Top five things that stop you renting a place...

Jo_R_2

1. Parking. Must have either allocated parking or driveway/garage. On-street parking whilst a student made me ace at parallel parking but is a nightmare coming back from work trying to find a space...

2. Gas central heating. Having storage heaters for three years meant either the house was icy cold or red hot. Never inbetween!

3. Intrusive landlord/lady/agency. Have been very lucky in last two properties to have great landlord and landlady who are happy to let us get on with it but very quick to deal with any minor repairs or issues when they've been contacted. Have lived in house a few years ago though where landlord, who although nice chap, thought nothing of dropping in for whatever reason without any notice and we often told him to come back when he'd given us notice he was coming round.

4. No shower. My last house only had a bath and whilst was great for the kids and when we wanted to relax, I just didn't find it practical in the mornings or evenings when kids in bed (inevitably their bedroom has always been next to the bathroom and wakes them up when the bath is running) it was then I made a shower an essential on my list.

5. "Carpet" in the kitchen. Slowly but surely I have come to find this (okay, so not a proper full-on carpet but like a lino-type one, am sure there must be a proper name for it lol!) a complete and utter pain in the !!! trying to get rid of spillages. When I next look for somewhere I want a 'moppable' floor.

Can think of a handful more but these are the premier ones at the mo!

SingleSue

When we rented privately, our only concern was the price!

I suppose now if I went into private rental, the things that would put me off would be :

No parking - absolutely essential for me to have easy access from my car to the house.

A small kitchen - I like to have family dinners so any kitchen must be able to fit a table in.

Joint lounge/kitchen area - What is that all about? At least with a kitchen diner you can shut the door and entertain in the other room.


And errr...can't think of any others!

Rabiddog_2

I've got a Leccy key(stick) and a Gas card but this drugs thang is getting REALLY way outta line!

don't you hate it when your "E" key stops working!

Double glazing seems to be the most wanted thing, and parking is also higher up the list than I would have thought. When I rented it was --- price, location, my own phone(mobiles not available), space, Price.

neverdespairgirl

For me, the important factors are:

1. Price

2. Location

3. central heating

4. double-glazing

5. no joint living room / kitchen.

You almost never get parking in central London, so that wouldn't bother me.

stoptheworldIwannagetoff

I rented a 2 bed flat for the first time last year and as it was a new experience, I didn't check everything before signing on the dotted line.

Day 1 trying to have a shower when there was zero water pressure so had to have a bath and then figure out how to wash my long hair under the taps!! Daughter had even longer hair than me so was not impressed either!!

First attempt at washing up in the kitchen - no pressure in taps!!

Took ages for the EA and LL to get round to sorting the water out and on first complaint the EA said "The last tenant never complained but I will ask him if he had any problems". Response came back that the previous tenant only ever had a bath and was bald and lived on takeaways so no need to wash up!!!!!