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Perry Anderson’s Top 10 Comments on Being a Tenant in the UK

Industry Insight July 11th, 2014
Perry Anderson’s Top 10 Comments on Being a Tenant in the UK

Many people have to rent a property at some point in their life, joining the UK’s 9 million renters. Perry Anderson has been writing a blog for seven years about her experience of being a tenant for her entire life. This week, she shared with the Guardian what she has learned from it.

1.London is property’s wild west

London is the theatre of scams and abuses. Soaring prices and limited supply generate all the scandalous scenarios a tenant has to face when renting a property in London.

2. Wear and tear is inevitable

“Letting agents and owners expect renters to float like fairies on gossamer wings or else dangle, suspended on wires, like Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible, never touching the floor so we don’t erode the carpet” joked Perry Anderson. However, her comment does highlight how utopian the idea of restoring the initial conditions of a property is.

3. Tenants and owners dislike letting agents

Nobody truly understands the role of letting agents. Tenants requesting repairs are referred straight back to the owner, and owners wishing for help are left to cope alone.

4. Furnished flats are the pits

Go for an unfurnished flat – or put up with someone else’s chipped glasses and cups!

5.Flat-shares are hell

Mortgage restrictions, benefit cuts, lack of supply and the decline in social housing made renting become permanent for many people, affecting tenants into their 50s and 60s.

6. Landlords should be licensed

Anyone can become a rentier – people with a bad credit rating might be refused finance but could still let inherited property, while tenants struggle with the references they must provide.

7. Owners should stay away

Renting is a form of temporary ownership. However, some landlords think it is okay to irrupt into their currently rented properties.

8. Buy-to-let flats are a nightmare

Some landlords live hundreds of miles away from their properties. Consequently, many struggle to organise repairs and supervise problem tenants.

9. We need long-term tenancies

The most common issue renters have to deal with is the lack of security. Most tenants with assured, short-term tenancies face being issued two months’ notice to quit.

10. Discrimination is rife

Contrary to what one might think, capricious hostilities affect the housing of not just gay men, lesbians, black or other ethnic minorities, but also disabled, working and unemployed people, single parents, manual workers, part-time employees and students.

This list might sound very scary, especially if you are a tenant who is about to rent a house in the UK – let alone London! However, all the aforementioned issues can be avoided if one manages to act with a high level of security, organisation, communication and transparency. Our job at Arthur Online is providing you with all these things in one tool.

Arthur is a property management software that literally anyone – landlords, tenants and even contractors! – can access in order to stay organised, communicate and do their jobs in the most secure way.

 

If you are a property manager, property owner, landlord or letting agent, your business will save time and money by using Arthur. Try out the free Arthur Demo today to see how!

 

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