Landlords travelling by London Underground might be shocked to find themselves as the butt of a joke used to sell coffee.

Adverts for Grind disposable coffee pods declare: ‘Our pods disappear faster than your landlord when the mice move in’ and ‘Our pods disappear faster than your landlord when there’s a leak’. The firm’s website explains that these pods compost within 26 weeks - implying that tenants are likely to wait many months for help with repairs.

Helen Turner (pictured), co-founder of property management software firm COHO, spotted the ads and called out Grind for using jokes at landlords’ expense.

“It’s banter – they obviously wanted a reaction and probably chose the Underground to put their adverts as that’s where plenty of people rent,” she tells LandlordZONE, “but I feel they’ve taken a bit of a liberty. Landlords are being penalised and this approach is unfair.

“It’s a shame that landlords have such a bad reputation when there are lots doing great things and offering good services. If the firm need inspiration, we have some of the best landlords and agents in the country using COHO, and I’d be more than happy to connect them.”

Rhetoric

The ad campaign’s negative rhetoric is all too common and reinforced by the national media which often likes to imply that most renters don’t like landlords.

But many in the sector believe landlord bashing is taking its toll on rental supply, with landlords feeling demonised by tenant pressure groups and hit by rising costs and increasing regulations.

Grind did not respond to LandlordZONE’s request for a comment.

Pic credits: Helen Turner