UK Landlord Forum / Life

Some people come on here in times of trouble and profess that they're an 'accidental Landlord'... oftentimes, that is used as some kind of excuse or justification (or even a reason, in their mind) as to why they've not done something they should or how they've ended up in a sticky situation. I have a perspective on Landlording that it should be for professionals - or professionally-minded people. People who understand their obligations and aim to delight their Tenants (their customers) with every action they undertake is what the Landlording world needs.

All of that professionalism can still be accompanied by a good sense of humour and a testy bit of banter.

What the Landlording world does not need is people who get into this game without nary a thought about how it's gonna work out. People like this usually think it's a surefire way of making a quick and easy profit... but it's hardly ever so simple. Landlords can often seem incapable of working out a yearly budget for 1 property or many properties... Landlords often seem taken by surprise by maintenance issues and hardly ever feed a war chest. Landlords routinely get offended that HMRC will want their cut of the profits at year-end. Unprofessional Landlords go further - they can ignore Insurance requirements, they can forget about Gas Safety, they don't research Deposits, they treat their Tenants as second-class citizens... or pets. These so-called accidental Landlords display all of these traits and more. I hold a strong view that it is these Landlords that continue to give the role a bad name - the amateurs, the ones that don't care, the ones that would rather be doing something else. It's not going to be possible to erase the negative views of Landlords because - at the end of the day - is the larger number of have-not vs. the smaller number of haves, but incompetent, blundering, unprofessional accidental Landlords don't help us.

My view is that there are no accidental Landlords. If you're a Landlord, then you're a Landlord. Don't tell me that you're an accidental Landlord because you had negative equity in your home and needed to move - they claim they're victims of circumstance, but there's always a choice - so that's not an accidental Landlord. Don't tell me you separated from your partner and somehow ended up letting out property - that's not an accidental Landlord. Don't tell me you inherited property and decided to just 'run with it' - that's not an accidental Landlord. If you're a Landlord then you've decided to be a Landlord - now get with the programme and do it right - or bite the bullet, sell up and get out. Accidental Landlord - you don't actually exist - you're a made-up excuse to disguise your inability, incompetence or lack of care.

I think you need to take time off the forum mate.
You've blown every fuse in your head and you need to calm down.

Just idle musings from me. If you think the idea of an accidental Landlord exists, then I'd be happy to hear your views. I know you aren't one, because I know you have jumped into this venture by doing all your research up-front and you ended up being very well prepared for any and all eventualities. But I think there are people out there who get onto a sticky wicket and then claim it's because they're an accidental Landlord. No, it's not - it's because they're an unprofessional Landlord.

You have a point: "Accidental Landlord" is a bit of ridiculous term. How many people actually wake up one morning to find they've got a property full of tenants and no idea how they got there?

I suppose it does illustrate the need for a term to cover people like me, who aren't technically buy-to-let landlords (in itself a ridiculous term - nobody talks sniffily about buy-to-let car rental companies, do they?). I didn't buy a house with the intention of letting it out: by a "happy accident" (marriage!) I ended up with a "spare" house. However, I didn't accidentally let it out. I could have sold it and invested the cash elsewhere. Nobody put a gun to my head and a rent book in my hand. I did my research, checked my sums, and made sure I knew my responsibilities as a landlord before I started.

There may be a few edge cases where timescales and circumstances mean that selling is not an option and an income from a property is required to cover a mortgage or accommodation costs elsewhere but, even then, how long does it take to Read The Friendly Manual and do a bit of basic research? Two minutes with Google gets you the Gov.uk guide, and sites such as this one. I can see how some people might start out with rose-tinted spectacles, but I can't understand how they go in completely blind.

Yes, it is definitely true that the term "Buy-to-Let Landlord" is considered a derisory term and uttered with a sniff of disdain... I would be happy if the terms Accidental Landlord and Buy-to-Let Landlord just disappeared as 'modifiers' and became, simply, Landlord... which is 100% correct and the extra 'clarity' (?) provided by the description is really not needed.

I think the folk who'd claim they're accidental Landlords are those that are victims of circumstance - that bit is OK - but they don't need to continue, that's my point - when you end up in that situation you make a choice. Once you made the choice to continue being a Landlord (like, beyond any existing fixed term or something like that) then you can't hold on to the monicker of Accidental Landlord. You're so right about folk doing just a tidbit of basic research.

I do largely agree,but I think there is a category of reluctant/desperate landlords.Example,a young hardworking woman I know of who found her home was due to be repossessed due to huge gambling debts hidden by her husband.The only solution was for them to move,along with two young kids,into her inlaw's house,renting out the family home to cover the mortgage plus arrears.She had to take on extra hours at work,and was in no state to be going into the details of lettings.Sometimes being a "just good enough landlord" is all you can cope with.This is a far cry from those who set out to exploit tenants and make a quick buck.

Quote from: heavykarma on February 21, 2017, 02:02:21 PMThis is a far cry from those who set out to exploit tenants and make a quick buck.

It is, I agree. However, that person could have sold-up and took whatever equity was there to pay off the debts (of course, I assume there was some). There was still a choice made... I'm absolutely OK with that person being described as a reluctant Landlord... I'm sticking to my guns on 'accidental'.