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, my views on the disgraceful UK housing market (which Landlords, particularly BTL'ers are negatively attributing to) I felt that I had to write this page after thinking long and hard about doing so. As much as I try, I cannot think of any other industry on earth where the service provider (and I use that term very loosely in the case of landlords) has what can only be described as a total contempt for its own customers, regularly displayed by providing the absolute bare legal minimum allowed whilst charging the highest possible rent, all the while providing little, if anything, in the way of service. If I had the same attitude toward my business that many landlords have to their so-called business' I would be out of business within six months.
Houses and flats are first and foremost people homes, regardless of whether the occupant pays a mortgage or pays rent, it's their home, therefore landlords that take every opportunity to reiterate how the property does not belong to the tenants, landlords not allowing tenants to paint or hang pictures/mirrors, landlords taking weeks if not months to carry out or arrange maintenance, landlords that begrudge any issues raised by the tenant, landlords uping the rent because maintenance costs were incurred and God forbid a loss was made on an asset that was wrongly assumed as a gauranteed cash cow for doing absolutely nothing that somebody else (the tenant) theoretically buys for them.... all of these behaviours are the actions of an individual that is not, and never was, in a position whether financially, emotionally, or both, to be a landlord in the first place. The entire psychology surrounding property in the UK is broken... owning and renting out property is a long term investment, it is not, or at least should not, be viewed as an income, and as everybody knows (apart from landlords apparently) with all investing there is a risk. Many complain and cry poverty because they are trying to live off of rental money as if it is their income, no landlord should be using a tenant's rent to pay their mortgage, it's bad business and bad money management, yet these same landlords genuinely believe that they are in a position to dictate, control, and manipulate somebody elses living conditions and finances, when they are barely capable of keeping their own affairs in order.
Reading this may seem that I am anti-landlord..? actually I'm not, I'm anti most landlords, because sadly most landlords in the UK seem to act in the ways described above, due to property now being seen primarily as an asset rather than it's actual purpose, namely, a home, and of course because of good old fashioned greed.
We do however need a private rental sector in the UK, but it should be far more regulated than it currently is, and it should be the smallest sector (as it used to be) behind home ownership and social housing, and no where near the scale it has become since BTL was introduced in 1996, subsequently being used by many as a replacement for less generous company or private pensions, and in some cases, being used in place of having an 'actual' job... (Job: a shocking and archaic practice where an individual provides labour and/or service to others for financial reward.) One of my biggest issues with landlords however would have to be the attitude, the delusion, the lack of understanding of what being a landlord actually entails, of the level of responsibilty required, an unrealistic expectation regarding potential financial returns, coupled with the deplorable impression that many landlords have where they seem to think they are a better class of person than the tenants. I don't call being prepared to take half, or even two thirds of somebodies income, to allow them to live in sub standard housing in order to provide the landlord with an even more comfortable life/retirement... a better class of person.... I would say quite the opposite actually.
Now I have set the stall out regarding my views of the private rental sector in the UK, I have listed below a few (I could have put down many more) 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... a bit rubbish, to what can only be described as disgusting 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 don't 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 claim to be 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... no, the world. This attitude is disgraceful (albeit typical of landlords) so 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.... Okay. 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, therefore 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 are apparently more worthy and deserve better..? also, please look up the word hypocrisy in the dictionary.
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 pack up and 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.... although, it is quite easy for me to assertain when somebody is not being fully forthcoming with the truth.
Thankyou for your understanding and for reading.
Houses and flats are first and foremost people homes, regardless of whether the occupant pays a mortgage or pays rent, it's their home, therefore landlords that take every opportunity to reiterate how the property does not belong to the tenants, landlords not allowing tenants to paint or hang pictures/mirrors, landlords taking weeks if not months to carry out or arrange maintenance, landlords that begrudge any issues raised by the tenant, landlords uping the rent because maintenance costs were incurred and God forbid a loss was made on an asset that was wrongly assumed as a gauranteed cash cow for doing absolutely nothing that somebody else (the tenant) theoretically buys for them.... all of these behaviours are the actions of an individual that is not, and never was, in a position whether financially, emotionally, or both, to be a landlord in the first place. The entire psychology surrounding property in the UK is broken... owning and renting out property is a long term investment, it is not, or at least should not, be viewed as an income, and as everybody knows (apart from landlords apparently) with all investing there is a risk. Many complain and cry poverty because they are trying to live off of rental money as if it is their income, no landlord should be using a tenant's rent to pay their mortgage, it's bad business and bad money management, yet these same landlords genuinely believe that they are in a position to dictate, control, and manipulate somebody elses living conditions and finances, when they are barely capable of keeping their own affairs in order.
Reading this may seem that I am anti-landlord..? actually I'm not, I'm anti most landlords, because sadly most landlords in the UK seem to act in the ways described above, due to property now being seen primarily as an asset rather than it's actual purpose, namely, a home, and of course because of good old fashioned greed.
We do however need a private rental sector in the UK, but it should be far more regulated than it currently is, and it should be the smallest sector (as it used to be) behind home ownership and social housing, and no where near the scale it has become since BTL was introduced in 1996, subsequently being used by many as a replacement for less generous company or private pensions, and in some cases, being used in place of having an 'actual' job... (Job: a shocking and archaic practice where an individual provides labour and/or service to others for financial reward.) One of my biggest issues with landlords however would have to be the attitude, the delusion, the lack of understanding of what being a landlord actually entails, of the level of responsibilty required, an unrealistic expectation regarding potential financial returns, coupled with the deplorable impression that many landlords have where they seem to think they are a better class of person than the tenants. I don't call being prepared to take half, or even two thirds of somebodies income, to allow them to live in sub standard housing in order to provide the landlord with an even more comfortable life/retirement... a better class of person.... I would say quite the opposite actually.
Now I have set the stall out regarding my views of the private rental sector in the UK, I have listed below a few (I could have put down many more) 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... a bit rubbish, to what can only be described as disgusting 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 don't 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 claim to be 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... no, the world. This attitude is disgraceful (albeit typical of landlords) so 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.... Okay. 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, therefore 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 are apparently more worthy and deserve better..? also, please look up the word hypocrisy in the dictionary.
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 pack up and 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.... although, it is quite easy for me to assertain when somebody is not being fully forthcoming with the truth.
Thankyou for your understanding and for reading.
