Renting: number of tenants
Discussion
I am looking at renting (through an agent). In England.
The property is for me, and my partner will be visiting a lot and staying a lot, but she has her own property in her name, with bills, council tax etc in her name.
One letting agent has stated that "by law" if she stays for more than two days a week in the property, she has to go onto the tenancy. They charge £180 per tenant to process.
Is this true? I wanted to rent the property in my name, all bills etc in my name. The agent is adamant that it would have to be a joint tenancy in both our names. She would visit and yes spend a lot of time there but, as I say, she has her own place elsewhere.
Thanks.
The property is for me, and my partner will be visiting a lot and staying a lot, but she has her own property in her name, with bills, council tax etc in her name.
One letting agent has stated that "by law" if she stays for more than two days a week in the property, she has to go onto the tenancy. They charge £180 per tenant to process.
Is this true? I wanted to rent the property in my name, all bills etc in my name. The agent is adamant that it would have to be a joint tenancy in both our names. She would visit and yes spend a lot of time there but, as I say, she has her own place elsewhere.
Thanks.
JumboBeef said:
illmonkey said:
Then tell them she won't stay more than 2 days. f
k um.
Yes, but I don't want to move on a lie.......... I was wondering what the law is?k um.k off. So it's not joint.You rent it, she kips over every so often.
Makes no difference to anyone unless its her permanent residence in which case she needs to declare to the council she lives there, mainly so you don't get the single discount. The only person who says it needs to be stated legally is the letting agent who gets £180 for it. Isn't that strange.
Also if she goes onto the tenancy then I assume she is also joint and several liable for the rent, why would anyone who stays round 2 days a week agree to that?
OP I would carry on as you are, the letting agent is not going to be camping out seeing how many times a week she stays round. As an aside and as a landlord, if I rented out a place to someone whos partner was staying round occasionally BUT HADN'T moved in then i really wouldn't care less.
Also if she goes onto the tenancy then I assume she is also joint and several liable for the rent, why would anyone who stays round 2 days a week agree to that?
OP I would carry on as you are, the letting agent is not going to be camping out seeing how many times a week she stays round. As an aside and as a landlord, if I rented out a place to someone whos partner was staying round occasionally BUT HADN'T moved in then i really wouldn't care less.
Of course there is no 'law' that says she has to be on the Tenancy Agreement. The rational behind this story is that they don't want anyone living in the property that is not on the agreement incase you split up and she is left in the property. I'd also imagine there would be a mortgage/insurance issue If someone other than a named Tenant were to be deemed living there full time.
And also, should there be future difficulties collecting rent, utility charges etc. it's always better to have 2 official and legally bound Tenants than just one to persue.
The problem is, if you call 'bullst' you will be instantly marked as a 'dufficult' tenant and will probably lose the property. And they call us motor sales guys deviant and underhand!
And also, should there be future difficulties collecting rent, utility charges etc. it's always better to have 2 official and legally bound Tenants than just one to persue.
The problem is, if you call 'bulls
t' you will be instantly marked as a 'dufficult' tenant and will probably lose the property. And they call us motor sales guys deviant and underhand! No law governing the actual lease of the proprty other than the actual landlord who have have T&C's within their ortgage (if they have one) for letting the property - i know with mine it can't be multiple (over 6 or 8) adults.
The only 'law' you will need to abide by is the council tax one, in that you will not qualify for the single occupancy discount IF your partner stays more than 'x' nights a week.
The agent is just maximising their profit.
The only 'law' you will need to abide by is the council tax one, in that you will not qualify for the single occupancy discount IF your partner stays more than 'x' nights a week.
The agent is just maximising their profit.
How about asking said agency staff to supply you with the UK law that they are quoting so you can have a read as you did not know about it?
When they come up short on the law they are stating, then you can rest easy that because they only charge due to this law, then as they can't prove it, there is nothing to pay.
BS practice to extract another £200 out of you.
When they come up short on the law they are stating, then you can rest easy that because they only charge due to this law, then as they can't prove it, there is nothing to pay.
BS practice to extract another £200 out of you.
If the letting agency are not your landlords, then they are telling lies to you. If the landlord says the girl can't stay round more than two days a week, or your tenancy agreement says similar, then you'll have to abide by it, but the letting agent is just trying to squeeze some extra money from you plain and simple.
I currently rent in a house with five other people, all of us have our own rooms / bathrooms. The tenancy agreement clearly states that the room is being rented to one person only, but says nothing about having someone say with you several days a week. One of the girls who used to live here was really pushing the limits as her boyfriend all but lived here, but even then the landlord didn't seem to mind. (Or more likely she didn't know)
It all comes down to your tenancy agreement - what it says there is the law, and unless your letting agent is writing it then they're just there to get the house rented and take their cut.
