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HMO Issues

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
My 2 flatmate's and I have been renting our flat for almost 8 months now and every month something new breaks, we were shown the flat by the previous tennents and when we asked them about the HMO license they said "well she hasn't said anything but we are assuming there is one", I guess it was our failing not looking into it further but we really loved the flat and decided to take it.
We started to suspect something dodgy was going on when we asked for fire alarms only to be told that none of the previous tennents had asked and so if we wanted any we would have to get them ourselves, we had already signed the contract by this point (which we still don't have a copy of, apparently she "forgets" every time she comes around) and we really love the flat so we didn't argue and just bought our own fire safety equipment as we thought she is the type of woman who would just put all our stuff out on the street if we made her life difficult.
As the months wore on we realised there was something really not right for example we would arrive home and know that someone had been in our flat or she would arrive unannounced, ring the doorbell and be letting herself in before we even had a chance to get up to answer it.
After doing some research we realised that there is no way the flat has an HMO, there are no door closers, the windows don't open, the (gas) cooker was fitted by someone who could barely speak English and didn't seem to know what we were talking about when we asked if he was corgi registered, the "maintenance" man is a 15 year old boy who put his fist thru our window while he was tryna show us that they were sturdy and wouldn't break while he was tryna force them open...I am sorry I'm rambling but basically it is pretty hellish living here and i was wondering if anyone could tell me what our rights are here and what would happen if we decided to just leave or if we reported our landlady for not having an HMO?

Also I'm not sure if this question is better somewhere else but I'm not entirely sure where...I have already made plans to live somewhere else when our lease is up because my current flatmates are incredibly messy and lazy and stubborn and basically just no good to live with despite being lovely girls and good friends but I am worried about when and how to tell them, any suggestions?

Thanks

...or not, at first glance this site looks like the best place to go for advice but on further inspection I have realised that you only get help if you have been here for ages which is a bit off putting for a new user, I was looking forward to becoming an active memeber of the community but I have decided I wont b back cos I dont feel very welcome.
Maybe if this site is so active in promoting itself as the place to go if you want to know about anything you should take a closer look at how the message boards are run because it seems to me that unless you are a well known member or asking a stupid question like "how old were you when you lost your virginity?" you dont get any answers or people use it as a spring board for imature arguements. Not very helpful is my verdict and I hope that this post makes somebody do something about it because I would hate someone with a more serious problem than me to be made to feel as hopeless as I do about this one.

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    hi Kyra,

    I'm sorry you feel the way you do and that you haven't had any replies to your problem. I'm afraid that as a discussion board that provides support through peers there will always be times when someone's question isn't something other users feel they actually have any way to answer.

    However you're right that at the very least this thread should have been replied to by myself or Pearly. What we can't do is tell you the answer to this question - however we can point you in the direction of our one-to-one advice service askTheSite - it provides free, confidential and expert advice.

    In your case we have two sections, Housing and Legal & Rights which would be appropriate to answer your question - with answers provided by experts at Shelter and CAB.

    You can ask a question by following the following link -

    http://www.thesite.org/community/askthesite
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I have to disagree. I have found most people on here will be really helpful and give honest worthy replies to posters question- regardless of their post count.

    If you want people to reply to your posts, your post needs some key ingredients.
    • Your title needs to be eye catching in order for people to read it.
    • You post needs to be both concise and relevant (people hate reading through a load of waffle, to find the main point.)
    • And you need to explain things (e.g HMO) as some people wont have a clue what your on about.
    Whether you like it or not your post is in competition with every other post for peoples precious time and efforts.

    If people haven't replied then reply to the post and bring it back to everyones attention. Give people a chance, I hadn't even see your post until today.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    what's an hmo?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    katralla wrote: »
    what's an hmo?

    fuck knows
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    HMO=House of Multiple Occupancy, or something like that.

    Kyra, like Jim said its a shame you feel that way. I read your post before but missed the bit about how to tell your housemates, the only reason I hadn't responded was because its really a legal matter I haven't got the knowledge to respond, which is a case with a fair few of the home, law and money questions I guess. I've asked questions before and ended up thinking"well that wasn't really worth the internet is was written on" on forums, especially on legal matters, which isn't particularly helpful.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    .
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I read your post, but can't read that much text in one paragraph off a computer screen and take in all the details. Have no idea what an HMO is so lost the plot half way through.

    Having re read the bottom paragraph, it seems that you are looking for a way to tell your current housemates that you want to live with different people when your current lease is up?

    I'd suggest letting them know you're considering other options as soon as the subject comes up, don't let them fall into thinking that you want to stay living with them when you have no intention of doing so. You can always bullshit slightly about wanting a different space, a different area, challenge of living with new people, or different facilities to what they are after.

    Or, be a bit more honest and say that they are great people but little things get on your nerves and you think everyone would be happier if you looked for a change at the end of the lease.
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