August 23, 2023
Does the media treat landlords unfairly?
We recently conducted a poll on social media to find out if landlords felt they were getting a bad rap in the media. The results were overwhelming.
The exact question we asked read; ‘Do you feel landlords are unfairly treated by the media?’
93% of our respondents said yes!
In a subsequent conversation, someone asked if we thought there would be any landlords left in twenty years. We had to point out that landlords have been around for a while, and would likely survive a great deal longer!
As experienced property professionals, we’re going to step outside of our day-to-day business and look at landlords as others see them, both historically and presently.
Let’s take a look at the history of landlords, how they are regarded, and why they seem to suffer such bashing in the media.
A bit of history
In our articles, we tend to concentrate on the here and now, focussing on the buy-to-let market. However the history of landlords goes back a long way, arguably to at least 1066, and possibly earlier than that.
Following the conquest of England by William, the land was divided between the king himself (55%) and 170 barons. It was they who would thereafter subdivide and manage the property.
These barons were the Lords of the Land. They managed their holdings on behalf of the crown. From there, holdings would be further divided, with the tenants undertaking to provide knights to the baron.
At the lowest level, parcels of land were let in return for cash, or for a promise of labour (serfdom). History doesn’t seem to have recorded how serfs regarded their landlords…
It wasn’t until the 16th century that this feudal system fell by the way, to be replaced by a system we might recognise today – the let of property for a regular payment. These properties were still predominantly rural however.
By the 19th century and the industrial revolution, the landscape we all recognise was established; urban dwellings owned by landlords and let for a regular rent.
Thoughts on landlords across the ages
In our technology-enabled 21st century, everyone can express and disseminate their opinions at the tap of a virtual button. T’was not always so and the opinions of humble tenants were not often recorded.
The thoughts of the socially-minded great and good are a different matter however. We shan’t ask Shakespeare here, as he was amongst the ranks of the landlords.
Dickens on the other hand was much given to railing against social iniquity. For him, the landlord provided a perfect motif of inequality when the acquisition of housing made the man.
The simple quote from Bleak House; “This is my landlord, Krook” pretty neatly conveys his feeling towards the property-owning and letting class.
George Orwell, writing during depression-struck Thirties Britain was not short of thoughts on the subject of landlords. In The Road to Wigan Pier, he described them thus:
“Ideally, the worst type of slum landlord is a fat wicked man, preferably a bishop, who is drawing an immense income from extortionate rents.
Actually, it is a poor, elderly woman who has invested her life’s savings in three slum houses, inhabits one of them, and tries to live on the rent of the other two—never, in consequence, having any money for repairs.”
Criticism these days is no less vitriolic as evidenced in this piece from Huck, which it is fair to say suggests that the author has a less than benign view of landlords as a group!
The prevailing media trope has landlords as owners of many properties, constantly hiking rents and failing to attend to repairs.
The truth, as we have stated many times, is that most landlords have only one, maybe two properties and strive to maintain a mutually beneficial relationship with their tenants.
Landlords and the media
Landlords tend to fare poorly in the media. There are many reasons for this, but here are a few.
Landlords can be their own worst enemies
Sadly, wherever the media needs a comment from landlords, there is often an appalling candidate available, who will publicly lament the hardship of owning property with a complete lack of empathy for anyone else.
People like this can be found in all professions sadly and should be kept away from media outlets at all costs, as they tar all of their fellows with their badly-wielded brush.
The media loves a victim
This is a time-honoured tradition in the press and now on social media. Take an eviction, a single mum, an ‘evil’ landlord and ideally dreadful weather and you have an instant story.
Under no circumstances should the writer make any reference to the facts of the matter, nor should they suggest that there might be two sides to the story. After all, if it’s in print it’s tomorrow’s fish supper wrapping. Who cares?
Power
We’re going to tread warily here, as most landlords probably don’t think of their relationship with their tenants as one of power, but it is.
One of the reasons landlords are fair game is that everyone loves to take a punt at the rich and powerful, even though the two are not always synonymous.
The truth is that landlords have the power to deprive people of their home, and that simple fact is never going to result in them being viewed as lovable teddy bears.
Before there is a chorus of ‘do you know how hard it is to remove a difficult tenant?!’ – yes, we do. And we understand that there are many legitimate reasons to do so.
The issue is not necessarily the exercising of that particular power, just the fact of it – see our comments about the media loving a victim. Whatever the truth of each individual tale, at the root lies the landlord’s power to decide.
Advice from the property pros
Does the media treat landlords unfairly? Yes, it does. It treats them in much the same way that it treats all institutions who wield power, such as banks, governments and the police.
It’s difficult to know how to change that unfortunately. Organisations who represent landlords need to be constantly on guard, ready to defend their members against false reporting and lazy stereotypes.
The trope of the ‘evil’ landlord is rooted in an inequality that is fundamental to their relationship with their tenants, mainly the power to evict. There are those who would argue no one should have that power.
Others recognise that a property owner has a right to protect their property against the actions of unreasonable tenants, whether that’s damage, neglect or a failure to pay.
That inequality however has become embedded as a powerful trope within all media, and it will prove difficult to shift. The result is the default position that all landlords are bad.
In summary…
It is important to realise that the portrayal of landlords in the media often has nothing to do with the reality of life as either a tenant or a landlord.
It derives from a deeply-ingrained antipathy towards those who can wield power and make decisions affecting others – which given the power of media, traditional and social, is somewhat ironic.
We also have to accept that the political hue of various media outlets can colour their view of the private rented sector and account should be taken of that when considering their opinions on the matter.
Like you, we know that the vast majority of landlords are sensitive to the needs of their tenants and work with them to ensure that their relationship is fruitful for both parties, but sadly that doesn’t make for good press.
TIP: We have written at length in the past about how to make the very best of that relationship, have a look at our 7 Tips for Keeping Tenants Happy as an example.
But try as we all might, we fear that we will have to continue to do our level best while accepting that the media will, on the whole, treat all of us unfairly.
Thank you for reading, and we hope you’ve found this article thought provoking!
Written by Ross MacDonald, Director of Sales & Cofounder of Portolio
Get in touch on 07388 361 564 or email to [email protected]
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