https://www.reddit.com/r/Edinburgh/comments/1iyv8ii/is_everyone_here_over_55ish_a_landlord/
created by Bright-Cap6651 on 26/02/2025 at 18:59 UTC
163 upvotes, 32 top-level comments (showing 25)
Other than my actual landlord, I’ve never met other landlords until I came to Edinburgh and it seems everyone 55+ seems to be a fucking landlord.
Both next door neighbours I’ve met stated they were landlords who would owned a few properties each, moaning about renters rights bills.
Plumber who came around to fix a radiator also owned 2 properties, got my goat up when he said he didn’t need to charge what his does but got told he won’t get the right sort of tenants applying if he didn’t charge market rate. Got a bit coy when I asked him if he lowers the rent once he has the “right sort of tenant”.
Even the fucking guy who came round to do an appliance safety check is a landlord.
What the fuck is going on in this city?!
Comment by Anguskerfluffle at 26/02/2025 at 19:13 UTC
147 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Edinburgh housing is now so expensive it is not surprising that people who live there are also people with lots of wealth. That may also be part of the reason it has become so expensive
Comment by FlyingMagpie at 26/02/2025 at 21:01 UTC
17 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Can't wait to move into a workhouse once I'm too old and worn to work.
Comment by Bruntonius at 26/02/2025 at 19:36 UTC
113 upvotes, 6 direct replies
I suppose another question would be why are we sending kids to Uni when everyone with a trade appears to be minted.
Comment by Creepy-Eye-5219 at 27/02/2025 at 08:08 UTC
13 upvotes, 1 direct replies
My first flat was £220 in 1998. I looked recently and a flat in the same block is now £1,390pcm. I get inflation etc but this was a kids starter flat. God knows how the youngsters get by today
Comment by MonkeyPuzzles at 26/02/2025 at 21:32 UTC
7 upvotes, 0 direct replies
A lot of this happened 20 years ago, nowadays the return is pretty questionable. A lot of silliness becomes possible when mortgage rates are ultra-low and house prices are going up 10%/year.
Comment by SpareDesigner1 at 26/02/2025 at 19:40 UTC
46 upvotes, 4 direct replies
It’s true across the UK that people who were fortunate enough to be born at the right time were able to buy houses when they were relatively very cheap and have seen their value, both for sale and as rental properties, appreciate immensely. Many of these people became landlords when the rules and regulations were somewhat looser (so 10+ years ago) and, while rents have gone up, they have seen their responsibilities as landlords increase, tenant rights increase, and the relative profitability of rental properties vs other investments fall.
Actually, one of the many reasons rent has been rising and rental conditions worsening is that a lot of these ‘mom-and-pop’ landlords (the property market’s equivalent to retail investors) have been exiting the market because for many it’s now preferable to simply take the huge lump sum profit of selling a property and moving to Spain or what have you rather than having to invest time and energy into maintaining a rental property. As a result, we’ve seen a lot of big property companies and less scrupulous landlords (‘slumlords’) move in to fill the gap.
My only comment on this as someone who is forced to rent and whose parents were terrible (I mean, really abysmal) with financial planning is that there’s no real value in being resentful about it. If you’re going to resent anyone, resent your parents for not taking advantage of the most prosperous period in human history to build some generational wealth.
Comment by headline-pottery at 26/02/2025 at 19:37 UTC
14 upvotes, 1 direct replies
They have probably had them for a while. 20 years ago when I worked in the City our receptionist had a portfolio of 20 1-bed flats let to students.
Comment by carracall at 27/02/2025 at 05:29 UTC
6 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Wider issues aside, I do feel like tradie landlords who can sort stuff out quick are the best kind.
Comment by zubeye at 26/02/2025 at 19:21 UTC
22 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Nobody is buying houses valued at 12 x earnings with wages
Comment by pog-mo-bhlog at 26/02/2025 at 19:52 UTC
38 upvotes, 3 direct replies
Plenty of working class people in the city who don't own their own homes, let alone additional properties. Agree that it's shocking though, far too many people profiting off a basic human necessity.
Comment by Fruity_Flye at 27/02/2025 at 09:22 UTC
6 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Over 55 is when parents start dying off and properties get passed on.
Comment by Fine-Assist6368 at 26/02/2025 at 22:04 UTC
17 upvotes, 0 direct replies
After a point it's just greed. Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should. First time buyers struggling because of this sort of thing.
