Many people think that renting real estate is a very enjoyable and financially rewarding experience where money can be made by resting at home and doing nothing. Well, not exactly. It may never occur to other people that many landlords encounter serious problems with tenants. Following my recent bad experience as a landlord I searched online for similar terrible experiences of other property owners. But I was astonished to discover that most online conversations are about ‘terrible’ landlords who expect timely rent payments and maintaining property in a good state. Is this because landlords are too busy while tenants are too available, with plenty of time on their hands to complain? Perhaps it is something to think about.
I came across many absurd complaints from tenants which made me think. They often moan about electricity bills being too high, that they cannot get a parking space, that their TV is not working, or, for that matter, that having spent loads of money on Christmas gifts they do not have enough left to pay the rent. Why on earth the demanding landlords cannot wait??
The survey by the housing charity Shelter claims that ‘private tenants feel powerless’ against their landlords. The Shelter survey claims that 16% of those questioned – which equates to 7.5 million people – have had issues with their landlord in the past ten years, and 41%, or 3 million, of them say they tried to talk to their landlord but nothing changed. Worryingly, 7%– about 550,000 people – said they did nothing because they were scared of the consequences. Of course, this statistics should not be ignored. I do not doubt that there are some terrible real estate owners around. However, in order to get a full picture and a fair view of the ‘landlord-tenant’ encounters, wouldn’t it be useful to get similar statistics by surveying the landlords? I suspect it would be rather shocking, judging from my experience.
I have purchased two properties a couple of years ago hoping for an easy business. I naively believed that if you looked after the tenants, they would look after your property. I have refurbished my houses, got new kitchens and bathrooms installed, and put fresh flowers around to make my tenants feel at home. I called them from time to time to ask whether they were happy in the house and to get their feedback. I sent them ‘thank you’ cards at Christmas and was patient about the missed payments. I treated them with compassion and understanding, hoping that my efforts would pay off. However, all three tenants that I had made my life highly stressful. I felt I was being taken for granted. Two of the tenants consistently failed to pay their rent, and chasing them on a monthly basis to ask for the rent money proved to be a very unpleasant experience. They would come up with lame excuses, for example, ‘I was away for a few weeks, so I will pay tomorrow’. But tomorrow came and went but the long awaited payment never reached my account. Or how do you like another excuse: ‘Sorry, money got stuck in the bank’?!
Sadly, most blog discussions, newspapers and even TV programs side with the tenants, forgetting the fact that landlords have a responsibility for the mortgages and completely ignoring the fact that banks do not care about tenants’ excuses behind the unpaid rent because they run out of money.
Again, one of the anonymous bloggers claims he has suffered continuous harassment after missing a rent payment. He took part in the TV programme exposing ‘the shocking treatment of tenants by Britain’s worst landlords’. However, not much is said about the strict attitude of the banks towards landlords who are late with their mortgage payments.
Moreover, no law protects landlords when their tenants fail to pay utility bills, while the safety of their properties is being jeopardised. At least this is the case in the UK. Just a few months ago whilst I was showing around my property to a potential new tenant two uniformed men arrived in front of my house. One of them was a locksmith. He was accompanied by a representative of a utility company. The locksmith from Bracknell explained that he was there to break into my property. The electricity company had a court order to change the electricity meter (without my permission!) due to substantial outstanding bills. When I asked why I was never contacted to be present in order to avoid damages to my real estate, I was explained that the Data Protection Act 1998 forbids disclosing such information about my tenant, even if this means breaking into my property. After such an incident a statement “the government has to recognise its responsibility to protect this vast and growing population of private tenants which are being affected by rogue landlord practice” sounds rather controversial. Who protects landlords and their properties from irresponsible tenants? In the meantime, while waiting for the government to protect landlords’ rights, I suggest building a good relationship with your local locksmith, as you never know who and when can legally break into your property.
