DSS Tenants – does this video say it all?

Mark,

I didn't see the video as an attack on DSS tenants.

Just like any niche of tenant there are good ones and bad ones. I am the last person to tar all tenants with the same brush.

Mick, you have your own niche and you claim to have happy tenants. It's clearly an area I don't understand and the illumination has not come for me from you video. Sorry.

Best of luck with what you do as it would appear its a dirty job and someone has to do it. It won't be me though. 🙂

Joe

Not sure what law I am breaking if I come to an agreement for them to remove the rubbish? The underlying inference though is that you assume that I assume they will fly tip it. That`s a wrong assumption. Is the personality traits between DSS and private tenants that clearly drawn. No it is not. I really wish I could show you my DSS tenants. They would be hurt and angry that they thought that you assumed that about them.
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As for decorating the house. I cant tell you how many times I`ve been hugged and thanked by DSS tenants for giving them just a shell of a house. Legal and safe but not pretty. They cannot believe I let them paint what they want. Their last landlord wouldnt let them put a hook in a wall. I give them the freedom to put their stamp on it just as you do when you buy your own residential.

There have been some horrendous colour schemes of course over the years. I have my fake smile on sometimes when they show me around and I reassure them that they are of course budding interior designers. But that house is there for the next 30 years +. Does it matter to me if its red , black blue or gold with a multi coloured rainbow on. Think graffitti art. Its beautiful. The next tenant will do it up there way and the one after that will do the same. If I sell after 30 years I will mag it all over but what is the point of spending hard earned cash in the interim

They come to me from rehab units, abusive relationships, prison, hostels , back of their mates BMW and sofa surfing at their mates. Its a palace to them as they walk through the door. They are ever so grateful . They see it through totally different eyes than maybe you or I .

I`ve given up making excuses for the frayed ribbed 1980`s purple carpets you sometimes see in ex local authority houses . Why pay £200 replacing it as i once said that i would do to some prospective tenants one day. Until they whispered to themselves and then said timidly to me . We love the place Mr Clarke and want to take it but please please could we possibly keep the purple carpet as it goes with our little girls dolls house. I was gob smacked.

But that was 10 years ago. I made the mistake of viewing the carpet through my eyes not through theirs. My trade beige was just not for them. It would of upset their little girl. What a cruel landlord I would have been to have insisted on changing it. I said yes you can keep it and learnt a valuable lesson that day. - That lesson was keep my gob shut in future save myself £200 and make a little girl very happy.

I give them a house to make into a home
I am not part of the problem. I am part of the solution
I have my freedom. I like to give them theirs

jonathan
im not making any point about hb tenants...my point equally applies to any tenant. if they havent got a vehicle they are especially unlikely to dispose of the waste at a civic amenity tip. hypothetically if you agree with the tenant that they dispose of rubbish from your rental, and they fly-tip it you are likely to be an accessory.
there was also a blog recently about the need for waste carriers licence. as say you need to take moral and legal responsibilities seriously...fly tipping is wrong, is a health hazard and costs us tax payers (the same tax payers who pay your HB rent) a lot to clear up. i wouldnt be proud of a business model that relies on such corner cutting.

Joe
Sorry we will have to agree to disagree. Fly tipping is wrong and i don`t condone it and would not encourage it. I dont believe though that my actions make me an accessory if they do decide for some reason unbeknown to me to in fact flytip instead of going to the public tip. I feel the link you are trying to make between the two actions is a very tenuous link.

I wasn’t rattled at all, like I said, I see it all the time, people misconstruing things ‘cause they not got the full real picture. I feel sorry for some people who comment on things & people see their comments & think what are they on about? Not u Vanessa because I gather u r highly intelligent & smart, I’m talking about general discussion boards & on here when sometimes when I see things get blown out of proportion & I see Mark trying to act as peace mediator when it gets all heated especially with Paul Barrett. There’s no way am I ever getting into a disagreement with Paul Barrett on a discussion board, even if he’s wrong, I would lose straightaway ha ha. But unfortunately for most, Paul knows his basics & says it how it is which some PC brigade don’t like.

No Vanessa, a lot of landlords & indeed some of my mates when they first saw & heard the horror stories could not understand the mentality of some tenants, but as time goes on, they see how unfortunately, some people do live like this & leave houses like this.
And I do normally put combi’s in kitchen except in extreme circumstances where they’d lose too much cupboard space.

If u put some of my tenants in yours, you’d end up having heart attack. I can see where u took the video wrong, not knowing the full story, nor knowing me & nor probably knowing how this segment leaves houses. Note to do with me, honest, like I say about 2 years ago, I spent about 7k on this house. All the basics were there. Council waiting list in this area is about 10 years & that’s if you’re overcrowded where u r.
I think Mark knows roughly how many houses I’ve got & to have 2 damaged ones in 2-3 years is quite a success, believe it or not. I did have an extreme in May 2010 where 2 in 3 days, but one of them had lived there 10 years. If this Google link comes up, u can see a few of mine on Google home page type in tenants from hell top valley. Looks like 2010 was a bad one.
https://www.google.co.uk/#q=tenants+from+hell+top+valley&spell=1&sa=X&ei=DEvFUYThCqy20QWWg4DQAg&ved=0CC0QvwUoAA&bav=on.2,or.r_cp.r_qf.&bvm=bv.48293060,d.d2k&fp=fef9f8e44900055d&biw=784&bih=667

I’ll even get the tenants NEW mates (not old mates, ‘cause they know what they’re like), say Mick this is S__thole, this is disgraceful. I’ll then get them to take me round the house & say ‘Ok, what is digraceful that is mine’-Do u know what, they then can’t find a thing that is my fault. It’s all the tenants clutter, mess & damage. And they then see all the things I have done. I’ve had it off Social workers, Support workers, Env Health etc. Some of them even refuse to take calls off the tenant when they hear it is me, they ring me first for my side of the story.

