Am I a Bad Landlord? You decide :)

[PlanB]

I'm starting this thread because I want you to tell me what makes a Landlord a bad person through the eyes of a Tenant. I know what the law says I should do in each case but it's time you told me what should be expected of a Landlord regardless of their legal obligations.

It's no secret that I am a Landlord and I like to think I get it right but last night one of our members forced me to do a U-Turn suggesting that I may be a teensy weensy bit biased. At least that what she said

So I'm going to post various 'issues' (let's call them complaints ) made by my Tenants about me (can't think why ) and I'll ask you to tell me how you think I should handle the situation from your own personal experiences.

I'd also like to hear any/all gripes about Landlords from Tenants so we can see where the mutual resentment comes from and how that can be sorted. I feel it's a tussle between who owns the bricks and mortar and who pays the rent.

This thread isn't really about me it's about us all understanding the expectations of both sides of a story and that includes social Landlords too.

[Never-In-Doubt]

Re: Am I a Bad Landlord? You decide

This is gonna be worth watching

[IF]

Re: Am I a Bad Landlord? You decide

[PlanB]

Re: Am I a Bad Landlord? You decide

This is gonna be worth watching

Go away the pair of you!

[IF]

Re: Am I a Bad Landlord? You decide

Go away the pair of you

[Deepie]

Re: Am I a Bad Landlord? You decide



Do they all hide when they see you coming....?

[Undercover Elsa]

Re: Am I a Bad Landlord? You decide

Now you're for it Deepie!


Great idea for a thread PlanB! x

[SaltnVinegar]

Re: Am I a Bad Landlord? You decide

I think one of the biggest issues which causes friction between landlord & tenants is mismatched expectations - and this is something that is frequently missed in tenancy agreements. So examples:

Definition of an emergency - some people contact landlords with 'emergencies' which a landlord clearly doesn't consider it be such (e.g. washing machine broken). A clear definition in the tenancy agreement of what constitutes an emergency situation would be useful for both parties and what each parties responsibilities are (e.g. if a broken pipe tenant expected to turn off the water main and know where/how to do that, instead of phoning the landlord asking where it is, or just letting 1,000's gallons of water flood the property).

Agree acceptable contact times (except in emergencies - see above) and mechanisms- some people seem to think that its acceptable to phone a landlord up at 1am to raise issues. Clear contact times and how contact should be made would solve a lot of problems.

Agree acceptable response times (except in emergencies!) - a problem of the modern world but some people seem to accept instant responses to problems. If it was clear in a tenancy agreement when a landlord will respond to non emergency issues then both would be happier knowing when a response should be forthcoming.

Agreement on remedies and timescales - some landlords like to use their own tradesmen, others are happy to allow residents to get quotes and then pay a reasonable cost. In my experience I rarely saw such thing in a tenancy agreement

Just a small sample of my experience when renting but looking forward to PlanB's stories!

[PlanB]

Re: Am I a Bad Landlord? You decide

I agree with all of that SnV. It's mostly about communication or lack of. I find Tenants expect "Room Service" when something goes wrong. I get texts at 6 o'clock in the morning. But it's a job so if you don't see it as a job you shouldn't be a Landlord. I tell my Tenants I'm not a 'morning person' otherwise they can contact me whenever and however they like.

Landlords should put themselves in the shoes of the Tenant. I wouldn't want to live without central heating for a week. On Saturday I got an email to say the oil-fired boiler had broken down. I got my local man to go there on the same day and it needs a new pump which will take 3 days to order/fit. I feel bad even though there is an immersion heater for hot water back-up and a log burning stove downstairs for warmth. So I've sent them a £20 Waitrose Gift Voucher as a goodwill gesture for the inconvenience.

Now the tricky part. The pump jammed because it got damaged by grit and sludge when the Tenant ran out of oil and drained the bottom of the tank (full of muck). So in theory this breakdown was caused by the Tenant's actions not mine. Obviously I'm paying to put it right (£300+) because I want to keep the Tenant happy but it pisses me off at the same time. All maintenance costs are tax deductible so I'll tell myself that HMRC are paying for the pump He'll also be getting a lecture on reasons to fill an oil tank before it gets to the bottom.

[PlanB]

Re: Am I a Bad Landlord? You decide

Another day another whinging tenant

This time I need your help. The email says the TV signal has gone "wonky". Not a lot to go on. So while I figure out what needs to be done can someone tell me if she can watch TV through her computer using iPlayer or whatever it's called. A link would be helpful

The TV aerial is on the roof seven stories above the flat and the only access is through the top flat's skylight and they're never in. The property is a Grade 1 Listed building so no satellite dish or cable TV allowed (can't dig up the front courtyard or slap things on the side of the house). The flat has a BT phone line and broadband. Is there another way to access TV without this aerial hassle which I get every time Mr Wind knocks over the mast?

[Riz]

Re: Am I a Bad Landlord? You decide

BBC live http://www.bbc.co.uk/tv/on-now and catchup http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/

ITV https://www.itv.com/itvplayer/

C4 http://watchlive.channel4.com/ and catchup http://www.channel4.com/programmes/4od

Ch5 http://www.channel5.com/demand5

And one size fits all http://tvcatchup.com/

[PlanB]

Re: Am I a Bad Landlord? You decide

BBC live http://www.bbc.co.uk/tv/on-now and catchup http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/

ITV https://www.itv.com/itvplayer/

C4 http://watchlive.channel4.com/ and catchup http://www.channel4.com/programmes/4od

Ch5 http://www.channel5.com/demand5

And one size fits all http://tvcatchup.com/

Wow that's brilliant and it's all free too

I don't suppose there's a way of getting it from the computer screen on to the wide TV screen by plugging something into the back of the set so she can watch it in the sitting room Hopefully I'll get the TV aerial fixed on Monday.

[Undercover Elsa]

Re: Am I a Bad Landlord? You decide

She could connect to the TV if she had a HDMI cable, and her PC/laptop has an HDMI out and her TV has an HDMI in socket: http://digitalunite.com/guides/tv-vi...ct-computer-tv

Have other TV's in the building gone wonky PlanB? Make sure it's not the TV itself or the local aerial cable that's causing it, before you spend any money on aerial repairs...

[patchouli]

Re: Am I a Bad Landlord? You decide

She's renting the property not 'luxuries' .. whenever I rent, the TV, broadband and telephone were down to me!

Is it different if the property can't have these then?

[PlanB]

Re: Am I a Bad Landlord? You decide

She's renting the property not 'luxuries' .. whenever I rent, the TV, broadband and telephone were down to me!

Is it different if the property can't have these then?

No it's the same, but I'm determined not to be voted "Bad Landlord of the Year" by AAD so I'm going the extra mile

Seriously though I've started this thread to get an understanding of what pisses off Tenants. It was inspired by Marypoppins' thread here: http://forums.all-about-debt.co.uk/s...l=1#post334295

See how easily I can do a U-Turn when applicable

At first you were painting a picture of a bunch of precious kids objecting to being woken-up early on a Saturday morning. Then when I challenged your perception of the situation the real misery of the scenario began to emerge. I genuinely think that they now deserve some form of compensation for this but let's wait until it's all over before deciding how to go about this.