You can add nice furniture, curtains and cushions but are stuck with poor quality fixtures and fittings – worktops, kitchen and bathroom units, flooring and so on. But it need not be like that – with an enlightened landlord (and preferably an absence of estate agents)
Talking to a friend made me think about one of the key disadvantages of being a private tenant: if you are houseproud and like good quality fixtures and fittings you are almost always going to be unhappy. I am unhappy but I have hope; I am sure there is a landlord out there who would be glad of a tenant like me. I just need to find her/him.
I can only speak for my own direct experience; I suspect there are private tenants out there who are happy with their home. Where we live is determined in part by our income but also by our spending priorities. Most of us have limited incomes including those who, like me, are dependent upon a pension.
We all have different priorities for spending what money we have; some prefer a good holiday every year, or to run an expensive car, or to enjoy great nights out at a cinema or restaurant, or to have a fabulous home. But who can afford it all? Most of us have to make choices. My personal choice is my home, especially as I spend so much time in it. I cannot afford a car – that went when I became a pensioner. My last holiday was in 2022 and I suspect I will not have another. I have my home, my movies, books and records, and I am glad of it. However, for people like me being a private tenant is not a good choice.
‘Choice’ is not the right word. I have no choice at all. I may prefer to be a homeowner or council tenant but those options are not available to me. I attempted to become a first-time buyer at the age of 48 and that was a major error; a story for another day. I was a council tenant for much of my life and that would be my preferred choice now, but as a single person with no dependents the door to any council home is firmly shut.
The benefits of being a Council tenant
If you are a homeowner you can enjoy whatever flooring, kitchen, bathroom, heating system and decor you like and can afford. Not so if you are a private tenant. In fact, I had considerably more freedom to improve my council home, despite the fact it was a 10th-storey flat in a tower block. I can think of two main reasons for this: reasonable rents and security of tenure.
I was a council tenant in the London Borough of Southwark for 22 years and made a number of improvements to my flat, as indeed did the council. I can remember, for example, when I came to replace my kitchen flooring. It was the early 1990’s and at that time I could not afford quality natural and sustainable materials such as stone, timber or marmoleum, so I picked out a high quality vinyl and decided to pay for the job to be done to a high standard, not only because it would look good but also because it would last. The job was completed over two days; the first to screed the floor to ensure a completely flat and level surface, and the second to lay the vinyl. A department store in Streatham did the work and I was very pleased with the results.
The dis-benefits of being a private tenant
It would not be sensible for me to do the same in my private rented home, even in the unlikely event of being permitted to do it. Firstly, I have no idea how long I will be allowed to stay here or indeed for how long I will be able to afford the rent. Secondly, I received a letter of complaint from the letting agent when I decorated the living room. I did not decorate it myself, I got in a professional who was an expert with natural and organic paints, and who happened to be my brother, with his own ‘Eco-Artisan’ business in London. Everyone who has visited my home has been astonished at the quality of the finish and the substantial improvement over what went before. Except for the landlord that is.
Getting that letter from the letting agent was very upsetting for me. I do not like to cause trouble; I am one of those ‘anything for a quiet life’ people. I sit in my rooms at home now wishing sometimes that I could make improvements and fantasising about what those improvements might be. But that is all they are: fantasies. Consequently I am not often relaxed and content at home, although as the days and months pass I have been able to lull myself into a state of acceptance; it is what it is.
I can understand only too well why so many landlords use the cheapest materials. My home has the cheapest and most unpleasant vinyl flooring imaginable, the cheapest sink and kitchen worktops, cheap kitchen units where the foil curls and cracks in next to no time, cheap toilets and sinks sourced from eastern Europe, a cheap cooker I do not use because it is too expensive to run. I have two toilets; marvellous. But the main one has never worked properly; it is between the two bedrooms and if I have guests staying I have to warn them it is not suitable for No.2’s. How embarrassing is that?
The reason for all this ‘cheapness’ is, of course, because some tenants abuse properties and indeed can cause quite a lot of damage. The cheap fixtures and fittings are, incidentally, almost certainly unsustainable, damaging to the environment and a cause of poor indoor air quality, with MDF, chipboard and plastic in abundance.
One of my relatives suffered financial loss at the hands of tenants – not only did they do things specifically prohibited in the tenancy agreement she drew up with the letting agent, but the letting agent did nothing about the infringements, which were actually quite serious and expensive to fix. Did they ever inspect the property as they were supposed to, and for which they were well paid? We will never know.
Any landlords – or would-be landlords – out there looking for a tenant?
As happens so often in life, the majority suffer because of the actions of the few. I am not sure there is an answer to this, but it seems to me that it would not take long for a wise landlord – or letting agent – to learn that, in my case, I am a house proud, clean and tidy person who looks after the home and wants to stay as long as possible. Just one home visit, or perhaps two or three to be on the safe side, would demonstrate that I like quality furniture, flooring, curtains and so on. And, if this is the case, what is wrong with getting something in return for the rent, like a smarter bathroom or better kitchen flooring? All I need is a landlord that recognises that; please get in touch if you know of such a person!
#housing #tenure #renting #private_tenant #home_improvements #quality #council_tenant #landlords
Colin Anderson 
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