Problems with private rental properties

I lived outside London for 10 years (1-bed modern loft apartment 425pcm excl bills) where although earnings were much lower, the cost of living was much better balanced. Now living closer to ageing relations in London, my studio in zone 2 costs twice as much as the flat I left behind. I have vastly reduced cooking facilities (2-ring hob, microwave - the modern kitchen?) and may be luckier than some studio dwellers as I have a second private space. However, I am in my 40s - currently this living situation feels like all I will ever be able to afford in London. While Sadiq's stance appears full of noble propositions and ambitions, I imagine there are others like me, who will never feel the effects of any positive change. We are older, could not afford to jump on the property ladder even if we wanted to ("In Love With London" you have fine ideals), and now have missed the boat. We will survive because that is what we have been doing for a long time, but our lot will not improve. Perhaps some regulations around what constitutes a studio property would be helpful. The number of "affordable" studios are a bedroom with hob and under-counter fridge stuck next to the bed, and access to a shared toilet or bathroom down the hall. Surely this kind of practice needs to stop and conditions improved so that people, who may end up as eternal renters due to lower earnings can at least feel like humans and not caged animals. Improvements also need to be made to what constitutes a one-bedroom flat, and so on, as all reasonable notions of such dwelling spaces have become somewhat warped over the years. In a fair world, prices would not need to go up - perhaps legislation could help with this. In attempting to solve a very complicated set of issues, I am certain we will not be the only group left out in the cold.

The rents do not reflect the worth of the properties anymore.
As a part of the older millennial generation we will be the first set of pensioners who will still be renting into our later years. If indeed we can afford it as we probably won't have a pension or free health care.

Private rented accommodation means we're using up more of our income on rent and less on basic needs like food, clothes and struggling to make ends meet most months. We certainly can't have children and expect to live here.
Many people I know have studied here and are then forced to move out of the city, taking all the high level education and knowledge with them. It seems a waste and we are losing very educated people to other cities like Sheffield, Durham and Newscastle where we can afford a 2 or 3 bed to BUY!

Private landlords are taking the mickey out of young people who want to make it in the city. Repairs are done late or not at all. There doesn't appear to be any regulations and they can be evicted at any time when the price is right to sell for a cool few millions. And we put up with this all because it doesn't look like there's anybody to complain to or who'll do anything about without the tenant feeling the brunt.

Private lets should be rent-capped. The Mayor should lead a campaign for a change in legislation. This is a big issue for London, but also affects other cities, so efforts could be made to link up with Labour mayors in other cities.

London should have a register of rogue landlords.

An end to 'no fault' evictions

Minimum property standards should be enforced in law.

Londoners, as those in other cities and towns. should not be forced to choose between an increasingly unobtainable home ownership or the prospect of a lifetime as a tenant of a private landlord. Council housing should be the mainstay of housing provision for lower and middle income groups. It should be easily available and the housing tenure of most people for most of their lives. It should be available not only to families with young children and the elderly but also younger couples and single people.

The conditions of tenure for private renters should be raised such that that they are equivalent to those which long standing council renters still enjoy. If private landlords are not prepared to accept such a move then their properties should be sequestered. I know that sucg a policy would produce screams of anguish from the Daily Mail and its ilk, but it is time that this faction within society was faced down.In general, housing should be treated as a social utility not a source of private investment

The problem with private rented properties is that it exists in the first place. We all know the only reason people go in to the property business is to make money, not because they care about housing people. I think we need to bring in new laws that only let you own two properties per person/couple/company which ever category you fall in to.

I especially think there needs to be a crack down on oversea property buyers from purchasing flats which they leave empty because its just another bank account to them, which they know if they keep for a few years they can male profit. The government doesn't make any money from these property purchases so if they make this act illegal they wont loose out on money, they will gain as these properties could be owned as social housing and affordable rent could be charged to people on low incomes. The money this generates will feed the government and give us more money to invest in more housing and other areas that vitally need funding.

Having a space for humans to live in shouldn't be this huge problem. We are all born of the land, we share the earth, having an enclosed space we can rest and take shelter in needs to be a human right.

I live in private rented flat, it costs me £600 a month, i graduated from uni last summer, I have been struggling to find work so have been using Universal Credit to help me while I search for work. I get £749 a month from UC, that £600 is going from the government and the tax payers money straight into the back pocket of some profit driven person. If landlords charged, e.g, £200 a month, less money is being taken from government and UC wouldn't have to pay out so much money. Landlords would soon loose interest in the property business as soon as profit is limited, it turns from a business in to something a person does as a hobby that enjoys refurbishing houses (which Im sure very few people would do). Giving the government the ability to bring back social housing and take back control.

