlords seem to think nothing of rolling the dice and gambling that they can replace their quality tenant with an even better one who will pay more money
Those landlords might be right in their gamble from a maximising money perspective. But I just want to minimise risk of losing money. And they're shitty people if they jack up rents thinking either tenants will pay or they'll move out and someone else will pay.
Regardless, the government is coming after that kind of thing soon enough. If there weren't as many bad landlords, there wouldn't be as many regulations. They did it to themselves and it won't effect me. I hope they get kicked off the register.
Can we like….clone you? 😂 if more landlords were like you, valuing quality tenants and understanding that if all landlords behaved we probably wouldn’t see so much negative legislation. I’m not a fan of the landlord class in general but you seem to play by a fair bat. Respect.
Thanks. I think much of the problem is that it should be far harder to become a landlord than it is to, for example, get a passport. In many ways, lots of landlords force themselves to act that way because they have too low margins. If there was a greater barrier of entry to being a landlord than having 20 grand and a misanthropic outlook, then things would be a lot better on all sides.
So, I agree that there should be more like me, in that there should be less like them.
There are actually plenty of landlords like this around. People who realise that a tenant, who is responsible is valuable. A tenant who will open the window to let moisture out after a shower, or while cooking is a good start. It is not rocket science, but simple actions like that have a huge impact on the relationship, and on the cost of the tenancy. Unfortunately there is militant rhetoric especially online, whose only function is to undermine the relationship between tenants and landlords. The people who perpetuate this tribal hatred are scum.
I cannot understand getting rid of a good tenant as you are opening yourself up to risk.
Better a steady income and a good relationship.
Plus I want my tenants to have security and feel able to report issues so they can be resolved before they escalate into worse problems.
The banks already somewhat enforce a high margin on btl. 20% minimum deposit and rental income covering 145% of the interest.
And when greedy landlords who take out interest only loans get a doubling of their interest rates, then they feel they have no choice but to gouge their tenants for more to cover their failed gamble.
The 20% and (subsequently) the 145% figures aren't good enough for first time landlords. I think more collateral is needed to prevent people needing to increase rent at all. If you ever need to increase rent, then you shouldn't be a landlord. If you ever can't feed your kids, then you shouldn't have become a parent. It's all a bit late by then and there are safety nets in society for that problem, but being a landlord is always an optional venture that you can always get out of.
We don’t increase rent if the tenant stays but it goes back to the market at market rate if they leave. We don’t have mortgages on our properties and have enough cash to cover anything needed so why would we need to increase.
Part of the problem is that bad landlords won’t bother engaging with the legislation and people that are desperate for accommodation will rent off them.
agree, it is all about risk appetite. You seem to be more risk adverse while others will risk the gamble.
The problem is that the regulations are poor. I am a registered landlord and the scheme in my eyes doesn’t contribute anything towards weeding out cowboys.
Most cowboys won’t even bother registering and then rely on the tenants fear of being homeless to prevent them complaining.
Tenants should be able to complain about disrepair without fear of eviction and similarly have some protection so that they have a long term home.
Similarly landlords should have greater protections against bad tenants and be able to remove them quicker.
I'm the same, I don't increase rents during the tenancy. When it's re let it's at the market rate.
Totally agree with this. I currently have amazing tenants, and don’t like to increase the rent because I know they are saving to be able to buy, and the reality is that they are very likely to buy the property they currently live in from me when the time is right for them. We have a very good relationship and we are able to discuss these things, but that’s not the same for everyone. I recognise that I’m lucky and know that it costs quite a bit every time I have to get a new tenant in, so instead of having to keep on incurring those costs I’d rather be helpful to the people currently occupying my house. It’s a win win situation for all involved
That's great that you'd like them to buy their own home from you. Exactly the attitude that we need to have, imo. I'd like to see some kind of stamp duty waiver in place so that landlords could be encouraged and supportive of people buying their rental property. It might even help with house prices and this growing barrier to first time buyers.
I would have written much the same. I appreciate my tenants and I fix stuff within a couple of days and very rarely visit. They phone if they want me!
Very similar here yes I could squeeze another £25 a month but I value a decent tenant more than an extra £25.
100% the same. I have kept my rent the same for my tenants even through the recent market increases.
