The landlord of Number 2 hasn’t had much luck in the last year and a half. Having lost the delightful couple from Portugal and Poland at the end of 2018 when they set off to make a new life elsewhere, he picked a new couple that perhaps most landlords would have passed on. Still, once the year was up at the end of last year, and the tenancy contract expired, he did pass them on. I noticed a few red letters come through for No.2 in subsequent months. Let’s just say that they probably weren’t the best ever tenants this block has seen.
We waited to see if the new occupants would be renters, or whether the landlord would go through with his threat to sell the place. To our complete non-surprise, they were renters. A new family. I think. We barely see them, truth be told. We do sometimes hear a baby crying. And then sometimes we don’t. Which is strange, because babies normally cry pretty much all the time. This baby seems to have an on/off switch. Or else the baby is only a part time resident. Who knows? It’s a mystery. My favourite thing about this family is that they don’t have a car. Which means I have a bit of extra space to get in and out of mine.
Of course, we now know that the landlord of No 2 should have sold the property. The economy at the moment has a feeling of free-falling down a deep black hole, with the bottom not yet in sight. We’ve been promised that there’s a trampoline at the bottom waiting for us, not a concrete floor. One can but hope that the promise is kept, even though we know it was proffered by a liar. Whatever, I suspect it would have been easier to sell the flat at the end of last year than it will at the end of this. And for a better price too.
There is also the issue of non payment of rent. Yes, I have a bit of a nosy beak. I like to know what’s going on in my block, who’s up to what and when. But no one could miss the big note pinned on the communal notice board by the letting agent, for the attention of No 2. Please get in touch. Need to chat about the rent arrears. Not that the landlord or his representatives can do a thing about it for the time being. They are really rather screwed. They’ll have to wait a while before they can get the family in No 2 out.
These are going to be tough times for a lot of people. The chap at No 5 is a renter. He’s been there for 9 years, almost as long as the block of flats has stood. I like the chap at No 5. We chat we our paths cross. But he’s on the way out too. By the end of the month, he tells me. He is/was self employed, and needless to say the lockdown has done for him, financially. A room at Hotel Mother awaits him, until he can get back on his feet.
By all accounts his landlord did not take the ‘understanding and empathetic’ route when discussing how and when the rent might one day get paid. I think the landlord of No 5 would have done well to have a chat with the landlord of No 2, who could have explained in glowing terms the benefits of having in situ a reliable long term renter who looks after the property.
Stay tuned for further episodes of Neighbours. Will the lass at No 6 ever manage to find a buyer? Will I ever reveal the mystery as to why I call the lady in No 10, ‘Panty Girl’? Will we see an episode of Can’t Pay, We’ll Take It Away unfold when time is called for No 2? All will be revealed…
The Mexile 