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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 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' | ||
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' | ' | ||
- | No-fault evictions, known as Section 21 notices, enable landlords to evict tenants without giving a reason or | + | No-fault evictions, known as Section 21 notices, enable landlords to evict tenants without giving a reason or establishing ' |
No matter how long you've lived there (for me, four years) or how much you've spent on the place (in my case £59,000 — I cashed in my pension and got a loan to pay for everything from a new kitchen to underfloor heating, new bathroom and white goods) you can be summarily dismissed. | No matter how long you've lived there (for me, four years) or how much you've spent on the place (in my case £59,000 — I cashed in my pension and got a loan to pay for everything from a new kitchen to underfloor heating, new bathroom and white goods) you can be summarily dismissed. | ||
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' | ||
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Liz says she has rented nine properties in her adult life, and has been evicted four times | Liz says she has rented nine properties in her adult life, and has been evicted four times | ||
- | The problem doesn' | + | The problem doesn' |
These are the sort of people who write pieces along the lines of ' | These are the sort of people who write pieces along the lines of ' | ||
I have rented nine properties in my adult life and been evicted four times — and the older you get, the harder it is to bounce back. | I have rented nine properties in my adult life and been evicted four times — and the older you get, the harder it is to bounce back. | ||
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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 [[http://shakespeare.mit.edu/richardii/full.html|perilously close]] to retirement. | + | Why? Because, at 64, I am [[https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/41624|perilously close]] to retirement. |
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. | ||
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When I was made bankrupt in 2015, I was forced to put it on the market for £400,000 less than I paid for it. | When I was made bankrupt in 2015, I was forced to put it on the market for £400,000 less than I paid for it. | ||
- | (A long story: | + | (A long story: there' |
As a bankrupt, my rental choices were limited. I found a small house nearby, just outside the market town of Richmond in North Yorkshire, for £1,700 a month. | As a bankrupt, my rental choices were limited. I found a small house nearby, just outside the market town of Richmond in North Yorkshire, for £1,700 a month. | ||
The search was made extra hard given the fact I (then) had four cats and three dogs. Most rental properties, even those in rural areas with ghastly swirly carpets, stipulate: ' | The search was made extra hard given the fact I (then) had four cats and three dogs. Most rental properties, even those in rural areas with ghastly swirly carpets, stipulate: ' | ||
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So I went with this house, but was told: ' | So I went with this house, but was told: ' | ||
- | Conran sofas. A 1920s desk. An Eero Saarinen marble table. I was your typical used-to-live-in-Islington high-end cliché. So I begged and said: ' | + | Conran sofas. A 1920s desk. An Eero Saarinen marble table. I was your typical used-to-live-in-Islington high-end cliché. So I begged and said: 'Well, can't you put your stuff in storage?' |
The landlady turned up with little warning and an estate agent in tow - my home was up for sale So I put all my furniture in storage and gave my brand-new appliances — a Smeg range cooker, Miele dishwasher, washing machine and tumble dryer — to a friend. | The landlady turned up with little warning and an estate agent in tow - my home was up for sale So I put all my furniture in storage and gave my brand-new appliances — a Smeg range cooker, Miele dishwasher, washing machine and tumble dryer — to a friend. | ||
But storage proved so expensive that, one by one, I had to sell everything on eBay. | But storage proved so expensive that, one by one, I had to sell everything on eBay. | ||
- | Imagine my shock when the landlord, a year or so later, said they'd bought a holiday home in Devon and were coming for their furniture. (This is why people buy DFS sofas. In the event you loved this short article and you want to receive more details regarding [[https:// | + | Imagine my shock when the landlord, a year or so later, said they'd bought a holiday home in Devon and were coming for their furniture. (This is why people buy DFS sofas.) |
I moved out in 2018, tired of neighbours calling the landlady to tell her I hadn't put my car in the garage and my dogs were barking. | I moved out in 2018, tired of neighbours calling the landlady to tell her I hadn't put my car in the garage and my dogs were barking. | ||
That same year, I rented a one-bedroom flat in North London at more than £3,000 a month — to save on hotel bills for work. | That same year, I rented a one-bedroom flat in North London at more than £3,000 a month — to save on hotel bills for work. | ||
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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. | ||