They inform me of issues so problems don't become disasters. I get shit fixed.
Having an empty property for even a month loses any rent increase for the year
That's exactly it. I lost hundreds when I was without a tenant for 3 weeks! Why risk it when for an additional £50 a month, it would take a whole year to make up the losses?
Thanks!
That seems a fair rule 👍 Do you tell this to the tenant directly..? What is their usual response..?
I can't tell the tenant because if interest rates suddenly shot up to 15% or something crazy, then I maybe would have to increase rents (as nearly everyone would). And because if the tenant doesn't treat the property well, then I may feel like I need to charge additional rent to cover some of those costs (but this is very subjective). It's just something that I know that I would do.
It's my way of justifying the fact that I get paid simply for having wealth. Being a tenant with me should allow them to not be a tenant forever and reap the benefits of their work. It doesn't go far enough in my opinion, but it's the least any of us should do.
I'm glad that my original comment has been received well. I hope it advances a new kind of ethical landlordship.
I ensure the tenant pays close to the market rate. At the start of the tenancy it has been common for rents to be slightly above “market rate” especially if the tenant is keen (I.e. needs to secure a property for a relocation).
For the first renewal I give options, periodic is the market rate, another fixed is market rate minus 50£.
Typically the periodic is next years rents so I am also signaling what it will be for a few years and giving choices.
Much better than providing a 250£ rent increase after 5 years. No tenant will appreciate that or you keeping the rent the same.
Where I live, it would be illegal to increase the rent by £250 but I could increase by the legal maximum until it was back at the market rate.
Basically, I would expect them to move out then or before, but if we had a tenant-landlord relationship for 5 years then I might be able to talk to them and make sure that their plans and mine were in sync. If they're close to getting a deposit together and after that would move out, then I could just keep it where it is for another 6 months, say.
If you pay on time, no rent increases, I'll leave you alone but I'll check in every now and then to see if there's anything you need, if everything is ok. I will invest in making sure the place is comfortable for them. I love someone who pays on time and looks after the place. I'm going to do everything to keep you, you're royalty.
If you're struggling, don't bullshit me. I can see through it and I don't respect it. If you can't respect me enough to be honest, I'll work to get you out asap. If you're honest, I will do everything I can to work with you. It's the bullshit I can't be dealing with.
What bullshit have you dealt with? I once shared a house with a guy who said he couldn’t afford rent because of all of the Xmas presents he had to buy.
At the moment I'm getting WhatsApp messages with pretend screenshots. Tenant is trying to say that their banking app isn't working right now so they can't pay on time, and has sent an image they've found on the internet of the Barclaycard banking app error message. Reverse image search and the picture quality make this easy to detect.
This sort of paper thin dishonesty (I get a different stupid story every month) just erodes trust. Better to be honest with a decent landlord.
Urgh fucking hell. Tenants don’t realise this could be your livelihood and are essentially stealing from you. I’d give them a super shit reference if they’ve ever asked one from me. Nothing illegal in that right?
Yep. Objectively I can sit and reason that they are a working couple with kids and they don't earn loads and have been great tenants for 3 years and something has gone wrong for them since 2023 and we all have hard times and so on.
Then I remember that I gave them COVID discounts as main earner was self employed, I have kept their rent low, I have jumped to get stuff fixed at a standard I'd have in my own home and I have worked with them to agree a reasonable approach to arrears...yet when it comes to the crunch, they simply don't prioritise punctual rental payment and have to be almost be dragged to be honest about it all. Hand well and truly bitten now, unfortunately, and I'll not be such a nice landlord clever again sadly.
They are currently also working through a list of sick relatives as reasons to be late with rent. We are now on to step parents with urgent or debilitating illnesses and I am braced for another 8 fictional dead grandmothers before I actually manage to get the court to evict them.
This was all through my agent. During COVID I was asked if the tenants could have a reduced rent. I said absolutely, I'll need to see how circumstances have changed with some evidence. Nope, nothing had changed.
my only experience being a landlord is right now. she hasn't paid rent in 2 months and i'm in the process of getting her evicted. a nightmare from start to finish. i'm selling. i really can't be fucked to have to go through this again. so stressful
See this so often it's starting to get silly, not all renters (me) are bad, never paid late in 26 years sometimes I pay early too
I'm right there with you mate. I was a renter for years and in fact I still am - I'm renting while living abroad right now.
