The pandemic has had a few curious effects on the property market, the first of which is that the London Pound has shrunk against the Countryside Dollar, so much so that it is trading almost on a 1-1 basis, much to the chagrin of well healed Londoners hoping to cash in on the London 1 bed to buy the forever 7 bed country rectory. Many have also had to sell in London and rent in the countryside to ensure the country agents mark them as "proceedable" in their little black books. What this means is that there's been an influx of home owning renters or as I like to call them "accidental tenants" (opposed to accidental landlords) and landlords could not be happier! There is a marked difference between who have only ever rented, vs accidental tenants who have, until now, owned their own home. The latter adopt a more careful approach to their rental property, understanding that if you don't look after a home it ends up looking like something you wouldn't wish to rent! I assume it's because they know the cost of maintenance, so don't feel the need to call the managing agent for every single little niggle. Blocked drains can be fixed with Mr Muscle, fuses can be reset without an army of workmen, mould grows if you don't deal with it, extractor fans work better when they're turned on, plants must be watered if you don't want them to die, lightbulbs have to be replaced and appliances come with manuals, many of which can be found online! Accidental tenants seem to be far more handy, willing to fix, replace and suck up one cost or another even when they know it could be the landlord's responsibility. They are also thrilled when they realise they don't have to fork out for the slipped tile and the Aga or boiler service. In stark contrast regular tenants seem to increasingly be treating the home they're renting like a hotel suite, engaging with managing agents and landlords as if they're the concierge desk at the Connaught. The "have it all right now" generation seem to view the transaction between tenant and landlord as if they're purchasing a retail product, becoming rather indignant if something doesn't go their way. Accidental tenants tend to adopt a more pragmatic view that they are borrowing the property, that things go wrong and you have to fix them before you hand it back, or better yet prevent them from going wrong in the first place. The above notwithstanding, there is some sympathy to be had for repeat tenants who behave like children, because successive governments keep treating them so. Law after bloody law keeps being imposed upon landlords and their agents, designed every time to "protect the rights" of tenants, from the tenant fee ban to new rules on deposits and section 21 notices. Government after government seem obsessed with imposing on the rental market consumer protections more akin to those of the retail market. In real terms renting a property is like buying a used item off Gumtree or Ebay, it is unlikely to be perfect, but it will probably cost you less than buying a new product off the shelf from a retailer. If however sellers of second hand items became responsible for providing the same warranties and customer service of a retailer, the market would quickly dry up. And here in likes the danger. If tenants continue to demand more and more for less, and governments continue to impose more obstacles in front of landlords, the market will dry up! Landlords will sell, stock levels with fall, and rents with skyrocket. At this point the tenant - landlord relationship will become increasingly important, as good, balanced relationships between the two will become almost more valuable than the rent paid. One landlord relationship I became aware of recently, has been so harmonious for both parties that they agreed to a renewal for 3 years with no rent increase despite the country house rental market increasing by approximately 25%. A good tenant is worth their weight in gold... whether they're accidental or not.