I currently rent in a house with five other people, all of us have our own rooms / bathrooms. The tenancy agreement clearly states that the room is being rented to one person only, but says nothing about having someone say with you several days a week. One of the girls who used to live here was really pushing the limits as her boyfriend all but lived here, but even then the landlord didn't seem to mind. (Or more likely she didn't know)
It all comes down to your tenancy agreement - what it says there is the law, and unless your letting agent is writing it then they're just there to get the house rented and take their cut.
TVR1 said:
Of course there is no 'law' that says she has to be on the Tenancy Agreement. The rational behind this story is that they don't want anyone living in the property that is not on the agreement incase you split up and she is left in the property.
I think TVR1 is spot on and this is what the agents are concerned about. The agent is acting on behalf on the landlord and if they were my agent, I would expect them to do the same. However, they should explain the proper reasons, rather than just saying it is 'law'. Ultimately, tenancy law will come into play when a landlord tries to evict a person who is remaining in their property and is not named on the tenancy agreement, but it seems that the agents are being a bit lazy with the 'it's the law' explanation.G.
gsr121 said:
I think TVR1 is spot on and this is what the agents are concerned about. The agent is acting on behalf on the landlord and if they were my agent, I would expect them to do the same. However, they should explain the proper reasons, rather than just saying it is 'law'. Ultimately, tenancy law will come into play when a landlord tries to evict a person who is remaining in their property and is not named on the tenancy agreement, but it seems that the agents are being a bit lazy with the 'it's the law' explanation.
G.
It's the proper reason, but the real reason why the Letting Agent want to know is to charge the fee. G.
as a very horrible letting agent.....as other have said its not a Law. If anyone over 18 lives in the property then we want them on the TA to protect the LL interests.
if you have an occasional guest thats fine by us provided they dont live there.
giving notice and recovering the property is strict and can be complicated if done wrong, having more then one person on the TA also give another avenue to recover rent from if required. Allowing someone to 'live' in a property without a formal TA is also a problem ie a GF
So if OP came to us and said the house is for me and my gf will visit for a few nights a week I too would think that to protect the owners interests we would want her on the TA. It protects the owners interests as we have another person to chase for the rent but the most important is that we can get them out using s21 notices fairly straight forwardly. You wont believe how difficult it is if you get the notices wrong to recover a property - if its slightly wrong you waste 2/3 months.
The issue you will now have is that you have told them she will stay there. If they turn a blind eye and you move in and then dont pay the rent and she is also found to be there is very complicated in the notices and legal action to recover the property and as the agent has been put on notice by you that she will be there then they are likely to be sued because they have been put on notice and did nothing turned a blind eye.
better to not tell an agent in the first place then make them aware. But as you have then I think they will insist she is on the TA and even if you back track they wont believe it (to protect their own backs) and wont let to you.
ps Im a very very nasty letting agent....cant you tell.....;) burn them...
a £180 fee is neither here nor their in my view of this its the legal ramifications and getting sued which would be into the many thousands of pounds that has me more concerned.
if you have an occasional guest thats fine by us provided they dont live there.
giving notice and recovering the property is strict and can be complicated if done wrong, having more then one person on the TA also give another avenue to recover rent from if required. Allowing someone to 'live' in a property without a formal TA is also a problem ie a GF
So if OP came to us and said the house is for me and my gf will visit for a few nights a week I too would think that to protect the owners interests we would want her on the TA. It protects the owners interests as we have another person to chase for the rent but the most important is that we can get them out using s21 notices fairly straight forwardly. You wont believe how difficult it is if you get the notices wrong to recover a property - if its slightly wrong you waste 2/3 months.
The issue you will now have is that you have told them she will stay there. If they turn a blind eye and you move in and then dont pay the rent and she is also found to be there is very complicated in the notices and legal action to recover the property and as the agent has been put on notice by you that she will be there then they are likely to be sued because they have been put on notice and did nothing turned a blind eye.
better to not tell an agent in the first place then make them aware. But as you have then I think they will insist she is on the TA and even if you back track they wont believe it (to protect their own backs) and wont let to you.
ps Im a very very nasty letting agent....cant you tell.....;) burn them...
a £180 fee is neither here nor their in my view of this its the legal ramifications and getting sued which would be into the many thousands of pounds that has me more concerned.
Edited by superlightr on Monday 12th January 15:33
Edited by superlightr on Monday 12th January 15:35
Edited by superlightr on Monday 12th January 15:36
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