Renting is fucking shit isn't it?

[Boycie]

That sounds awful, especially for your partner. Hope she's not too shaken up by it though I imagine she probably is. It's sometimes difficult to know what to do in these situations. Hopefully he gets what's coming to him, he shouldn't be going into people's homes with that kind of attitude.

[ReturnOfTheMack]

On 5/6/2022 at 6:39 PM, ReturnOfTheMack said:

Yeah, we have a flat we let out to a foreign company who have railway (I think) workers over here from Italy. We didn't buy it to let, fuck we didn't buy it at all - it was a gift from my father in law (who is, indeed, a rich Tory voter). I hate having it, and I want to sell it. But while it's rented to people who actually don't want to buy I can at least feel not utterly shit about it. 

We use a company to deal with it, and have already turned down their 'offer' to increase rent above inflation. And we have insisted all appropriate repairs/maintenance are done quickly, even at additional cost.

It, somewhat, mitigates my guilt. 

 

Edit: also I'm a cunt. Fuck all to do with the above though.

I mentioned in the paido forum recently, but managed to get the wife to agree that being landlords is shit and we sold the house on to a dude for his parents. Or so he claims. Either way, my guilt is gone.

 

@Keith Houchen that's a fucking terrible story. I'm sorry that's happened to you guys. Fuck that dude.

[FLips]

Ah Keith that's shocking. Hope you're both ok.

[SuperBacon]

On 12/20/2022 at 6:23 PM, SuperBacon said:

I have a saniflow toilet in my flat which is unspeakably shit, no pun intended. 

Its noisy, smelly and last night decided to stop working and back up through the bath, rendering toilet, bath and sink all out of action. Reported at 8am.

Someone from the letting agent comes round at 4pm, despite me sending them pictures of a full bath (of well, let's face it, backed up piss and shit) and a toilet that has been threatening to overflow all day throughout the day, telling them it's an emergency and I'd act quickly if it was my property.

I was so desperate by about 3pm, I told them I would fucking pay for a plumber, but no, the cunts have to wait to hear back from the cunt landlord and get her approval for her plumber. Absolute ball ache.

Lo and behold they call me at about 6pm to say they can't get anyone out tonight (should've acted at 8am then?) and it'll be lunchtime tomorrow. 

I told them that I've done all I can, and the next thing to happen is the bath or the toilet will overflow and I sure as fuck won't be clearing that up, so it's the landlords property and ultimately her choice whether she gets someone out tonight.

Also said that if it does come over the top, I'll be going to the pub next door (did have a poo there earlier) to stay and deducting that off their rent next month for each day I have gone without the basic amenities. Didn't like that, did they? Good. Fuck off.

First up against the wall when the revolution comes. Parasitic cunts.

I never finished this story as things went a bit mental.

That night, the landlord and her plumber tried to enter my flat at around 10.30pm while I was asleep. No call, no knocking, nothing. I was watching Die Hard IIRC.

Turned out the pipes were too narrow for the system they had fitted and had to be completely ripped out, rendering bathroom and bedroom (and subsequently whole flat) unliveable for at least 2 weeks, with no guarantee it would only be that. Bear in mind this was 5 days before Christmas.

So with that in mind, and the fact id have to move out for this anway, I took the decision to get out of the contract early (flat was a nightmare, landlord clearly a nightmare)

I spent the next two weeks in the local pub, which was nice obviously, apart from being there Christmas Eve/Day which was a bit depressing, as was the fact that it was a crap time of the year for viewings/lettings etc and I couldn't afford to stay in a pub forever, even though they were sympathetic and did me a decent deal.

It's a nice pub though and I am always thankful for a roof over my head having been homeless before, but it is massively draining not knowing in 2 weeks/3 weeks etc where you will be living. I think that's my main issue with renting. You're only ever 2 months away from not knowing. It's shit, and that impermanence cannot be underestimated. 

After being fucked over by a few people with last minute shit (once being texted and told a place was gone whilst I was literally standing at the door and could see the landlord inside, who then wouldn't answer my call) I found an ad in the local post office with only a home phone number, and called it, saw it, and took it.

Had to check it was OK with my ex first as there was one small catch. It was 10 seconds from her house 😆

Obviously she was fine with it and we now live 10 seconds apart (I can literally see her car from my back garden. Oh yeah, I now have a garden!) which is fantastic for the kids. They love the pop in like George Costanza loves the pop in. They'll just walk over whenever they want.

