A divided society-what can be done?

Annie if you are a 'true socialist" I am the Queen of Sheba.

Petra, as a true socialist it has been hell not coming out sooner, oh the relief

It's like an AA meeting, isn't it, when people go to their first meeting.
" hello, I'm Petra, and I'm a landlady"

annie
You must feel soooo relieved. Can't imagine carrying that guilt around

Perhaps we should start a new thread Annie for all money grabbing, selfish, ageist (against the young) landlords.

Gilly, Petra, oh the relief of coming out, at least I was able to make sure my grandchildren had good rentals for second and third years in university , forgot , I have one in Hereford too

devongirl
What la la land are you in? If I went into my police station and said " I have a problem with my tenant" they would have good laugh. There's more chance of me getting nicked for wasting police time.

My posts are over the top and unfounded trisher says the poster who suggested that I had hidden the fact I was a landlord and suggested I'd done so out of guilt!!!

I doesn't work that way devongirl. If a tenant vacates the property before the final inspection it's too late for the letting agent to do anything about it. Even if the agent sees the state it's in on the day of departure, they can't prevent the tenant from leaving.

The deposit can be retained and if that doesn't cover the cost of repairs and replacements the landlord can go to court. A lengthy and costly business and even if costs are awarded, getting the money is easier said than done.

"Society as a whole was probably different when you were renting, durhamjen - how long ago was it?"

No, Ana, you did not ask me that or suggest that was when you meant. I did not know it very well. Perhaps you ought to make your statements more plain.
Then I might understand.

I rented when I was 18, 22, 26, 40, 50 and twice in my 60s.

Would you like to ask me about any of those times?

They've broken a contract devongirl which is not the same as committing a crime. Just google how it works, it's not what you think and it's surprisingly incorrect for someone who has been a landlord.

And you know very well I was asking what period it was you were talking about durhamjen (i.e. when your children were teenagers), not 7 years ago...

Yes, we did. If tenants are in violation of their contract, which details the expectation that it will be returned in it's original state, they have committed a crime.

Where were you all when you were 34?
Did you share flats with friends?

"before the Tories had demonised under 35s"
You're joking dj
Surely the Tories have demonised everyone except the landed gentry and billionaires!

That's not how it works devongirl. It's nothing to do with the police! Did you rent your property on an AST?

Last time I rented was 7 years ago.
Yes it was a different society, before the Tories had demonised under 35s.

It's not a matter of blaming agents for the actions of a tenant, but they should check the property when the tenants move out, with the tenants there, and if damage is found it should be deducted from their deposit; if that's not enough, it should be reported to the police. A good agent will perform regular checks on the property so damage on a large scale would not be able to accumulate.

I'm not keen on blaming agents for the actions of a tenant, I much prefer personal responsibility. If landlords have had problems with a particular demographic, they're going to avoid them in future. Blame the idiots who trash properties or who don't pay rent. My youngest is renting at the moment and I was surprised at the hoops she had to jump through - I've been a landlord in the past and although things have changed, I can see both sides.

Off to a tangent here - when I was living in London I found it impossible to find an agency that would keep a proper eye on the house we rented out while working overseas. However where I live there is an excellent agency which would never have allowed the tenants to check out leaving that kind of damage behind, so yes, smileless, you DO need a better agent!

What moral high ground? You really have some sort of problem Smileless2012 I don't know what it is but your responses are over the top and unfounded. Why is believing in higher taxation 'moral high ground'? I'm lost!

And yes f your tenant comes through an agency and wrecks your property you need a better agent-seems obvious to me.

You know what trisher you appear to be so tunnel visioned that you are either unable or unwilling to digest the content of others' posts. So, I do not feel guilty, there's no reason why I should. I didn't keep quiet, my being a landlord wasn't relevant to any of the posts I've made on this thread until I responded to dj's.

You're not alone in believing "higher incomes should be (and are) taxed more as well". Be careful that you don't take a fall from the moral high ground you've set yourself on, you might get injured.

I don't think you can judge young people by 1or 2 bad experiences. There are a number of properties rented by young people down my street. They seem well cared for and they have had numerous tenants over the years. This is a student city and there are heaps of young tenants.

Society as a whole was probably different when you were renting, durhamjen - how long ago was it?

Sadly, some people (and especially some young people) don't care about the home they are renting and treat it with disdain.