Renting has its downsides, but I’ve decided to stop waiting and start living – plants, garden furniture and all | Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett

A long-term renter in north London is embracing her garden and home after 15 years, buoyed by new legal protections that make eviction more difficult [1]. The author, a Guardian columnist, received a letter from her housing association, Clarion Housing, outlining new tenant rights under recent legislation [1]. This shift has prompted her to reinvest in her rented garden, weeding and admiring plants she cultivated over a decade. She planted roses from Poundland as bare root cuttings ten years ago, and they now stand 8ft high; a small magnolia tree also flowered for the first time this year [1]. Her tenancy agreement, which requires keeping grounds "clean and tidy," has never been strictly enforced by her landlord, whom she describes as taking a "hands-off" approach [1]. Clarion Housing, her landlord, is the largest housing association in the UK, managing 125,000 properties for over 350,000 people [2]. It is part of the G15, a group of London's largest housing associations which collectively manage around 600,000 homes and aim to address the housing crisis [4]. Despite the security, the author reflects on the persistent stigma and financial burden of renting, contrasting her experience with the royal family's new lease at Windsor, which includes similar garden upkeep clauses [1]. She holds strong opinions on landlords, stating, "I think it should be socially unacceptable to be one, and that they should be booed in the streets" [1]. However, with enhanced legal stability, she and many of her renting neighbours are choosing to "stop waiting and start living," investing in their surroundings with patio furniture and fruit trees [1]. She has installed a swing for her son and plans to enjoy the garden under a parasol, concluding that the blooming roses are, "despite everything, mine" [1].