renting in general (advice) > Reviews (21)

Having lived and worked in several countries in Europe over the last seven years, not to mention having rented student flats – although they were generally fairly palatial – nothing like the usual hovels that tend to be let to students by landlords without any scruples, seemingly no sense of obligation to fix anything or to maintain the safety of a place, and which usually seemed to have been modified to ensure the highest possible level of income for the landlord.

I’ve seen it all in my time – from living in a luxury penthouse, to a squalid cellar in Brussels, where the first thing I had to do was to evict all sorts of wildlife growing out of nearly every corner of the “flat”. And now that I have seen it all and can guarantee my extended stay in Vienna, I am about to hang up my shoes as a rent boy and take the plunge and buy a place. Renting is obviously the best short-term solution, with a house share often making it an affordable option after say graduation, when you have a mountain of debts, and need a roof over your head, and similarly don’t know how fixed you are going to be location-wise. The initial outgoings are traditionally lower with renting – average deposits seem to be 2-3 months rent, although some can be as much as six months rent. Obviously getting the kind of money together to pay your deposit can be a challenge in the first place – at least try and see if you can stagger your deposit – meaning that you won’t be leaving off bread and water, or even worse, fresh air, for the first few months.

If possible I would encourage placing the deposit in a building society account with a passbook to it, and giving your landlord the passbook. That way the money has been set aside, and you can’t do a runner with the deposit, but at the same time he also can’t get at your deposit. In Austria, this is particularly common practice, and it works very well – quite simply at the end of the rent period you are given your passbook back, with the landlord requesting the necessary part of the deposit back. This means that it makes it very difficult for him/her to pocket the deposit. Ultimately some landlords use your deposit ultimately as a way of quickly making money – some will suddenly claim things are missing of the inventory – have the inventory gone through with you when you arrive to prevent the landlord from claiming that a dinner service is missing. Of course if you are renting an unfurnished flat, then this is more simple – probably the only thing that will be in the flat will be the fixed kitchen units and fixed bathroom – you may also be able to use the unfurnished nature of the flat/house as a bargaining chip for haggling over the deposit.

Before signing your rent contract, check that the rent you are paying is fair, namely that for the size of the flat that it is about the normal level, and also what the rent contract covers – in Austria you generally have the maintenance of the building e.g. lighting bills for the landings, lift maintenance, cleaning of entrance foyers and water bills and rubbish collection included, whilst you are expected to pay the electricity and gas bills, although in short term lets, you may find you can get something all-inclusive.

Above all, take the time to find the meters, check the values when you move in – especially check whether you are on a pay meter – so that you don’t run a bath a discover no hot water and no electricity. Similarly check the procedure for repairs to the place – make sure you know what the procedure is and make sure you hold the landlord to it. In Brussels I once laid my own vinyl floor with my landlord in order to speed things up, as well as having to also carrying out various Rentokil duties…

Similarly check what safety precautions have been taken – for example check that there are Carbon Monoxide and Smoke Detectors, and that they work – if they are not present don’t hand over money until they are installed – the Citizens Advice Bureau can be a very useful service for informing you of your rights and landlord obligations, and also make sure that the landlord doesn’t have free access to enter the flat without your permission.

So what advantages does renting present over owning a property?

1) You are less bound to stay in your accommodation, and the process of moving out and into another property is considerably easier than if you are selling up – get caught in a buying/selling chain and nothing happens at all quickly
2) Capital outlay is generally initially lower. If you are unsure as to whether you are going to be in the same place in the long-term then it makes more sense to rent – the outlay on removals etc. is saved if you move into a furnished flat, and you only have to find a few months rent rather than a deposit for a house.
3) Rent rises usually only by the rate of inflation – unless of course you have a dodgy landlord – and many rents remain frozen for the entire time of your tenancy. Property prices rise and fall – it can leave you with hands tied and a large financial worry should you lose your job and you have a large mortgage that needs paying off.
4) You have less maintenance obligations – possibly the only thing you might be expected to do is to give the place a lick of paint when you move out – general wear and tear is usually expected in the contract.

So why have I decided to hang up my coat as a rentboy?

In the long term, paying off a mortgage is better than paying rent into someone else’s coffers – renting in the long term you will probably pay over and above the value of the flat. I was once quoted that if you are willing to make a commitment of staying in the same flat for 5 years the outlay will suddenly become a lot less if you buy than rent. Take my current scenario – I am living in a 2 room 58m² flat and paying EUR 500 plus bills per month in rent. Now if I were to stay for 5 years in the same flat, I would have spent EUR 30,000 in rent money. Now by buying a place for EUR 85,000 (3 rooms + kitchen + bathroom), which I will ultimately own, then on a financing deal I will pay EUR 330 a month in repayments. This makes the commitment a worthwhile one, since the deal will be such that the saving on rent will cover my bills as well and I am paying for a place rather than keeping a landlord happy.

Whilst I won’t make as much money on a property in Vienna as I would in London, I will not be pouring away rent money with no return on my investment. Admittedly I will have to furnish the place and do some work on it, but it will ultimately become my home, and not just another rented flat.

Ultimately financial circumstances dictate to a certain extent as to whether you rent or you buy. Given the choice I would opt for the latter, as ultimately there is a certain return to be seen for your money, and for the long term I am dead set against squandering my money especially when it goes straight into a landlord’s pocket.

Morgenhund August 2002

PS The ratings below are pointless - how can you advise buyers to rent, and where there are two options which have equal benefits and pitfalls surely they can both only be average...