by Scarlett de Courcier

Created on: January 14, 2009

Prompted by an article in today's Guardian, I recently paid a visit to the blog of a young lady named Renter Girl. In a recent post, she has listed sixteen decrees that she would like to see implemented for the benefit of tenants everywhere. Having had my own experiences with absolutely awful landlords, I was interested to see what her top sixteen would be. They ranged from the faintly ridiculous (but still tempting):

'15. Tenants shall be provided with a wet mackerel, for the purpose of slapping landlords and letting agents to emphasise the following point: "This (slap) is a home (slap) and not (slap) a museum (slap, slap, slappety-slap slap!) That (slap) is wear and tear (slap) and not damage (more slapping)"'

Through the kind of thing we'd all love to see:

'1. Landlords are obliged to submit to the same credit checks and investigations as their tenants. They should also provide references from former tenants, testifying to their suitability, efficiency and professionalism.'

To the 'what a brilliant idea' school of thought:

'2. For tenancy deposit protection to apply to landlords, who will pay an amount equal to that paid by their tenant into an account, withheld if they are naughty.'

It is true that landlords often play the rogue, and that tenants can be left totally stranded by a landlord who, for instance, has directly or indirectly misled them into moving into an uninhabitable property; spent their deposit; or been far too busy to send a maintenance man round for three months, despite there being no heating.

It is true also that tenants can be horrendous: all-night partying, staining the floor, smoking heavily when they have expressly stated on the contract that they are non-smokers, and so on. It seems to be almost impossible for landlords and tenants to coexist peacefully - and yet it does happen. A friend of mine lives near to her landlady, who drops in for a cup of tea every so often. Our current landlord has - touch wood - been alright so far. By which I mean, we have yet to see them drop in unexpectedly, hike up the rent without warning or refuse to keep our property in a correct state of repair.

There is speculation that in the light of the current downturn, people may end up simply buying a house to live in, and being content with making money by having a day job, rather than by letting someone else pay to sleep in a house that is in name, but not really in actuality, their home. Which, when you think about it, is a bit of a strange idea in the first place.

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