Gaining social housing when working.

samwich1979

Marisco wrote: »

Structurally sound yes, nicely decorated no. That's down to you. When you view, try and see past the decor and use imagination as to what it could look like by the time you've finished with it. I've always done that with all places I've lived, and some required a lot more that a bit of paint and wall paper!!

Thats all well and good but trying to see past cupboard doors broken in half and hanging off, kitchen work surfaces with big chips all over them and carpets with black marks all over them?

Come on now thats just having a laugh isnt it? If i was the landlord of this particular property i would have been mighty embarrassed showing people around a house like that and expecting them to either just live with it or pay out to get it all replaced for me but we were being told about the place like it was a bloody palace!
:rotfl:

Marisco

Come on, you're not telling me that every place you viewed was like that? We went on a "flat hunt" for oh's daughter last year, a few places were as you described, one was half renovated, but the majority were fine.

midnight_express

samwich1979 wrote: »

Thats all well and good but trying to see past cupboard doors broken in half and hanging off, kitchen work surfaces with big chips all over them and carpets with black marks all over them?

Come on now thats just having a laugh isnt it? If i was the landlord of this particular property i would have been mighty embarrassed showing people around a house like that and expecting them to either just live with it or pay out to get it all replaced for me but we were being told about the place like it was a bloody palace!
:rotfl:

The rent you mentioned sounded very cheap to me. What area do you live in ?

Sixer

Wow. Private sector rentals have certainly changed since I rented in the late 80s/early 90s. I rented for about 8 years between uni and getting married in various houses and NEVER views or rented a place that wasn't fully furnished including white goods. In fact, all my tenancy agreements forbade any decorating at all without explicit permission from the landlord.

Dunroamin

Sixer wrote: »

Wow. Private sector rentals have certainly changed since I rented in the late 80s/early 90s. I rented for about 8 years between uni and getting married in various houses and NEVER views or rented a place that wasn't fully furnished including white goods. In fact, all my tenancy agreements forbade any decorating at all without explicit permission from the landlord.

But that's completely different!

There are still furnished flat/houses available to let (often for people sharing) but the OP is talking about renting an unfurnished place and yet expecting it to have carpets, curtains and a cooker.

samwich1979

Dunroamin wrote: »

But that's completely different!

There are still furnished flat/houses available to let (often for people sharing) but the OP is talking about renting an unfurnished place and yet expecting it to have carpets, curtains and a cooker.

AGAIN for people who cannot read.

I have ALL of my own items thank you, curtains included and if i need to buy a cooker then so be it but privately rented houses almost always have carpets/some kind of flooring down, NEVER seen a single one without.
Nowadays most also have integrated kitchens with a cooker and if not a stand alone, again i have NEVER seen one without a cooker.

Unfurnished does not mean you dont have carpet or some kind of floor covering, it means you have no furniture and possibly nothing in the kitchen, granted there are exceptions though.

I just hope that the flooring these houses do have is at least clean not just left with the last tenants dirt and stains all over it. Im sure a landlord could afford a small amount of money to have them properly cleaned even if they do nothing else.

PippaGirl_2

All my private tenancy agreements explicitely forbade any decorating without prior written permission. Every nail or picture hook you placed in the wall had to be removed before leaving, plastered and painted so tbh wasn't worth it so I never put pictures up. I asked if I could put a hanging basket up once and the answer was no. Another negative about private renting. Mind you, though you can put pictures/shelves up in council housing with no problem I had to get written permission to put a shed in the garden.

shellsuit

When I rented privately, I replaced the carpet in the through lounge,

replaced the carpet on the hall stairs and landing twice (first change was cream and that was a BAD idea),

decorated every room,

repointed the wall at the from of the house and painted it,

painted the whole of the front of the house,

ripped out the forest in the back garden and replaced it with proper borders, turf, and new fencing.

That all took place over 12 years. I don't look at it as a waste of money, I wanted the place to feel like home and not look like we were living in the 1970's.

I could never have lived there, as it was for 12 years. It would have drove me mad and been so depressing.

I did of course check that the LL was fine with all the changes, which she was. Of course she was, she wasn't paying for it.

samwich1979

shellsuit wrote: »

When I rented privately, I replaced the carpet in the through lounge,

replaced the carpet on the hall stairs and landing twice (first change was cream and that was a BAD idea),

decorated every room,

repointed the wall at the from of the house and painted it,

painted the whole of the front of the house,

ripped out the forest in the back garden and replaced it with proper borders, turf, and new fencing.

That all took place over 12 years. I don't look at it as a waste of money, I wanted the place to feel like home and not look like we were living in the 1970's.

I could never have lived there, as it was for 12 years. It would have drove me mad and been so depressing.

I did of course check that the LL was fine with all the changes, which she was. Of course she was, she wasn't paying for it.

If you are willing to do that and can afford it then thats fine, but i can not and will not spend hundreds/thousands on something that i may not get to live in long enough for it to be worth it.

You were very lucky to have a private rental for 12 years and what you have done over that period is reasonable i guess but not when most tenancies are not very secure and you dont know when you will suddenly have to move on.

I just dont see why tenants should improve landlords properties for them and save THEM money while we lose it!

Dunroamin

samwich1979 wrote: »

Nowadays most also have integrated kitchens with a cooker and if not a stand alone, again i have NEVER seen one without a cooker.

If the kitchens in the properties you're viewing have fitted kitchens with integrated cookers, they're obviously not the total slums you're depicting.