Landlord nightmare Wales

Sell the houses and bank the money 

I'd like to think I'm ok, although with recent legislation it does mean it's very much leaning towards a tenants market once you get in to a property (getting past all the checks and protocol's to become a tenant is not so easy these days mind).

As a LL, this year I've paid 400 pounds per property to ensure I remain compliant with the new law that stipulates all smoke alarms must be linked to the mains. Added wall mounted carbon monoxide monitors at 80 pounds a pop, also mandatory.

All the tenancy contracts have now had to be re-written (stipulated) - it's best to get it done professionally at about 75 pounds each.

I only let to local people, and haven't raised any rents in 4 years.

All my tenants are in various degrees of arrears, and I get it, there's a cost of living crisis.
I'm happy to work something out, however the tenants are, or at least project the feeling to me that they are, fairly well insulated from what a LL's actions can be, so chose not to communicate. That's a shame, but such is life.

I've just completed the sale of one property, and yes I had to spend 2,000 pounds to make good the property after a tenancy departed. Still get CCJ's and chasers relating to that tenant. Again unfortunate.

Pretty sure I will bail on the others as soon as practical.
Not sure how that helps out the housing challenges I read about in my areas, but it's really not a viable option to try to maintain a rental portfolio with the obligations stacked against you, and a tenant population that feel immunized from the basic terms of a tenancy.

I'm sure there are stacks of unscrupulous LL's out there, and they provoke the rule changes I guess.





Edited by Wil Chips - 16 February 2023 at 7:40pm

Oracle wrote: Are you a good landlord or are you an arsehole landlord ....genuine question ...I have had experience of both in the past

were you a good tenant or a pain in the baxkside tenant who thought it was great to smash the house up default on rent and annoy the neighbours? I have had experience of both

Oracle wrote: Is it better to go through an agency or try and save money by doing everything yourself

good agent saves you time, do all the checks  get ckeaners in and tradesmen in when needed and ensure no gap between tenants. It costs but for me it’s worth it. I’ll prob sell mine (only got two i’m hardly a propery tycoon)

Brother in law is a landlord...owns most of Gorseinon....his head is fried with the new legislations.

Interesting piece on BBC TV News this morning about Lou Macari and his help for the homeless. Worth searching and catching up on. 

There's no money in renting out houses now sadly. The landlord who rented out the house next to us has his house gutted. Tenants took everything out that wasn't theirs including white goods - he's sold it now & the new owner said it's going to take 6 months of work just to get it looking good enough to think about moving in.

It's not something I'd ever want to get into personally. If someone sets up rental accomodation as their business and does so reputably for a fair price, I've nothing against that on a personal level but I do believe that the State ought to be providing a great deal more in terms of quality social housing. There are disreputable landlords and there are bad tenants. In any business transaction, surely both parties should enjoy fair legal rights. There is a balance to be struck of course. The WG is far from perfect but there is a small proportion of the Welsh public who seem to portray them as the Devil's armpit. Seems a bit OTT to me. It's been good to see the range of experiences shared here. Perhaps the conclusion is that like much in the UK, housing is dysfunctional right now. I am aware that there are also complaints in other constituent nations of Britain on this matter.