Can a landlord stop you having guests over?
Discussion
If someone has an AST and nothing is specifically mentioned in the contract - can a landlord stop someone having guests over?
Question is surprisingly not for me. Partners sister it as Uni and living in a shared house. Her boyfriend stays over 2/3 nights a week. He is in the forces but it based around an hour away. Some of her housemates don't like it and have said they will go to the Landlord.
Why they don't like it isn't that important - but he's a nice bloke. One of them seems to be a control freak and doesn't like having a bigger man in the house, he seems to run the show. And is having a strop about this. I've advised that he should chip in a bit for bills and tell them to do one.
So can a landlord dictate if you have visitors over for a weekend if there is nothing in the contract?
Question is surprisingly not for me. Partners sister it as Uni and living in a shared house. Her boyfriend stays over 2/3 nights a week. He is in the forces but it based around an hour away. Some of her housemates don't like it and have said they will go to the Landlord.
Why they don't like it isn't that important - but he's a nice bloke. One of them seems to be a control freak and doesn't like having a bigger man in the house, he seems to run the show. And is having a strop about this. I've advised that he should chip in a bit for bills and tell them to do one.
So can a landlord dictate if you have visitors over for a weekend if there is nothing in the contract?
Jasandjules said:
Staying over - does he have his stuff there? i.e. does it seem like he has moved in? Is she paying for a single room?
No he doesn't have anything left there. Leaves camp with a daysack and goes to see her. Doesn't even eat there - takes her out. Then goes for walks on the beach etc... They only know he is there by his car by their admission. But yes she is paying for a single room in a shared house.
My amateur view is that if he is just in her room which she is paying for then it's none of anyone else business.
Purity14 said:
If he buys a dominos for everyone once a fortnight, I'm sure they will over look the whole thing.
If he gives money etc, its not usually that big of a deal, he should make more effort to be friendly.
As most people can guess there is more to the story. The girl is living with three lads who are on the same course and good friends with her ex. Which is all a bit messed up. And I can't see them wanting to sit down for a dominoes with him. If he gives money etc, its not usually that big of a deal, he should make more effort to be friendly.
But the lad has tried. Ironically he gets 50% discount at dominoes because of his job. They told him they weren't interested.
There is a house of 5 - and I think they are all just immature kids. Including my partners sister. She will call up her mum crying when something is said rather than telling the person to f-off.
What I really want to know from the point of a landlord is what could be done? If the other housemates call/email? Given she is only living there for another month I can't see there being a thing they could do.
Jasandjules said:
You would really need to look at the AST to see if there is any specific wording in there.
Given it is a single room that is..
I've read it. Whilst I am not up with the law, it does not mention anything about having people over. It just says that you can't sublet etc... Given it is a single room that is..
Also whilst it's not in the contract - I've also worked out that the house is not 'over crowded' when he is staying in a legal sense.
Edited by photosnob on Tuesday 5th May 18:11
This is one of those things that comes up often in shared accommodation. No one wants to live with a couple, they are binary. You either put up with them being loved up and monopolising the sofa, making coupley dinner or being noisy in the bedroom or you deal with them arguing. I really don't know which is worse but it's a nightmare in either case. At the very least you lose a flatmate in the process.
Then there are the times when you need a shower and the extra person is using it which is only going to further antagonise the situation.
There is a reason that most adverts stipulate no couples or at the least put a decent bounty on the second persons head. I don't know the legal situation (when does a visitor become a resident?) but at the very least there is a potential for friction.
From experience on both sides of the fence as someone crashing at the persons house you want to be as nice as possible and contribute wherever possible to build up your standing in the house. Hosting at your place is pretty necessary too.
If they're serious maybe it's time to look for a place of their own. Even if the law is on their side (I'd be surprised if it was) it's going to make for an awkward atmosphere.
Then there are the times when you need a shower and the extra person is using it which is only going to further antagonise the situation.
There is a reason that most adverts stipulate no couples or at the least put a decent bounty on the second persons head. I don't know the legal situation (when does a visitor become a resident?) but at the very least there is a potential for friction.
From experience on both sides of the fence as someone crashing at the persons house you want to be as nice as possible and contribute wherever possible to build up your standing in the house. Hosting at your place is pretty necessary too.
If they're serious maybe it's time to look for a place of their own. Even if the law is on their side (I'd be surprised if it was) it's going to make for an awkward atmosphere.
Tribal Chestnut said:
If she's only there for one more month why worry?
Surely the solution is to tell the stroppy one that boyfriend won't stay anymore, then carry on as normal, disregarding any further protests.
I know that. You know that. But she is a 20 year old girl. Me and you would shrug our shoulders, say some choice words and then get on with our revision for exams. She responds in floods of tears and gets worried and upset. It's all a bit pathetic and childish. Surely the solution is to tell the stroppy one that boyfriend won't stay anymore, then carry on as normal, disregarding any further protests.
I don't even know why I am getting involved. I just wondered about the legalities of it.
My advice was and is: tell him to chip in for some of the bills (the gas and electric came to about £120 each so I said he should throw in £40 for the 3 months). And then tell them to do one. I wouldn't even be inclined to offer towards the bills - but £40 seems like a cheap price to shut them up. One of the housemates even wanted to divide the rent by 6 rather than 5 as he was staying over!
rpguk said:
This is one of those things that comes up often in shared accommodation. No one wants to live with a couple, they are binary. You either put up with them being loved up and monopolising the sofa, making coupley dinner or being noisy in the bedroom or you deal with them arguing. I really don't know which is worse but it's a nightmare in either case. At the very least you lose a flatmate in the process.
