Landlords and rental properties.
If you have clicked onto this page you may be considering hiring Marts Handyman Services to carry out works at the property you rent out. Due to experiences I have had with many landlords, the condition of many rental properties I have worked in, and my views (I also suspect many others) on the catasrophic UK housing market, I felt that I had to write this page after thinking long and hard about doing so. This page used to be much (much) longer, specifying in some detail my views on many landlords, the private rental market, and how I came to my opinions, but I decided to drastically edit it down for a couple of reasons. One being that I wanted my website to be simple and to the point, and having such a long page went against my initial intentions, and two, that the old page could be interpreted as preachy, and nobody wants to be lectured when all they were after was someone to carry out some maintenance, repairs etc... even though I stand by every single word I previously wrote.
Below are a few (I could have put down many more) points, or ethical standards, that I now adhere to when I consider working at a rental property, they have been drawn up by myself following many years of dealing with landlords whose attitudes have ranged from... indifferent, to borderline criminal, also the properties themselves that again have ranged from... Meh, to what can only be described as squalid hovels in many instances.
1) If you own more than one rental property, and particularly if you smugly use the word ‘portfolio' then in my opinion you are a career landlord, and I dont agree with it. If you own more than one rental property please find alternative sources to complete the works you require as I dont want or need your business and I certainly don't want any part in helping you ‘build your empire.' The only people that have any business owning multiple properties to rent out are the local authority.
2) If I have agreed to work for you at the rental property and I feel that it is ‘not great’ but 'not poor'.. okay...I'm not totally unreasonable, and am realistic. If however the property is in a terrible condition I will have no hesitation in contacting the appropriate authorities to report you and the property in question.
3) If I have agreed to work for you at the rental property, then please do not give me the contact details of the tenants and expect myself and/or the tenants to do ALL the calling and arranging regarding carrying out the work. If you as a landlord are running a business then treat it as such and have both the interest and enthusiasm to deal with your business in a professional manner, by liaising with myself and the tenants accordingly. This is after all part of the service the tenants are paying you rent for.
4) If I have agreed to work for you at the rental property, then please do not ask me to do ‘the cheapest job possible.' There is a difference between ‘working to an acceptable budget' and being an 'Ebenezer Scrooge like miser’ It is this attitude that has made landlords into one of the most vilified people in the country. This attitude is disgraceful, and needless to say I will not work for you should this be your approach. Would you do the 'cheapest job possible' in your own house..?
5) If you can ‘honestly' say that the property you are renting out, in the exact condition it is in right now is ‘good enough’ for you, your wife/husband, your children/grandchildren or your own parents to live in.... fine. If however you were being absolutely honest, and really, deep down you know that the property that you are accepting rent for would not truthfully be up to your or your families standards should you be living there, then I will not work for you, also, please sit down and contemplate your reasons as to why the property you are renting out is 'good enough' for the tenant's, but you and your family 'apparently' deserve better..?
6) If you are a landlord... then just say you are a landlord from the off. Please don't try to hide it from me because I will only find out if and when I am at the property, and then I will simply walk out.... not because you are a landlord, but because you were untruthful. Just be honest in the first place and it avoids any awkwardness and embarrasement for everybody involved. This can also be applied to point one and point five, where I have to rely on the landlord to be honest with me when making an enquiry.
Below are a few (I could have put down many more) points, or ethical standards, that I now adhere to when I consider working at a rental property, they have been drawn up by myself following many years of dealing with landlords whose attitudes have ranged from... indifferent, to borderline criminal, also the properties themselves that again have ranged from... Meh, to what can only be described as squalid hovels in many instances.
1) If you own more than one rental property, and particularly if you smugly use the word ‘portfolio' then in my opinion you are a career landlord, and I dont agree with it. If you own more than one rental property please find alternative sources to complete the works you require as I dont want or need your business and I certainly don't want any part in helping you ‘build your empire.' The only people that have any business owning multiple properties to rent out are the local authority.
2) If I have agreed to work for you at the rental property and I feel that it is ‘not great’ but 'not poor'.. okay...I'm not totally unreasonable, and am realistic. If however the property is in a terrible condition I will have no hesitation in contacting the appropriate authorities to report you and the property in question.
3) If I have agreed to work for you at the rental property, then please do not give me the contact details of the tenants and expect myself and/or the tenants to do ALL the calling and arranging regarding carrying out the work. If you as a landlord are running a business then treat it as such and have both the interest and enthusiasm to deal with your business in a professional manner, by liaising with myself and the tenants accordingly. This is after all part of the service the tenants are paying you rent for.
4) If I have agreed to work for you at the rental property, then please do not ask me to do ‘the cheapest job possible.' There is a difference between ‘working to an acceptable budget' and being an 'Ebenezer Scrooge like miser’ It is this attitude that has made landlords into one of the most vilified people in the country. This attitude is disgraceful, and needless to say I will not work for you should this be your approach. Would you do the 'cheapest job possible' in your own house..?
5) If you can ‘honestly' say that the property you are renting out, in the exact condition it is in right now is ‘good enough’ for you, your wife/husband, your children/grandchildren or your own parents to live in.... fine. If however you were being absolutely honest, and really, deep down you know that the property that you are accepting rent for would not truthfully be up to your or your families standards should you be living there, then I will not work for you, also, please sit down and contemplate your reasons as to why the property you are renting out is 'good enough' for the tenant's, but you and your family 'apparently' deserve better..?
6) If you are a landlord... then just say you are a landlord from the off. Please don't try to hide it from me because I will only find out if and when I am at the property, and then I will simply walk out.... not because you are a landlord, but because you were untruthful. Just be honest in the first place and it avoids any awkwardness and embarrasement for everybody involved. This can also be applied to point one and point five, where I have to rely on the landlord to be honest with me when making an enquiry.