But one bad experience with one bad tenant is all it takes to make you lose faith in the system. So far, it has cost me thousands of pounds and months of waiting - all while the tenant sits in the house for free! The court even allowed her to pay back the court fees at a mere 1 pound a month. What's the point. The thought of going through this again with another tenant in the future deflates me. I can't do it
The rules need changing to get rid of bad tenants quicker and cheaper. And to protect good tenants like yourself
Most of these landlords bought their houses for peanuts years ago and if you are not one of those, you will struggle.
Not struggling, just don't need the hassle. I'll stick the money in a savings account / buy stocks instead
I feel like this is what most landlords should have done instead TBH. Pretty much the same return and a lot less hassle.
Yes, but in my case I inherited the house, so I wanted to try renting it first. I learned the hard way
Lesson learned I guess. :-)
We kept our first house and rented it out. We've been doing that for nearly 2 decades now. When I inherited another house, I sold it and invested the money instead...
My tenants are asked to set up a standing order at their bank when they sign the tenancy agreement about half do. The maintenance jobs are done as soon as they are reported, except like now where with water damage it has to dry out first. It costs money to get new tenants and the place is empty for a while so a tenant that pays on time and doesn’t cause problems for their neighbours is worth keeping
I’ve been renting out a London flat to different couples for about 16 years. I’ve never once had a missed or late rent payment. I’ve always appreciated that, and I regard the tenants highly. I do my best to get anything fixed promptly as I want to make it easier for them to stay.
Zone 2 London accepting pets enthusiastically with a shared large dog garden in the back of the block - I can get tenants fairly easy yeah.
But, of course I value tenants that make my life easy. They could just as easily make it very difficult and I'd get the same money (eventually). I absolutely think about that when it comes to considering rent increases and the service I provide (e.g. how quickly I respond to messages, the quality of tradesmen I try to shoot for, rent free days for stuff not working until it's fixed).
We manage a large portfolio of about 1000 tenancies. 95% are lovely and we have no issues with payment. 4% are on payment plans but generally will get back in good order. For the last 15 years we've only tended about 1% of are base under notice with significant arrears.
Good referencing or management of these situations tends to limit them.
Still get nightmare issues but they can be avoided.
are you an agent or a private LL?
Flag says landlord.
Can see some lovely LL in this thread, and some not so lovely. I've watched many shows about nightmare tenants and slum landlords. I honestly feel for the landlord when people don't pay up on time and people are living in a lovely home. I just wouldn't want to do that to them, ever. However, there are landlords out there who will charge you an arm and a leg who refuse to do repairs and expect tenants to live in substandard housing. I know I'm renting, and I know the property isn't legally mine, but it's my living space and I want it to be clean and well maintained. I take pride in where I live, as it's my space to relax from work. I just don't understand people who go out their way to trash the property and expect the LL to deal with it. I think it's alot easier for tenants than it is landlords, because you as the tenant can just say nah, had enough of this place and leave. Whereas if a LL wants to evict someone because their tenant is a huge problem, this takes months and months. I'm not sure, I'm new to renting and do have a deposit saved up for buying, but so far my experience with my EA/LL has been pleasant.
I always pay my £500 rent each month.. How many can say that these days
A lot can
We tend to go long term view, brother in-law keeps saying can get more than we do, honestly for what they are they're cheap, however we want someone who will treat a rental with the respect they would their own, also if a tenant leaves because of a 5% rise then I'm actually out money (1 month is 8% of annual income), more regular carpet/bathroom/kitchen replacements of new tenants all mounts up so a good long-term tenant who would buy it if we were to sell, had one tenant who was a pain however we understood that there was a limit to what could charge for it at that time. So for us it's been 1 annoying for 3 decent.
I wish more landlords saw things like you!
Honestly it's not like we're offering charity, it's still profit we want but well I'm lazy, as I said, less often having to replace fittings etc and less often having months with no paying tenant actually provide more profit and well can happily meet the tenants at the pub.