Landlords are an older couple, who are very old school in their manners (a check up viewing after a month? They were annoyed when the electric meter went tits up and had to be replaced with a modern one? They refuse to give me their mobile numbers?) but I let this all slide as, well, I'm 10 seconds from the kids and don't want to rock the boat.

They also own next door which to be fair, was handy when my neighbour was being a cunt, and the rent is much, much lower than the market value if I'm being honest. 

Renting is still fucking shit, it always will be when my landlord owns 3 houses and I own none, but the shit filled bath in the last gaff did turn out to be a godsend, showing that literally everything is poo, and everything is UKFF.

Sorry, I know that was all a year ago, but for anyone that was on absolute tenterhooks

[Keith Houchen]

1 hour ago, Boycie said:

That sounds awful, especially for your partner. Hope she's not too shaken up by it though I imagine she probably is. It's sometimes difficult to know what to do in these situations. Hopefully he gets what's coming to him, he shouldn't be going into people's homes with that kind of attitude.

Thanks, yeah she is really shaken up. It’s bad enough her routine was severely disrupted but everything else piled on top is horrible for her. She’s catastrophising about the future, I’m older than her and in bad health so I’ll be carking it before her most likely. Her parents are 100 miles away and both in bad health too. She’s really scared about either being committed to a hospital or just left on her own to die because she has a lot of support needs. It’s all shit. 
 

 

53 minutes ago, FelatioLips said:

Ah Keith that's shocking. Hope you're both ok.

Thanks mate. I’m not too bothered about myself to be honest, water off a ducks back and all that, but the way he spoke to her and threatened to punch her is beyond the pale. I’m trying to do what’s right by her and I too have loads of intrusive thoughts and replaying shit in my head. 
 

If anything, it’s going to focus our efforts in getting out of here and trying to find somewhere that doesn’t want 6 months rent upfront if you’re aren’t a “Professional person”

[deathrey]

That sounds horrific @Keith Houchen, I hope you are both ok. I don't blame your girlfriend for wanting too take things further, I would also want to in her position - it's someone making her feel unsafe in her own home.

 

[Keith Houchen]

4 minutes ago, deathrey said:

That sounds horrific @Keith Houchen, I hope you are both ok. I don't blame your girlfriend for wanting too take things further, I would also want to in her position - it's someone making her feel unsafe in her own home.

 

Thank you.  You’ve actually articulated it perfectly, she feels unsafe in her own home. I’ll remember that when my brain bugs me about the way I handled it. 

[Joe Blog]

19 hours ago, Keith Houchen said:

I’ll remember that when my brain bugs me about the way I handled it. 

Also worth keeping in mind that you are only human mate and reacted in a very human way to the fact that someone came into your home, was rude and then clearly goaded you and your partner. 
 

Iv’e no doubt you have played this out endlessly in your head but be kind to yourself. 

 

[Keith Houchen]

7 minutes ago, Joe Blog said:

Also worth keeping in mind that you are only human mate and reacted in a very human way to the fact that someone came into your home, was rude and then clearly goaded you and your partner. 
 

Iv’e no doubt you have played this out endlessly in your head but be kind to yourself. 

 

Thank you, mate, I’ll try. We both were too wired for any decent sleep, and her heart rate has barely dipped below 100 all day and because she’s on more pills than a WWF locker room, the doctor’s surgery wouldn’t prescribe any calming measures. Trying to remind myself that the guy threatened to punch a disabled woman and that’s what the worst incident was. 

[Devon Malcolm]

The thing about landlords is that when you think you've met a decent one, you haven't. They're ALL cunts.

For about a year I've had a small leak that dribbles down the wall next to my bedroom window when it pisses down. The landlord hired some roofer that he probably met down the pub to fix it. He sticks the scaffoding up, does *something* and then fucks off with the landlord's money. Leak isn't fixed. That was last summer.

So three months ago he asks my dad, who's a joiner, to knock a chunk out of my bedroom ceiling to see where exactly the issue is. Which he did. Three months later I still have a chunk out of my bedroom ceiing except now it leaks on the floor and not dribble down the wall. If it pisses down, I can't sleep because drips make a loud fucking noise when they hit a waterproof sheet.

