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liz_jones_on_the_te_ifying_insecu_ity_of_having_to_ent_in_you_60s
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liz_jones_on_the_te_ifying_insecu_ity_of_having_to_ent_in_you_60s [2024/04/07 01:40] 47.128.47.140 alte Version wiederhergestellt (2023/05/29 11:21) |
liz_jones_on_the_te_ifying_insecu_ity_of_having_to_ent_in_you_60s [2024/05/20 14:48] (aktuell) 18.222.169.139 alte Version wiederhergestellt (2024/04/20 16:30) |
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| The call came on a Saturday morning last month. | The call came on a Saturday morning last month. | ||
| - | I always knew it would. It had been lurking in the background as I tried to carry on, make plans. I knew that it would all end, swiftly. Not with a [[https:// | + | I always knew it would. It had been lurking in the background as I tried to carry on, make plans. I knew that it would all end, swiftly. Not with a whimper but with a bang. |
| I'd been told there was a viewing planned at the cottage I've rented since 2018. | I'd been told there was a viewing planned at the cottage I've rented since 2018. | ||
| - | It's been up for sale since April. I learned it was going to be put on the market in February, when the landlady turned up with little warning, an estate agent in tow. | + | It's been up for sale since April. I learned it was going to be put on the market in February, when the landlady turned up with little warning, |
| - | The agent started taking photographs of every room and my courtyard garden. Without asking first. | + | [[https:// |
| Or even talking to me. Because who am I, other than a lowly private renter, unworthy of even a kindly 'Good morning' | Or even talking to me. Because who am I, other than a lowly private renter, unworthy of even a kindly 'Good morning' | ||
| Zeile 11: | Zeile 11: | ||
| I dared to express my dismay, my upset at the constant intrusions. Yet another no-show; another day when I was unable to do as I pleased. | I dared to express my dismay, my upset at the constant intrusions. Yet another no-show; another day when I was unable to do as I pleased. | ||
| (Image: [[|]]) | (Image: [[|]]) | ||
| - | ' | + | ' |
| ' | ' | ||
| Zeile 18: | Zeile 18: | ||
| How is this allowed? | How is this allowed? | ||
| - | We are protected at work if we are sick or lose our jobs, but when we rent a home — and surely a home is integral to our health, productivity and sense of belonging — we can be thrown to the sharks. | + | Here is more information regarding [[https:// |
| Surely, there is more to being a landlord than having me pay your mortgage when I have paid the rent on time and looked after your property? | Surely, there is more to being a landlord than having me pay your mortgage when I have paid the rent on time and looked after your property? | ||
| A lifeline was dangled in front of our poor, cold noses last month when Michael Gove — since appointed Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities under Rishi Sunak — voiced his support for Boris Johnson' | A lifeline was dangled in front of our poor, cold noses last month when Michael Gove — since appointed Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities under Rishi Sunak — voiced his support for Boris Johnson' | ||
| Zeile 37: | Zeile 37: | ||
| But to be in your 60s and to be renting, as I am, after a lifetime of hard work, is infinitely worse. | But to be in your 60s and to be renting, as I am, after a lifetime of hard work, is infinitely worse. | ||
| - | Why? Because, at 64, I am perilously close to retirement. | + | Why? Because, at 64, I am [[https:// |
| I did manage to get a mortgage offer before the current crisis but, even then, the rate I was offered was nearly 5 per cent and the maximum term I was allowed was 12 years. | I did manage to get a mortgage offer before the current crisis but, even then, the rate I was offered was nearly 5 per cent and the maximum term I was allowed was 12 years. | ||
| There is no hope of a partner on the horizon to split bills with. | There is no hope of a partner on the horizon to split bills with. | ||
| Zeile 49: | Zeile 49: | ||
| - | Note, too, that higher interest rates, as well as new rules about long-term rentals being insulated, | + | Note, too, that higher interest rates, as well as new rules about long-term rentals being insulated, mean the number of long-term rental properties (as opposed to holiday and Airbnb lets) has shrunk. |
| This led to a report last month of a rise in London of 'blind bidding' | This led to a report last month of a rise in London of 'blind bidding' | ||
| Zeile 75: | Zeile 75: | ||
| Handing me the keys, the landlady, a mature student (dear God, how do these people get to own property?), pointed out that I would 'need to buy expensive saucepans' | Handing me the keys, the landlady, a mature student (dear God, how do these people get to own property?), pointed out that I would 'need to buy expensive saucepans' | ||
| Or wear jeans on the sofa as 'they wear it out'. | Or wear jeans on the sofa as 'they wear it out'. | ||
| - | When I later complained about the filth of the communal areas, which only I vacuumed, she said: 'Oh, that's a surprise, | + | When I later complained about the filth of the communal areas, which only I vacuumed, she said: 'Oh, that's a surprise, as apart from you, every flat is owner-occupied.' |
| - | She kept emailing me — never, | + | She kept emailing me — never, ever rent via OpenRent, where you deal with the landlord direct — saying: ' |
| They are not in the flat, are they? No pets allowed.' | They are not in the flat, are they? No pets allowed.' | ||
| I was again evicted, for no reason, in 2019, having spent a fortune moving books, magazines, clothes and my desk 250 miles. | I was again evicted, for no reason, in 2019, having spent a fortune moving books, magazines, clothes and my desk 250 miles. | ||
| (I know the names of the nice men at Watson Removals; I even know the birthdays of a couple of them.) | (I know the names of the nice men at Watson Removals; I even know the birthdays of a couple of them.) | ||
| - | She said the flat was being sold but, a few weeks later, I saw it up for rent again on Rightmove at an escalated price. | + | She said the flat was being sold but, |
| She wanted to withhold some of my deposit as the cheap-looking fairy lights were no longer on the balcony. | She wanted to withhold some of my deposit as the cheap-looking fairy lights were no longer on the balcony. | ||
| Zeile 101: | Zeile 101: | ||
| People warned me not to do it up, as I have no legal redress. But my home is so important to me: I get depressed in a dump. | People warned me not to do it up, as I have no legal redress. But my home is so important to me: I get depressed in a dump. | ||
| - | And so here I am, terrified of being homeless, | + | And so here I am, terrified of being homeless, again. I went to look at another rental the other week. The woman opened the door and a huge Labrador emerged, when her ad had stipulated 'only one small dog considered for an escalated rent'. |
| 'How many dogs do you have?' she asked me, craning to look at the two (out of now four) who had come along for the ride. | 'How many dogs do you have?' she asked me, craning to look at the two (out of now four) who had come along for the ride. | ||
liz_jones_on_the_te_ifying_insecu_ity_of_having_to_ent_in_you_60s.1712446808.txt.gz · Zuletzt geändert: 2024/04/07 01:40 von 47.128.47.140
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