What rights do tenants want?

geoffky

I see the statement on sites all over the place about the lack of tenants rights versus the landlords rights. so if you had the chance to change the law .what rights would you give the tenant that is not available now???

lostinrates

geoffky wrote: »

I see the statement on sites all over the place about the lack of tenants rights versus the landlords rights. so if you had the chance to change the law .what rights would you give the tenant that is not available now???

I'd look at longer term tenancies for a start.

I'd, perhaps contraversially, consider self maintaining tenancies..where tenants are responsible for costs other than structural..which remain the landlords, and have a ''paint it white at the end policy''

ukcarper

problem was when tenants had more rights there were a lot less rental properties

Blackpool_Saver

I would make it easier to complain about LL's harrassing tenants...........

drc

Renting in the UK should be like it is in Germany. There you can do whatever you want to do to an apartment (even knock down walls if the house won't fall apart) as long as you get either permission from the LL or you return house to condition it was before you rented it.

For the amount we pay in rents here in the UK, we should be able to do more to make rental properties homely.

chewmylegoff

i think things need to be balanced.

if you are going to give tenants increased rights, then you need to ensure that those rights are sufficiently caveated such that landlords can still get rid of people who don't pay and people who seriously breach the conditions of the tenancy agreement.

i would like to see some sort of regulation of letting agents' fees. i can't stand this practice of charging stupid amounts to re-issue the tenancy agreement at the end of the standard 12 month term.

chewmylegoff

drc wrote: »

Renting in the UK should be like it is in Germany. There you can do whatever you want to do to an apartment (even knock down walls if the house won't fall apart) as long as you get either permission from the LL or you return house to condition it was before you rented it.

as far as i know:

i) if you got the landlord's permission to knock down a wall in a property in england, obviously you could do so, because the landlord okayed it;

ii) it's my understanding that if you knock down a wall without the landlord's permission in england, all they can do is make you put it back to how it was when the tenancy ends. they wouldn't actually be able to evict you on the basis that you knocked a wall down.

of course, after 6 or 12 months, depending on your contract, they could just give you a s21 and boot you out and make you pay for the wall.

lostinrates

chewmylegoff wrote: »

i think things need to be balanced.

if you are going to give tenants increased rights, then you need to ensure that those rights are sufficiently caveated such that landlords can still get rid of people who don't pay and people who seriously breach the conditions of the tenancy agreement.

i would like to see some sort of regulation of letting agents' fees. i can't stand this practice of charging stupid amounts to re-issue the tenancy agreement at the end of the standard 12 month term.

I'd agree with this. Its one of the resasons I like the idea of not having furnished properteries and forcing tenants to do maintaining other than structural for the benefit of a more ''homelike'' tenancy length. I often feel for LL dealing, for example, repeated blocked drains, or refurbs where people complain they were with out a shower for a few days....as they would be if it were ''there own home''. The difficulty would be making sure people didn't let problems progress to serious ones...e.g. not sealed both penetrated joists/walls. Annual inspections would be fair IMO.

carolt

I agree with others that tenants should have the right to secure long-term tencies, and the right to decorate them etc - if necessary with the caveat that they returned them to the existing state when they left.

All this stuff about how homeowners must be supported at virtually any cost in their homes by the largesse of the taxpayer - even when they can no longer pay the mortgage! - is based on the fact that the poor homeowner would find being chucked out onto the street terribly upsetting and that it would be awful for their families eg poor children having to change school etc.

Well, tenants have feelings and families too, and it is equally upsetting for them and hard on their children to be evicted with just a couple of months' notice - or far less, if the landlord has been letting without permission from the lender. I'm not suggesting that tenants who don't pay should be allowed to stay for 2 years courtesy of the taxpayer, incidentally, as homeowners are - I think that's bloody ridiculous, actually - but I do think that tenants who do pay should be allowed to stay long term.

I also think rent rises should be limited to inflationary rises.

I also strongly agree with today's plans re landlord registration - tenants need to be able to find out if they are letting from a potentil Rachman.

silvercar

Borrowers need automatic permission from the lender to let provided that they are not in arrears.

Tenants need a little piece of paper at the start of the tenancy to say that the mortgage is not in arrears.

Then tenants can get on with enjoying the property knowing it will be their home for a while. Tenants should be able to request longer tenancies so they know where they stand.

Eviction should be difficult for tenants upto date with their rent and easy for those who fall behind.

Its not rocket science.

geoffky

The only one i would like to see is that all private rentals are brought in house to professional housing associations with in house experts so that a renter is not left to the mercy of a accidental landlord who does not have a clue at what he is doing. I can see this coming in years all done via a taxation system that does not make it worth while being a amateur landlord..this is not a dig at the btl brigade but housing is just a too serious thing to be left to fred round the corner who has a couple of flats...