If you aren’t on the housing ladder yet there is a good chance that you are renting your home from a private landlord. We rent our home privately ourselves and thankfully have had a lot of success with lovely landlords.
They have been there through every issue and are on hand (albeit through the estate agents) if there are any problems. Its good to know that they have buildings insurance for landlords so any structural issues are taken care of should they arise.
I asked some other bloggers for their requirements when looking for good landlords and this is what they said:
Someone who is easy to get hold off if there is an issue, is consistent with their guidelines on inspections (how often they will take place etc) and who is approachable. – Sophie. Tattooed Tea Lady
One that carries out their legal obligations like gas safety checks on time. – Erica. The Incidental Parent
Someone who is easily contactable. If you have an emergency it’s important to be able to reach the landlord straight away. – Nadia. Scandimummy
Someone who gives you the freedom to actually feel at home rather than living in somebody else’s house. – Katie. Living Life Ourway
One that gives plenty of notice before they visit. One that is open to you decorating to make it ‘your home’ while you are there. – Tracey. Pack The PJs
One that uses a letting agency! We’ve had so many bad experiences with landlords springing inspections or just turning up for a chat at 8 in the morning that in the end we only chose places that were agency managed. – Louise. Pink Pear Bear
Someone who has clear rules/ stated in the contract about when they can inspect and how much notice they have to give. – Lyndsay. Me Him The Dog and A Baby
A landlord that lives locally and not hundreds of miles away. Makes it easier to deal with any problems promptly. – Lynsey. Mummy Thats Me
Someone who allows you to put up pictures!! Personalisation is so important when making a ‘house a home.’ – Steph. Expert Home Tips
Someone who happily carries out repairs without coming to see if every single thing that’s reported “needs doing”. When you pay your rent you expect repairs to be carried out regardless of their size. – Jemma. May Flower Blogs
A landlord who fixes any faults quickly and efficiently. And allows you to make the house your home, understandably within reason. – Kirsty. Winnettes
One that is approachable, looks after the property and repairs things promptly. Also one who takes legal obligation like smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms seriously. – Lisa. Mum Dad Plus 4
Someone who is in the UK. We’ve had landlords who have lived in Australia and all sorts of random places and it means when the company managing the property want to get permission to do some work there’s always a delay which is a nightmare when you have something like a leaking kitchen roof as we did!! – John. The Money Shed
One that gives you plenty of notice before visits, checks, electricians etc and one that is open to your own redecoration (tastefully, of course!) and addition of picture frames on the walls. Also, one that is open to small pets like guinea pigs , rabbits, hamsters etc. – Rachael. Lukeosaurus And Me
As you can see i think the main requirement when choosing a landlord is someone who is going to be on hand but give you enough freedom to get on with living your own life in the home you have chosen. No one wants someone breathing down their necks but its good to know someone is not too far away should something ever go wrong. #RentalInsights
We may only be renting but its still ‘our’ home and to be able to personalise it makes a world of difference, thankfully our landlords have let us paint and decorate as long as it is in non offensive colours – thankfully we aren’t in to neon yellow walls so a subtle light grey was chosen. It has made it feel a little bit more like our own home now and added a touch of personality on the otherwise magnolia walls too!
XOXO
Debbie
This is a collaborative post
Grey sounds like a lovely colour to paint with! I’m glad you were able to make it all a bit more homely. X
This is very insightful and nice to know my thoughts about landlords are mirrored by others and not necessarily unreasonable. We are not allowed to paint our house which really grates on me but I believe that is a stipulation of the agents and not the landlord.