Becoming a private landlord can be a viable source of income, a great investment, perhaps a way to safeguard an inheritance, or perhaps just a profitable long term business.
However, it can be hard work, tenants can be a nightmare and it can be a huge responsibility. Not always, but sometimes.
In the main however, it’s pretty straightforward stuff.
There are council-run accreditation schemes, a range of lease schemes in which a landlord can get a guaranteed rent from a local authority or housing association for a number of years. There are a variety of rent and deposit guarantee schemes, and support for landlords in the form of grants that can in some cases cover up to 50% of the costs of kitchen or bathroom upgrades.
It has been estimated that, by 2020, 20% of the UK’s housing stock will be privately let.
In Hackney alone there are approximately 12,590 applicants on the housing register, so the demand for homes is high.
Yet the private rented sector seems to be having a wider impact on communities.
The era of knowing your neighbours and building relationships is dwindling fast.
Those in privately rented accommodation tend not to form attachments with the property or the community of which they may find themselves a part of. The tendency to treat the property with little care is also more prevalent, as there is no real incentive to maintain it. For those longer serving community members it can be a real nightmare. Not being able to identify who lives next door, friend from foe, with the constant flow of tenants.
Increasingly private landlords appear to care little about the impact their tenants may have on the wider community, and unsurprisingly, appear purely concerned with the income derived.
It is a legacy of Thatcherism, and just another example of the demise of community.
Yet there is no reason why that has to be the case.
It’s a matter of having respect for one’s self, family and others.
A code of conduct if you like, which if applied, community tends to be a natural by product.
Sources
http://iwc2.labouronline.org
http://www.guardian.co.uk/housing-network
http://www.hackney.gov.uk/h-landlords-grants
http://www.hackney.gov.uk/Assets/Documents/homelessness-strategy.pdf
Are they landlords or slumlords?!?
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