Jonathon, same as me, my people are so grateful for somewhere to live. I tell them all & they know before they come to me, as most are recommended from existing tenants & mates-Some have been asking me for 2 years for houses-I tell them all, I do NOT decorate or carpets. BUT I do do the repairs quicker than the Council & most Landlords & they know this from their friends. And I’d dare to say to some of u posher Landlords that although your houses may look prettier than mine with paint etc. I may do more building repairs than u-Oops I’m in for the high jump now off Vanessa-so my houses although uglier than yours may function better.

I see so many Landlords moaning on here about repairing this little thing & that, I think just get it done. Happy tenants stay. Who can claim to have SEVERAL tenants stop more than 10 years? I can. U only see my dump houses on http://www.youtube.com/mickroberts2006 There’s no point showing u the nice ones, they not interest u, u can watch Grand Designs for that.

Yes mine too cannot believe I let them paint what they want-They think I’m Mr Super Landlord after coming from some Landlord that wouldn’t them paint a single wall. Ha ha me too except not fake smile-I tell ‘em looks despicable, but if that’s what they like.

I just see my houses as a shell, as long as I put latest condensing combi in, new fuseboard & quite often rewire, new kitchen with oven, fridge, washer, dryer space, showers in all houses if ever hot water is down overnight, job done, they have the basics what most of u & I would want, they can then do their own individual stuff.

And they love me ‘cause I leave them alone. Righty or wrongly, some of my houses I han’t been in for 10 years-Same as Council. Boiler gets serviced, & repairs get told to me by tenant. And that’s how my tenants like it.

Whatever my tenants ask for, if it’s reasonable, I’ll do it. And I tell ‘em, once been with me 2 years etc., I’ll give ‘em little luxuries that probably most other Landlord wouldn’t.

Yes fly-tipping is wrong, same as smoking cannabis is wrong-but what can we do when we walk away? My tenants think I am nuts, because I DON’T SMOKE CANNABIS.

hi jon

http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/business/sectors/143926.aspx

'Your legal responsibilities for waste
If you produce, carry, import, keep, treat or dispose of waste you have legal responsibilities. This includes having a ‘duty of care’ for waste.

The duty of care aims to protect the environment and human health by making sure that waste is handled safely and only passed to people authorised to receive it.

There are some simple rules you must follow:
check the person you are transferring the waste to is properly authorised to accept it. For example, check they are a permitted site or a registered waste carrier
make sure the waste is safely contained and is not able to escape control
make sure the correct documentation is completed for each transfer of waste and that it correctly describes the waste
minimise the environmental impact of waste by prioritising waste prevention, re-use, recycling and recovery over disposal. This is known as applying the ‘waste hierarchy’

therefore not tenuous at all, but a legal requirement. a responsible landlord would order a skip (the cost of which is tax deductible) so that you know where the rubbish is going. by all means the tenant can load the skip.

@Mick,
What a brilliant debate you have initiated, a clear example of different perspectives. I think some on here should consider those perspectives before acting as judge and jury.

Too many people on here are too quick to judge. They make assumptions and then judge as if those assumptions are correct. Sometimes it seems that their only intent is winning their point or creating publicity for themselves rather than adding anything of substance to the discussion. As long as you provide that which is required in terms of H&S and amenity and your tenants are happy with decor then all is good.

We have often thought about your method of operating, ie don't spend on decorating, carpets, blinds etc (Which aren't even tax deductable) and allow the tenants lots of freedom to make the property their home exactly how they want it. We have always concluded though that this part of the market is just not for us but congrats to you for providing the much needed housing in this area.

@Joe bloggs,
I think most of us are aware of the law on waste movement and disposal if not all of the finite detail. Can I ask you: Do you you have a waste carriers licence?

@Ray

I am not sure if you were referring to me, but just so you know I was specifically asked by Mark Alexander to come on this thread because he knew I had very different views and he invited me to create a heated debate.

If I have misunderstood the point of the video, then I hope Mick can accept my unreserved apology.

I was shocked at the state of the property underneath all the mess. I supply exactly the same standard of accommodation to LHA tenants as I do to private tenants, so perhaps this explains my reaction.

What this thread has shown me is that I have little understanding of the lower end of the LHA market (if that is a way to describe it).

All that matters is that this thread has shown that landlords such as myself, JC, and Mick care about our tenants and understand their needs. That has got to be a positive outcome.

I am fully aware that tenants from any niche can ruin a property, just as there are rogue landlords from any niche that can rip off tenants.

I just hope that the good tenants can find the good landlords!

ray
clearly jonathan isnt aware of his responsibilities so your attempt to turn this around to me is highly suspicious.
im not the one who abdicates their responsibilities.