There needs to be more support for people in the private rented sector to sustain their tenancies, e.g. through more extended and easily accessible floating support (landlords want good tenants too). Many people - who have been homeless - have no choice but to go it alone in the private rented sector, despite clearly needing support to maintain their tenancy and to avoid becoming homeless again. However, there is minimal or no provision available to them

Not many landlords accept people on benefits. People on benefits have a limited choice as to where they can rent. They are forced into taking properties that are inadequate and overcharged, where those landlords accept people on benefits. Landlords are profiting from dividing houses into so-called studios, and pushing boundaries to maximise their rental income, encouraged by the lack choice/availability. Because of the lack of availability, these private landlords are incentivised to charge the maximum rent they can get through benefits. This is not good for councils, that are paying large sums on benefits, and not good for tenants, who then struggle to maintain their accommodation if moving into work. Councils and voluntary organisations are also having to rely on these same landlords to access housing for homeless people, due to a lack of alternatives. The loophole needs to be closed that allows landlords to charge full housing benefit for properties that are effectively a room with an en-suite bathroom. Landlords need to be more closely regulated.It is not just “criminal” landlords that need to be tackled, but those that are acting unethically and providing inadequate housing, although acting within the law. Also, good practice, and the provision of decent low cost housing by landlords and other housing models, needs to be incentivised and promoted. There needs to be a readily available database of decent landlords, so its not just about criminalising bad landlords, but also incentivising, highlighting and being able to work with decent landlords. Landlords could be incentivised – by council, by government – to provide decent housing at low cost (not just be rewarded for accepting people on benefits, as is sometimes the case). It could be made easier to access land/buildings/planning permission to landlords – or other models of housing - that provide decent and affordable housing.There is need for setting up and support of socially driven letting agents etc

For those on low incomes, raising a deposit and rent in advance can make it difficult to access private rented accommodation in the first place. Some councils may help with a deposit or Rent in Advance, but then there is also difficulty of finding landlords that accept the arrangements. Even councils and voluntary organisations find there are limited options available. Since there is a higher demand for housing than there is a supply, landlords are able to exploit the situation - and renters and the council - and charge money for inadequate accommodation, and not adhere to their responsibilities as landlords. As well as the need to criminalise exploitative landlords, there needs to be more of an incentive to be a decent landlord, to provide decent housing at a truly affordable cost.

Having read all the comments, I would like to put my 2 cents in. Firstly there is some merit in everything that has been said. Yes, there are appalling landlords who have no regard for the welfare of their tenants, or their property - if they cared about their property they would ensure it was always habitable.

Equally so there are some atrocious tenants. People who take a decent property and then turn it into a dump, don't pay their rent and make a landlord's life a living misery. The landlord still is obligated to pay the mortgage, insurance and anything else on the property regardless of whether rental is being received.

Next let's address the often comment that tenants have no one to complain to. Wrong. Each council has a housing office and they are responsible for ensuring properties are habitable and that Landlords are adhering to their legal responsibilities.

However, here is something that is not known yet is very real. Do you know who the largest landlord is in each and every area? Answer: the Local Authority. Here's something that you don't know either, Local Authority Tenants have NO ONE they can complain to as there is no body overseeing the Local Authority as a landlord.

So, before tenants complain about private landlords, think about the majority of tenants who are local authority tenants and who have no one who they can complain to or get necessary work done. I know this for a fact and actually have video footage as a friend of mine needs to be moved and we met with the local authority's housing officer and I videoed the disgusting property he wanted my friend to rent from the local authority and I ask several times on the video whether it will be put into an habitable condition and was told NO.

Finally, the local authority also stops landlords from creating energy efficient affordable homes by refusing planning permission. I know because I have battled with one London local authority for over 10 years.

One issue which I do not ever see discussed is the proliferation of family homes converted into multi-occupancy rental rooms. Landlords have pretty much zero consideration for the issues this causes the existing community with respect to anti-social behavior, parking, excess rubbish and the breakdown of social communities.
While I am sure not all owners of such properties are just in it for the money, most appear to be in my area. Tenants in this area are often poorly paid migrants, they are given no more than a key and as often they are short term they care nothing for the area they are in. Rubbish dumped on the street on a daily basis to which the local council do not have the resources to try and educate tenants. Way more cars then the area can cope with multi-rentals having 4 or more cars when there is street parking space for just 1. Anti-social behavior increases massively as tenants just don't care - drinking and drugs being a big issue.
Surely, a strategic housing policy needs to address the entire raft of social issues and rebuild communities as well as just build, build, build. These conversions should be banned unless the property owner is legally responsible for the impact their conversions have on both their tenants and the existing community.

I'm not a picky person and in my experience the cost of rent in London is just ridiculous for what you get. I am finding myself having to live with lots of people in a way that is unbearable at my age. I really need my own small independent space and i would have to pay at least £1000 a month to get that.