Comment by blundermole at 27/02/2025 at 15:29 UTC*
3 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Historically (and until relatively recently) housing in Edinburgh was relatively cheap, and sometimes extremely cheap, so it's not unusual for people that lived here for a long time to have invested in residential property along the way.
Trades have historically often been relatively likely to be landlords, too, as they often wouldn't have conventional pensions (over and above the state pension), and would have the skills and the contacts to refurbish and maintain a residential property. That's the case across a lot of the UK, not just in Edinburgh.
That's not to say that good quality, good value housing in Edinburgh isn’t now in short supply, but that's the history behind the experience you describe in your post.
Comment by purely_specific at 26/02/2025 at 19:57 UTC
3 upvotes, 1 direct replies
The renters right bill is an English thing so why would your neighbours care about that? Or is there a new Scottish equivalent?
Comment by Either_Classic9159 at 26/02/2025 at 20:55 UTC
4 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I think we also need to look at the lack of actual affordable housing available and the amount of student flats. Can’t just blame the ‘wealthy’ people, the Government and council are just to blame.
This is coming from not a wealthy flat owner who bought 4 years ago. Just got lucky with mortgage rates.
Comment by jester_hope at 27/02/2025 at 21:22 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
There was a time around 20 years ago, before the 2008 crash and when house prices were rocketing, everyone was being thrown 5x salary mortgages and encouraged to remortgage with buy to let rather than selling old properties. I did precisely that and rented out my old property rather than selling after buying my new place. I know many others of my generation who did or still do the same, because it was easy to do and made financial sense.
I am not a landlord any more, BTW!
Comment by Unprepared_adult at 27/02/2025 at 05:59 UTC
3 upvotes, 7 direct replies
I got a large inheritance and could have used it to purchase a second property to rent out... But then I thought "no, actually, I would feel ashamed if I was exploiting others need for shelter to generate wealth. It's already incredibly difficult for first time buyers to get on the housing market, it would be utterly obscene for me to take more of a limited resource for myself". People act as if it's literally impossible to make ethical decisions. They simply need to exploit others to "get ahead", etc. You don't need to "get ahead". If you're even considering buying a second property, you're already pretty comfortable. Work for your own money and don't be so fucking selfish.
Comment by yakuzakid3k at 26/02/2025 at 20:17 UTC
1 upvotes, 2 direct replies
Make it illegal to own more than one home.
Comment by soup-monger at 26/02/2025 at 19:13 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Not a landlord.
Comment by Fuzzy-Promotion-8440 at 28/02/2025 at 09:33 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
That plumber landlord is absolutely right.
Comment by CupcakeLongjumping13 at 28/02/2025 at 09:54 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I mean my sister is 30 and she is a landlord so no not everyone 🤣
Comment by AardvarkCreepy4587 at 28/02/2025 at 10:09 UTC*
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
That's because you should have your shit together before the age of 50+. Don't miss your savings away on alcohol, drugs, and kabobs
Comment by Neoscan at 26/02/2025 at 19:45 UTC
-8 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Mm, no, not everyone over 55 is a landlord. What’s with all the F words? It got your goat up because someone isn’t renting out their property for below market rates? I don’t think the plumber is the issue here. Direct your anger towards the government and the people who make housing policy.
Comment by Competitive-Hour7199 at 26/02/2025 at 21:33 UTC
1 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Think a lot of it is Edinburgh money. By that, I mean families who have lived up here for generations. My wife's family are middle class have the family property in a nice area and a flat they rent out. Chances are, in the future, the money from that will provide my wife with 2 flats (50%) on top of the property we own together. That's my spin on it anyway.
Comment by Quirky_Animator1818 at 27/02/2025 at 10:05 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Yep they are. This place is insane, at around 18/19 I had tons of friends (I had no idea their families had property portfolios!) move into flats rented out by their families, some gifted. It was quite a shock as my family actually rented, and bless me, I hadn’t realised the inequity between me and my peers. It’s something I still work through!
I have two friends who are nurses who are landlords here (good for them I guess!), feel we need to stop thinking about privilege in terms of career and familial historical social class, and more in terms of housing status and inheritance… just me?!
But yes, 55+ here all landlords / airbnb profiteers pretty much 😅 and a lot of their children are too