My dad got his friend, who's an actual good roofer, to take a look at the outside to see if he could spot what the issue is. Which he did without a second look. So he tells my landlord it'll cost him £750 and he can do it in three weeks if he hires some scaffolding.

The landlord said he's not sure and HE'D PREFER TO WAIT UNTIL THE WEATHER GETS WARMER.  Because he doesn't know if my dad's mate will take into consideration the cold weather. Like he doesn't know what he's fucking doing after 20 years of trading and working in ALL WEATHER.

Now the bedroom's getting mould. Because of the damp. Which is awesome for my asthma. So now I'm looking for a new place to live. Again. Or I stay here and wait for my parents-in-law to die, leave me something in their inheritance so I can afford a deposit to buy a place. By which point I'll probably be dead from inhaling mould in my sleep.

What a fucking shit country and system this is. Honestly.

[SuperBacon]

The pull cord in my bathroom is broken. It won't double click, so if you pull it, it will click "on" but not a double click when it goes "back up" simple wiring job a sparky mate says.

My landlord said "Clearly you're pulling it too hard (bit personal) as we've never heard of this issue before"

I don't even know what to say to that.

Edited January 20 by SuperBacon
Missed bit

[Rule One]

@Devon Malcolm Not every landlord is a cunt but it is getting worse on the scale, there's definitely a heavily shit to good ratio. It's a vicious circle that will probably never be addressed. It only takes one bad landlord or one bad client and that's a lifelong belief entrenched. Social/Association housing has long gone down the same route so it's just a horrible position to be in as a renter.

Have you been in contact with shelter or any local authority/CAB to get advice about where you fully stand? As you have health issues that are exacerbated by this and potentially hazardous to your future health, if the landlord knows this, a repair must be a priority. Given the small traction about repairs, specifically damp/mould that's been in the news, you'd think that your landlord would want to address the issue. If there's structural issues that risk further damages such as potential roof collapse/etc then local authorities are timely/decent in responding/making a landlord accountable (Usually so they can get some sweet sweet fine money out of them for non compliance.) but it is at risk of damaging relationship with the landlord/getting a section notice. Also leaving the problem at the worst and most weather damaging is nonsensical, it invites further property damages and costs in the future.

Given the landlord acknowledges there is a problem but there's a reluctance to do anything immediate, is there any way that you could bridge that? Could/would your landlord be agreeable to you fixing the problem at your cost (If you can afford it.) so that the issue is addressed and then later use it as a deduction on future rent? Is there anything your father's friend could/help with suggest to maybe make things slightly better that are easily removable/fixable in the meantime? (I know they probably would have but I don't know the entire situation so I have to ask.)

Not comparable but at Christmas I temporarily fixed/bodged a friend's bay window roofing with putty/silicone and chopped up plastic milk cartons because his landlord flat out refused to fix missing tiles that came off during the bad weather we had. Fortunately it's now been resolved but if left, his living room would have been flooded multiple times by now. I would have repaired it properly but my friend wanted it done by the landlord and the landlord didn't want his property messed with more than I had done even though the temp fix probably saved him a small fortune.

Sorry you're experiencing more shite though because it's sounds like you've been thoroughly through the ringer over the last few years with them. All the best in getting it sorted.

@SuperBacon Surely it would fall under wear and tear depending on how old the equipment is. Pull cords are supposed to be checked every year and replaced every few years but as with most landlords, if it ain't broke, don't fix it, if it is broke, bodge and blame others.

@Keith Houchen Sorry what you've been through and I hope that you and your partner are doing better.

[Rossman]

On 1/20/2024 at 10:57 AM, SuperBacon said:

The pull cord in my bathroom is broken. It won't double click, so if you pull it, it will click "on" but not a double click when it goes "back up" simple wiring job a sparky mate says.

My landlord said "Clearly you're pulling it too hard (bit personal) as we've never heard of this issue before"

I don't even know what to say to that.

Cost about £5 from Screwfix and take about 15 minutes to fit. Did ours the other week when our 18 monther got hold of it, and it got stuck on.

[Chest Rockwell]

Yeah I'm not particularly handy but a pull cord switch is pretty easy to replace.

[SuperBacon]

Thanks but it's not my property.