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chilled out to let people move in, need advise?
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
Hello everyone,
I briefly talk about my case in background first. I rent a flat with 3 bedroom and 1 living room from an estate agent. I and my wife are using one of these room as our bedroom and the rest of rooms are let out. This means I am in charge of the property.
Now, there are many cases that I would like to get advise from experienced people
CASE 1:
At the beginning, we already let the estate agent know about our purpose as we are living in the property and rent out 3 other rooms and want to put lock on door of each room.
=> I want to know that Is it really illegal (breaking laws) when we put locks on door ?
the staff from agent said that it is illegal for us to do so but as long as we do not cause any problems and keep our place cleaning and tidy, then the home owner may overlook.
=> since I rent the property, it is more than 1 month now but the home owner has not come to view the flat yet. I worry about the home owner will be unhappy about the locks and may ask us to leave or send us to court. what should I do?
CASE 2:
When I let the room out to people, I told them that I am not a home owner, I am in charge of the property and take rent of every month from them. I have written a staying agreement between me and them, then give it to each of them, at the end of the agreement paper, there is only their signature.
=> Is it illegal for me to make the agreement between me and those people moving and sharing the property with us ? What may happen to me if I did ?
One guy of people living, complains about bugs in the flat (kitchen, bathroom). He threaten me by saying he gonna take some photo of the bugs and send it to Heath and Safety department and also report that there is no fire alarm in the property.
=> Is it true that the Health and Safety department will take an action if they receive the report (bugs photo and No fire alarm)?
I am not a home owner, so I do not worry about this, what i really consider is, if the home owner get involved with Health and Safety department, every one in the house has to leave. I do not want to lose this place and every one has to move out because of the trouble maker.
=> in legal tenancy agreement between me and estate agent (be half of home owner), there are only my name and my wife. If I ask the guy to leave with 2 week notice (in my writing agreement with the guy), do I break any laws ?
I am looking forward to hearing from any of you.
I am in under pressure and get hassle from this guy
I briefly talk about my case in background first. I rent a flat with 3 bedroom and 1 living room from an estate agent. I and my wife are using one of these room as our bedroom and the rest of rooms are let out. This means I am in charge of the property.
Now, there are many cases that I would like to get advise from experienced people
CASE 1:
At the beginning, we already let the estate agent know about our purpose as we are living in the property and rent out 3 other rooms and want to put lock on door of each room.
=> I want to know that Is it really illegal (breaking laws) when we put locks on door ?
the staff from agent said that it is illegal for us to do so but as long as we do not cause any problems and keep our place cleaning and tidy, then the home owner may overlook.
=> since I rent the property, it is more than 1 month now but the home owner has not come to view the flat yet. I worry about the home owner will be unhappy about the locks and may ask us to leave or send us to court. what should I do?
CASE 2:
When I let the room out to people, I told them that I am not a home owner, I am in charge of the property and take rent of every month from them. I have written a staying agreement between me and them, then give it to each of them, at the end of the agreement paper, there is only their signature.
=> Is it illegal for me to make the agreement between me and those people moving and sharing the property with us ? What may happen to me if I did ?
One guy of people living, complains about bugs in the flat (kitchen, bathroom). He threaten me by saying he gonna take some photo of the bugs and send it to Heath and Safety department and also report that there is no fire alarm in the property.
=> Is it true that the Health and Safety department will take an action if they receive the report (bugs photo and No fire alarm)?
I am not a home owner, so I do not worry about this, what i really consider is, if the home owner get involved with Health and Safety department, every one in the house has to leave. I do not want to lose this place and every one has to move out because of the trouble maker.
=> in legal tenancy agreement between me and estate agent (be half of home owner), there are only my name and my wife. If I ask the guy to leave with 2 week notice (in my writing agreement with the guy), do I break any laws ?
I am looking forward to hearing from any of you.
I am in under pressure and get hassle from this guy
0
Comments
Are you in the UK?
do you or any one know about the rest of my questions ?
If the tenant did complain about the bugs and the fire alarm, the fact that you are illegally subletting the room will come to light. The estate agent may say it's ok but it's really not their decision. If the landlord finds out, you will be evicted very soon.
It's twats like you that are part of the reason rents are so fucking high in this country.
This seems like a tricky situation for you.
The other users have highlighted the main issues regarding your questions. I have also provided some information below.
1. Putting locks on the doors.
As a tenant you can change the locks to your property unless it is stated otherwise in your contract. However you are asking about changing locks to internal doors in the property to create separate living spaces. As Scary Monster has mentioned, this can mean that you are creating a House in Multiple Occupation for which you need a special license from the Council.
It might be best to not do this until you have some reliable legal advice (see end of post for details).
2. Subletting
You have described a situation whereby you will be subletting to your tenants. This is because you are already renting the property from someone else.
The other users have pointed out that this is illegal. This is not strictly true as it will depend on what your tenancy agreement says about it. If your tenancy agreement says you are not allowed to, then your landlord can seek possession of the property fairly quickly. Check your agreement immediately to find out.
You say that one of ‘your’ tenants is complaining about various problems in the property. You are taking on responsibility for them buy subletting them into the property. In this country private tenancies are overseen by Tenancy Relations Officers in local councils. Anyone who thinks their rights are being breached can ask them for help. So yes, in theory your tenants can go to the Council and action may be taken against you.
If this happens then yes, your subletting may come the light of your landlord and he may seek possession.
It might be a good idea to seek legal advice as soon as possible about this before the situation becomes any more complicated than it is.
You can seek legal advice from the following places;
1. From a solicitor – You can call [URL="C:\Users\Radhika\Documents\Youthnet\Moderating\jsp"]Community Legal Advice[/URL] on 0845 345 4 345 to find a solicitor in your area. Or you can visit their website to make a search using your postcode and area of law that you need.
2. The Citizen’s Advice Bureau offer free legal advice and information. You can use their website to find your local office.
Hey, not really needed eh? I think you made your initial point really well without resorting to insults.