Do tenants have "renters' rights" in the UK?

My former boss rented from a lawyer, first and last time, whom she had to take to court to get him to fix the boiler.  She was taking a bath using kettles of boiling water for two months before he fixed it, still paying rent, and then he opted not to renew her tenancy after the 6 months were up - like she wanted to stay there!

Holy cow!

That was what I was getting at. Tenants have ways to get things taken care of if a landlord is not fulfilling his end of the bargain. No matter what is/isn't in a contract, there are certain basic expectations that tenants can count on. And as sweetpeach pointed out, the *law* actually protects renters, too.

Now that I'm thinking about  it, when the boiler incident happened and there was no response from the landlord/letting agent, I contacted Citizens Advice and never received a response from them. Compare that to New York City where there is a hotline dedicated specifically for tenant heat and hot water complaints.

And as I said earlier, it's not about choosing (or being a lucky enough to find) a good landlord; it's about the law protecting your basic rights regardless of the type of landlord you have.

I think another difference is that in the US, outside of places like NYC and that, a lot of rental property is in the form of campus-style apartment blocks owned by a large corporation and managed by another large corporation.  So things like repairs are more stream-lined in many cases.

Whereas here, as sweetpeach points out, most rental property is owned by individuals who are in it primarily to raise a profit from their properties.

Exactly.  I think that in the US, a  lot of rental property is in the control of people/organisations whose business is real estate, so they take it very seriously.  Whereas in the UK, where renting is just a way to make extra  money, people priorititise their main business - law or whatever - over their duties as a landlord.

Also, in terms of political clout, the private rental market in the UK is very small. There are many more people living in social housing (renting from the council) than renting from private landlords. There is also the fact that there are ways to move directly from social housing to homeownership, so people with too much money to be eligible for social housing but too little to afford their own home get stuck in the middle.

I think another difference is that in the US, outside of places like NYC and that, a lot of rental property is in the form of campus-style apartment blocks owned by a large corporation and managed by another large corporation.  So things like repairs are more stream-lined in many cases.

Whereas here, as sweetpeach points out, most rental property is owned by individuals who are in it primarily to raise a profit from their properties.

I think this is key.  There's simply a higher proportion of private landlords here than in many areas in the US, which I think leaves some more scope for things going awry than dealing with an apartment management company who have on-site maintenance available most hours of the day.

I also think that the NYC setup is close to an anomaly in the US as I don't know any other US city that has such strong protection for their renters (I think it's great, though!)

A lot of landlords don't live locally so use letting agencies to liase with the tenants.  My previous landlady lived in Australia so I don't think she would have been much help in a crisis. 

I think this is key.  There's simply a higher proportion of private landlords here than in many areas in the US, which I think leaves some more scope for things going awry than dealing with an apartment management company who have on-site maintenance available most hours of the day.

I also think that the NYC setup is close to an anomaly in the US as I don't know any other US city that has such strong protection for their renters (I think it's great, though!)

I agree.

Tenants do have rights in the UK but I think the perception that they don’t revolves around the fact that tenants here generally also have more responsibility in that they have to pay for council tax, water bills, etc.

If something goes wrong in the property, it’s up to the landlord or agent to sort it out (in a reasonable amount of time). Problems arise because there are bad landlords/agents (and unreasonable tenants) but this isn’t unique to the UK.

The idea that a tenant has less protection is true my opinion in regard to rights of possession of a rental. Since many flats are individually owned, it can feel that you live at the whim of your landlord. I know I can’t quite shake the feeling that I’m living in someone else’s house. In New York, every apartment I lived in felt like it was my home.

A lot of landlords don't live locally so use letting agencies to liase with the tenants.  My previous landlady lived in Australia so I don't think she would have been much help in a crisis. 

It is certainly possible to have a responsive landlord wherever they are in the world, it's all about networks.  As I stated upthread my landlords live in France, but they are super quick in responding to emails/texts and they have contacts in place so if something goes wrong, someone local is available to sort it out ASAP.  It would be the same with a  good letting agency (we rent privately), but I think there are far too many crap/unresponsive letting agencies out there, sadly.

The idea that a tenant has less protection is true my opinion in regard to rights of possession of a rental. Since many flats are individually owned, it can feel that you live at the whim of your landlord. I know I can’t quite shake the feeling that I’m living in someone else’s house. In New York, every apartment I lived in felt like it was my home.

True...I keep hoping our landlords aren't going to want to move back to the UK at the end of our lease!  This wouldn't be an issue in an apartment block (although obviously there are definitely individual landlords in the US as well, I've just always lived in centrally managed apartments before I moved.)  Our place came furnished as well, which was on one hand great (we don't have much furniture) but on the other it's not my stuff.

True...I keep hoping our landlords aren't going to want to move back to the UK at the end of our lease!  This wouldn't be an issue in an apartment block (although obviously there are definitely individual landlords in the US as well, I've just always lived in centrally managed apartments before I moved.)  Our place came furnished as well, which was on one hand great (we don't have much furniture) but on the other it's not my stuff.

