Renting a property is all well and good – that is until you have to live by someone else’s rules.
Most people who have rented, from students to young families, will most likely have had a few run-ins with landlords.
There’s any number of issues that can cause clashes, whether it’s problems with the heating, damp in the ceiling or issues with your deposit.
But as you rant down the phone to the person who is providing you with a home for a monthly fee, have you ever thought about what’s going through their head?
Well, Steve Parry, 55, a landlord from Liverpool who allegedly had his property wrecked by tenants, has put together a list of things that grind his gears when he’s renting out a property.
Here’s Steve’s nine pet hates that cause him constant headaches as a landlord
Smoking indoors:
“You would rather not have people smoke inside – I’m quite sure lots of people ignore that clause in contracts.
“It makes carpets smell, and there’s a risk the insurance won’t pay if it sparks a fire ins
Loud parties
He said: “I used to have students, but you would find they often had all their mates round, which can cause grief with the neighbours.
“If it’s not too regular or noisy it’s fine, but it was every week for us at one point.”
Steve said that landlords often get calls from neighbours who immediately blame them if tenants cause noise problemside.”
Having no regard for fire safety
“One tenant I had turned their gas fire on full, put their coat on the back of a chair in front of it and went out for the day. The lad over the road called me, saying there was a fireman knocking my front door down.
“It was gutted – luckily the insurance paid. The living room was horrendously damaged.”
Messing about with gas or electricity meters
“You are not supposed to mess about with them, but if people have money problems sometimes they will get a prepaid one you can top up as you go.
“But it becomes a problem for the next tenants, as those meters are a lot more expensive.
“So it’s off-putting for them. And then the suppliers often won’t even change the until they’ve been in for about a year – they say they must have been put in for a reason.
Leaving rubbish behind
You sometimes see sofas dumped around the side of the property, and kids will sometimes then set them on fire.
“Both tenants and landlords sometimes just dump furniture and other things when tenants leave.
“You should get a skip, get it picked up or borrow a van and get a permit to take it to a tip.”
Dirty windows and unkempt gardens
He said that windows are hardly ever kept clean and gardens aren’t well-kept either during the course of their tenancies.
Steve said that although many properties have clauses in their terms and conditions which stipulate that tenants should keep properties in a reasonable condition, sometimes this is not the case.
Having a dog without permission
Steve set up a tenancy agreement which clearly said no dogs.
However, a month later there was a “huge dog” living in the house and “scratching the place up.”
He ended up taking legal advice but was told that he wouldn’t have a chance of being able to get the dog out.
Swapping providers without letting your landlords know
Steve urged tenants to let their landlords know if they’re swapping broadband providers.
He said: “When people leave, there’s often cables left which I cut and put an X over to show where any more cables should go.
“But the next people will often get a workman in from the provider who drills in another place.
“That starts to damage the walls, and can lead to damp as some homes like mine have a metre of waterproof render behind the wallpaper at the bottom.
“If you drill through it, you can end up with a patch of damp – and some tenants then end up complaining about that.”
To speak to one of our expert lettings team at Belvoir Liverpool Central, please call 0151 231 1613 or email liverpoolcentral@belvoir.co.uk