I love our tenant. Small family, close to schools. We have never increased rent and won’t. Once a year there is an inspection and we always fix anything that’s wrong immediately. I’m happy to keep them as long as they want to stay. They pay on time and keep the house in good order, clean etc. they can even decorate it however they wish. Good people are good people and should be looked after.
I simply dont increase rent on tenants who pay on time. Not for at least 5 to 7 years. My average length of tenancy is between 1 and 4 years.
ugh i wish my landlord was like you. i've been on my property nearly three years, never missed a payment, have only needed one repair and my rent gets raised every year. my landlord just grabs my payrise every year even though the mortgage is paid off :-/ if he raises it again i'm going to hope i finally get to rent from somebody who'll just leave my money alone for a bit
I would say increasingly common and at a difficult-to-sustain rate. My brother ended up a 'forced' landlord during the last property crash which meant he couldn't sell his house, not even at a 30% ish loss, no-one wanted it. It took around 10 years to recover and be saleable, during which time he'd had to move as he got a job elsewhere. In that time he rented it to 3 tenants, all of whom defaulted, took 6-7 months to evict and trashed the place upon exit. I was at times extremely concerned about his mental health and me and my dad did most of the cleaning/clearing/dealing cos he was too distressed to do so. I'm a deliberate landlord and have found this happens less often to me, but certainly has happened. I've been renting out houses for 8 years and i've had two stop paying rent and trash the place upon eviction. That's not awful considering I try to give people a shot (young couple too early in life to have references for instance) but it's nonetheless a pressure on the other tenants to essentially make up the shortfall. I do do this to make a profit and so that rate of non-payment + cost has to be estimated and factored in. I assume a rate of one poor tenant + trashing the house every 5 years out of 6 properties. If that rate starts climbing i'll have to adjust rents accordingly. That said, I do do a kind of profit share where if a tenant is a good tenant and always pays on time then I rarely, if ever, raise their rent. I reason they're effectively saving me money against my cost estimates by staying put and paying on time so i can afford to therefore go splits with them to encourage that cycle to continue. With the issues growing for the last few years I will probably nonetheless have to raise rents across the board a bit, but since they are significantly cheaper than the going rents in the area at the moment i'm hoping it won't be too burdensome.
It’s sad when basically the minority can spoil it for everyone else
Yes, yes and yes.
My tenants have all been with me over 5 years and the relationship is cordial. I do any repairs and maintenance quickly and well, and they pay on time and look after their flats. My flats are clean, dry, modern, safe and comply with all energy and other standards.
I put the rent up to market rate only once every three years because I know I’d piss the tenants off if I tried to screw them and that if they left I’d lose money anyway having to redecorate and cover an empty property while I sought a new tenant.
Those landlords who have unsanitary, clapped out properties get what they deserve as they’ll attract discontented tenants who are more likely to default. On the other hand tenants who try to swing the lead and not pay or wreck their units are daft because they’ll lose where they’re living and get backlisted on some tenant referral sites.
All rented residential properties should be licensed and regularly inspected and it should be a criminal offence to rent without a licence or to raise mortgage money on the unit without a licence. That would curb the rogues. On the other hand, there needs to be some incentive for landlords to go into the market. If a licensing regime were coupled with the reintroduction of tax reliefs (but only on licensed units) I believe that would increase supply.
Thanks! Yeah I think what I find hard as a tenant is when I see a lack of accountability for the bad tenants. But then if as you say they get blacklisted - at least that’s something.
I totally agree on the inspections thing.
I hope anyways that if I’m keeping up my side of the bargain that I get rewarded by not having big increases
Paying rent on time is their obligation. Most tenants pay on time. It’s more of those disrespectful annoying tenants who make things difficult they are the problem.
Direct debit ensures payment is collected on time. If they cancel it I will know about it.
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You get what you give and seem to be a bit of a cunt yourself with that attitude
This gives a bad perception of Landlords. Tenants are our clients, we don't harbour general anti-tenant sentiment on this subreddit.
Tenants are money sponges.
I charge them the market rate and I hold them contractually accountable to protecting the value of my asset.
It's no different than if you hire a car - people understand if they return the asset with even the slightest scuff or mark they'll not see their deposit returned.
If you've got a bleeding heart this is the wrong role to be in.