Not enough investment in properties i.e. upgrading insulation, boilers, double glazing.

Lack of security, could be evicted on very short notice for a variety of reasons including just wanting to sell up.

High rent costs makes saving for a deposit hard, and the rent paid does not get counted for in mortgage applications. e.g. So far in rent I have paid £100,000 but have nothing to show for it. If there is a right to buy from social housing and housing associations, why not for the private sector?

We are the squeezed middle, don't get the perks of social housing i.e. cheap rent and discounted purchase price. Get clobbered with high energy bills, and are forgotten by every politician out there.

One major issue probably not mentioned is fire safety particularly in converted houses or houses of multiple occupation.

There are private landlords who without thinking block tenants access so if there was unfortunately a fire in the property they cannot easily get out apart from the front door. This is done with fencing that is too high to climb over, and bars on other exits such as windows.

Luckily when I was private renting my landlords weren't so unthinking, but when I visit other people I randomly see these issues.

Tenants, especially ones put in private rented accommodation by councils, are too scared to speak up as they fear the landlord will kick them out. Councils need to check the properties they place people in properly.

Every-time the Landlords fix or make good something inside or outside their own house they issue the tenants with another rental increase, apparently the builders of my landlady said that all 'Landlords' have been issued with a enforcement letter by the councils to refurbish their properties, but at the expense of the tenants.

It took my landlady 5 years to refurbish her house and she struggled doing it and everything was done on the cheap of course but it does look much clean and descent and eventually I can invite friends and family without feeling embarrassed, unfortunately it has become one of the worse properties in the street the outside she promised a year ago to fix the exterior of the house with damp and dry rot and it has been a whole year and where still waiting for her builders to turn up but of course a letter will be put under our door with another rental increase, now we know how these litchis of landlords operate.

We are have no choice but to rent we have no savings we both work, I work for the NHS and I was only given 10 pence phr increase because my boss has taken advantage of the 1% cap and that is all they have given to me and nothing extra from their own pockets and that was after 3 years of waiting until we had to say something to them, and I remember at the practice meeting when they said very quickly 'it will not be much' moving swiftly onto the next thing on their list, we cannot save and how can we when our rent keeps increasing and with no descent pay increase onto of inflation we are left to drown.

Its all well and good when our politicians want our votes and then when they get through they forget their promises to help Londoners, with all the so called cutbacks but how quickly money is found to invest billions on unused cycle lanes, rather then invest in our local health communities which is more important and lift the 1% cap and give more pay to workers and stop private landlords constantly increasing rents,drastic changes are needed

We want to remember that Private Landlords apart from gaining money through renting out, also has taken a risk of losing money, because or potential property crash, property damages of all sorts, they also invest in maintenance and insurance. Also many of them made a lot of effort at some point in their lives to acquire those properties on the first place.

That being said – I believe that if one can pay high rent – which is often higher that the mortgage – they can also find the way to invest in to their own properties. Then they won’t have to complain about the rented accommodation.

Sure, not everyone choses to buy – fair enough. The emphasis here is on the CHOICE one makes!

London provides huge amount of opportunities for personal wealth growth in many different ways.
What can be supported more though – are the programmes and the schemes which are aiming to increase self-awareness, self-confidence and guidance as to how excel in life. So then, everyone can create their desired lifestyle.

We want to remember that Private Landlords, apart from gaining money through renting out, also has taken a risk of losing money, because or potential property crash, property damages of all sorts, they also invest in maintenance and insurance. Also many of them made a lot of effort at some point in their lives to acquire those properties on the first place.

That being said – I believe that if one can pay high rent – which is often higher that the mortgage – they can also find the way to invest in to their own properties. Then they won’t have to complain about the rented accommodation.

Sure, not everyone choses to buy – fair enough. The emphasis here is on the CHOICE one makes!

London provides huge amount of opportunities for personal wealth growth in many different ways.

What can be supported more though – are the programmes and the schemes which are aiming to increase self-awareness, self-confidence and guidance as to how excel in life. So then, everyone can create their desired lifestyle.

My main issues recently have been:

1. The fees charged by letting agents e.g. check out inspection charges, renewal charges etc... - really this should all be paid by the landlord as the letting agent works for them and it's a cost of letting the flat out.

2. End of tenancy professional cleaning - what is a professional cleaner (there is no such thing/professional association for them) - Flats are often dirty when you move into them so you end up being out of pocket

3. The time taken to return deposits at the end of a tenancy. In London you need a huge deposit so not getting the previous one back promptly can be troublesom when moving flat. There should be a set standard for the time taken i.e. 7 working days not letting it drift for 1 month+