I keep hoping too! My partner and I have had to move twice because our landlords decided to sell the flats we were living in. Now with the property market down this appears less likely but I hope our current one doesn't have to move back from Prague.

This feeling of 'temporary' is the main thing that gets me down about living here but what can you do? It's the way it is.

I think there are far too many crap/unresponsive letting agencies out there, sadly.

This!  One large agency was particularly pushy in suggesting that we request that they (the agency) manage the flat when/if we put in an offer.  This particular agency was a nightmare when it came to failing to show up at appointments, showing us what we asked to be shown and all of the usual agency gripes.  I was having a hard time believing that they were thoroughly incompetent in helping us find a place to live, but would be responsive with a burst water pipe at 2am.  

Hiya

Things 'may' have changed, but..  No, in the UK 'Renters' have more rights than the landlord/owner.

I think this falls into the whole 'squatters rights' thing, I'm coming from the view that if a person is in a property paying rent as per normal, then if things for whatever reason go pear shaped, it's extremely difficult for a landlord to 'evict' those people if they don't want to go.

I think it's more of the highly escalted type incidences which could occur from 'normal' people rather than idiots or deliberate non rent payers and those out to abuse the system. I've certainly heard of landlords *cough* ensuring people like that leave their properties....

As I'm sure you're referring to normal type instances, then all the above responses should go some way in alleviating your fears. The UK and US rental systems are quite similar and you do have legal protection.

Cheers! DtM! West London & Slough!

I'm coming from the view that if a person is in a property paying rent as per normal, then if things for whatever reason go pear shaped, it's extremely difficult for a landlord to 'evict' those people if they don't want to go.

Our solicitor told us about the Protection From Eviction Act 1977 so there is a degree of protection from getting tossed onto the curb.

I keep hoping too! My partner and I have had to move twice because our landlords decided to sell the flats we were living in. Now with the property market down this appears less likely but I hope our current one doesn't have to move back from Prague.

This feeling of 'temporary' is the main thing that gets me down about living here but what can you do? It's the way it is.

It totally sucks and it's one of the reasons I increasingly grow to wish we lived somewhere else with different rental laws.

We have three kids.

Although we are pretty much working poor, we don't have enough points to qualify for social housing of any worth, and getting passed from pillar to post is starting to get super old.

Not to mention getting landlords who are beyond cheeky!

I worked with an academic whose flat was broken into whilst he was at work in hte middle of the day.

And the thieves messed up the front door to get in, of course, so Steven rings the landlord.

Who then has the nerve to try go to get Steven to pay for half of the damage!

WTF?  Then when he refused to do it, of course, at the end of the 6 months, the landlord booted him out.

But who's to say the greedy moo wouldn't have done the same thing had she got half HER door for free!?

The Protection from Eviction acts protects you from eviction without due cause until the end of the tenancy (based on my reading of it).

The problem is that here in the UK, many tenants, including myself, are on rolling month to month tenancies.  Meaning that every month the landlord gets to decide whether or not  he wants to keep me as a tenant.

Very different from my experience in NYC, where leases are one to two years long and are renewed automatically unless the tenant wishes to leave or there is cause to evict the tenant (e.g. for non-payment of rent, intolerable behaviour, etc.)

I agree that in the US, a rented apartment feels like home. Back in NYC, people grew up, married,  had kids and grew old all while living in rentals.  Here in the UK, renting seems to be seen as a temporary situation, for young people just out of school until they can afford a downpayment on a home, or perhaps for someone who is just divorced and needs some time to get their finances in order.

The flat I live in now is actually larger and in a nicer area than my last apartment in NY.  But I felt much more secure there than I do here.

I have a 12 month lease here in the UK, which is great but even that still doesn't make me feel "safe"...if we were in a financial position to do so, I would request a 2 year lease when our current one is up in May, because we know we want to stay put for awhile.

I could never do a month-to-month tenancy, honestly (unless I knew for sure I was only sticking around for a few months)...right now, I wouldn't rent a place without a 12 month lease.

My husband was living here for about 7 years (I think) before I moved in. When I moved in, I asked for a tenancy agreement so I could have something to show for my FLR, and got one for 6 months. I got another one when I applied for ILR. Since then, the landlord has refused to do any more long-term tenancy agreements.

The landlord is getting old and has a home in Spain. We are worried that one day he is going to sell the whole building and retire with the cash.

The problem is that once your original 6-month or 12-month lease is up, you can then be transferred to a rolling month-to-month tenancy. You can request an additional long-term lease but your landlord doesn't have to give you one. (I realise that this depends on the type of tenancy.)

The problem is that once your original 6-month or 12-month lease is up, you can then be transferred to a rolling month-to-month tenancy. You can request an additional long-term lease but your landlord doesn't have to give you one. (I realise that this depends on the type of tenancy.)

No, you're right.  It's all 'short-assured' tenancy unless you negotiate a longer one with the landlord.  The only 'assured' tenancies are social housing - council or housing association.

I think it sucks.

Combined with the stigma of renting, you get boom-bust housing cycles here, but no one seems to have the intelligence to learn anything from it and/or do something about it.