1 LANDORD & OWNER EXPERIENCE
Whilst living overseas, renting in Singapore, I was a landlord in London.
What are the landlord's main problems?
1 Payment of rent - or lack of it. Unemployed tenant. Covid and self-employed worker.
2 Empty flats - insurance, dirt, leaks, vandalism, squatters, expenses of council tax and maintenance.
3 Children - damage and overcrowding.
4 Pets - damage to the flat, the common area, noise annoying neighbours. |New legislation says you cannot refuse to have pets for no good reason. A good reason would be that you are already bound to no pets by your own contract. You might be allergic to animal fur and feathers, as I am. A good tenant might be willing to have pets neutered and wormed and to take out insurance.
On the plus side, one tenant told me that after a neighbour got a cat, the mice problem ended.
5 Noise
6 Tenants leaving tenancy early too early or too late
7 Mould
8 Equipment failure.
9 Furnished or unfurnished.
10 Gardening, garage doors, subsidence drains, storm damaging fences and patio doors.
Useful Websites
When the landlord came round and saw the skimpy curtains a few weeks later, he said, I wish you'd told me last month, I could have got them replaced. Now it's too late. Landlord's loss.
The moral is, make sure anything missing or broken is listed on the inventory and recorded in an email immediately.
It's good for the tenant. And good for the landlord.
LANDLORD'S problems
Protecting Building From Damage By Movers
On moving in and out, tenants had to pay management to put protective baffling on the lifts and corridor floors and flat doorways. This is very sensible.
As a landlord we should have this in the UK. Instead as a landlord, I suffered from complaints that the corridor carpets were ruined by tenants moving in out.
I have tried to keep the flats fully furnished and not to allow furniture to be moved in and out.
Fire Safety & The Elderly
If you rent out to retirement age people, the advantage is that you don't have children creating noise and damage.
On the other hand, an elderly person might keep burning the toast and setting off the fire alarm.
They might fall over steps outdoors or in a hallway or stairwell and blame the owner or building management if a light bulb has not been fixed instantly.
The solution to the light bulb problem is to stock replacement bulbs on the premises. The person in charge or changing light bulbs could be the resident porter, or another resident of the building, or the person reporting the problem could collect the key to the light bulb cupboard.
A whatsapp group for residents could ensure another person provides a ladder, or person to ensure safety of the person changing the light bulb, and the protection of the cupboard from theft.
Landlord problem - Leaks
In London we had a leaking heated towel rail in the bathroom. I tried two plumbers who were not available.
I looked online and up popped an ad for a 24/7 service. They wanted about 90 pounds paid upfront, which I paid. They said the plumber was on another job half an hour away. I said ok. 2.30 pm. I go half hour postponement until 4.30 when it was dark. Then I was told the plumber agreed with the tenant to come back next morning. ok. I did not want to drive over in the dark and hang around. Later Sunday the towel rail burst sending water everywhere. The porter called the fire brigade who turned off the water and the electricity.
Next day the plumber arrived. He fitted a new towel rail and charged about nine hundred pounds.
He said that the radiators were on the same system and also likely to leak, and that would be about six thousand pounds.
I called back the other two plumbers.
One said the towel rail was not on the radiator system but on a separate system which was turned off under the bath.
The other one said that the towel rail on the hot water system should not have been stainless stell, which you identified by attaching a magnet.
The original plumbing company would not tell me the maker or guarantee of the towel rail and said the guarantee was from their company. I would not let them do any more work for me because of their huge prices and unhelpfulness. The staff on the phone were very soothing and knowledgeable. But the plumber had not turned up in time. I then had to spend another thousand or so on replacing the wooden floor of the hall which was flooded, plus the disruption of time spent choosing flooring, pulling up the old damaged flooring, wait for concrete floor to dry, survey, choosing new flooring - I refused to have glue down flooring because I'd had that previously and when replaced, the carpet fitters said the wrong glue was used and instead of pulling up sheets, you had to chip off the stuck down panels inch by inch which took hours and cost me a lot. Glue could also be a fire risks.
Landlord problems - Fire Alarms and Extinguishers
After the New Year's Eve fire in Switzerland, I am now looking at supplying a fire alarm, fire extinguisher, and fire blanket. I am included to not get the fire blanket. Neither I nor any other amateur would be likely to risk getting close enough to put down a fire blanket. Spraying powder or anything else from a distance is more likely to be done.
FINDING A NEW TENANT
DIY
Advantage
Advertise online for free or low cost.
Disadvantage
You could be inundated by time wasting replies and costly research into credit worthiness of people who turn out to have no income, to be bad payers, to have criminal records, bad references for damaging property, overcrowding and creating mould. Old tenant not leaving, so your prospective new tenant is lost or you cannot move back into your former home and take up a job or get married.
Agencies
Management
Landlords' best practice
For landlords
1 Answer immediately.
2 Fix problems quickly.
3 Use check-a trade.
4 Ask your local whatsapp group for reliable plumbers, electricians and other workers such as gardeners, fence builders, drain fixers.
The tenant is not a friend, but a business contact.
Keep calm and carry on.
My family say,
'It's not a problem, it's a task. Everything collapses after twenty years and needs replacing. That's what money is for.
Check reviews on Websites on tradespersons and businesses
Useful Websites on Fire Alarms
https://www.fireprotectiononline.co.uk/small-kitchen-fire-safety-bundle
£56.12 for smoke alarm, fire blanket and fire extinguisher (powder).
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https://simplyextinguishers.co.uk/landlord-fire-safety-bundle
£46.79
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Fire extinguisher and bracket
£16.49 on ebay
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https://www.fireandsafetycentre.co.uk/collections/quantity-discount-available
£38.27 triple bundle
You might also want a carbon monoxide detector.
You can buy a combined smoke alarm and carbon monoxide alarm.
also check ebay, amazon, lidl and asda. costco uk and costco usa.
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