Then there are the times when you need a shower and the extra person is using it which is only going to further antagonise the situation.
There is a reason that most adverts stipulate no couples or at the least put a decent bounty on the second persons head. I don't know the legal situation (when does a visitor become a resident?) but at the very least there is a potential for friction.
From experience on both sides of the fence as someone crashing at the persons house you want to be as nice as possible and contribute wherever possible to build up your standing in the house. Hosting at your place is pretty necessary too.
If they're serious maybe it's time to look for a place of their own. Even if the law is on their side (I'd be surprised if it was) it's going to make for an awkward atmosphere.
They don't use the sofa. They stay in their room or go out. I know this because I get on with the lad well. He is a lovely bloke. Then there are the times when you need a shower and the extra person is using it which is only going to further antagonise the situation.
There is a reason that most adverts stipulate no couples or at the least put a decent bounty on the second persons head. I don't know the legal situation (when does a visitor become a resident?) but at the very least there is a potential for friction.
From experience on both sides of the fence as someone crashing at the persons house you want to be as nice as possible and contribute wherever possible to build up your standing in the house. Hosting at your place is pretty necessary too.
If they're serious maybe it's time to look for a place of their own. Even if the law is on their side (I'd be surprised if it was) it's going to make for an awkward atmosphere.
There are 3 showers in the house and being students they all sleep at weird times so this isn't a problem.
Hosting at his place isn't practical. He is in the forces and lives in a shared block. Getting her onto the camp would be a pain. And she doesn't have a car so it's more of a pain. For a young girl going and staying in a shared block full of Marines would not be fun.
She is living there for a month and then moving to london. It's not practical to get a place now.
photosnob said:
If someone has an AST and nothing is specifically mentioned in the contract - can a landlord stop someone having guests over?
Question is surprisingly not for me. Partners sister it as Uni and living in a shared house. Her boyfriend stays over 2/3 nights a week. He is in the forces but it based around an hour away. Some of her housemates don't like it and have said they will go to the Landlord.
Why they don't like it isn't that important - but he's a nice bloke. One of them seems to be a control freak and doesn't like having a bigger man in the house, he seems to run the show. And is having a strop about this. I've advised that he should chip in a bit for bills and tell them to do one.
So can a landlord dictate if you have visitors over for a weekend if there is nothing in the contract?
As a former landlord of a student let, house in multiple occupation (hereafter HMO), this was a common complaint by a tenant/student against their fellow tenant. Apart from the fact that legislation places strict control over the number of occupants in a licensed HMO, an unofficial guest can create upset between tenants, leading to tenants ending their tenancy.Question is surprisingly not for me. Partners sister it as Uni and living in a shared house. Her boyfriend stays over 2/3 nights a week. He is in the forces but it based around an hour away. Some of her housemates don't like it and have said they will go to the Landlord.
Why they don't like it isn't that important - but he's a nice bloke. One of them seems to be a control freak and doesn't like having a bigger man in the house, he seems to run the show. And is having a strop about this. I've advised that he should chip in a bit for bills and tell them to do one.
So can a landlord dictate if you have visitors over for a weekend if there is nothing in the contract?
When I was faced with a similar situation, the offending intruder was removed immediately from the property, with regular unannounced visits carried out to ensure the intrusion was not repeated.
Wings said:
s a former landlord of a student let, house in multiple occupation (hereafter HMO), this was a common complaint by a tenant/student against their fellow tenant. Apart from the fact that legislation places strict control over the number of occupants in a licensed HMO, an unofficial guest can create upset between tenants, leading to tenants ending their tenancy.
When I was faced with a similar situation, the offending intruder was removed immediately from the property, with regular unannounced visits carried out to ensure the intrusion was not repeated.
Thanks. I was hoping to get some insight from a landlord.When I was faced with a similar situation, the offending intruder was removed immediately from the property, with regular unannounced visits carried out to ensure the intrusion was not repeated.
Can i just ask one thing though ( and I don't mean this in an inflammatory way because I appreciate you taking the time to respond), what right do you have to either throw people out, or turn up unannounced?
I rent a property privately with me and my partner. If my landlord decided to just show up and started acting up like that we would probably end up in a fight. If I shared a property and a landlord decided to dictate who I could have around as a guest I would act in exactly the same way. I might be in the wrong legally - but I am not sure. I thought you had to give 24 hours notice minimum to show up? And I thought that landlords could not interfere with what you do in your rented property without a court order?
Again I'm not antagonising. I want to know the facts so I can pass them on. But I will ask the question, was it different because they were students compared to normal adult tenants? We are talking about a 24 year old Royal Marine here... Not a 18 year old kid who is wet behind the ears.
WaferThinHam said:
If he's that much of a "24 year old marine" why hasn't he sorted this problem for himself?
One month left until she goes, just suck it up IMO.
Well it's not really his problem to sort is it... Can you imagine the carnage if he started dictating that they should wind their necks in? One month left until she goes, just suck it up IMO.
There are strict legislation covering HMOs/Student lets, firstly the person managing that property needs to be vetted, then licensed. The property is regularly checked by the local council's environmental health officer, those checks involving health, safety, fire.
The property has to comply with legislation, ie. number of bathrooms per number of occupants, number of kitchen sinks per number of occupants, and regulation covering the number of adult person per size of sleeping room/bedroom.
Any breach of the legislation falls upon the licensed person and owner of the HMO, AND not the tenant, with strict penalties. It is for this reason that a landlord has to has strict control on who is, and the numbers are resident at the property.
The above covers a shared tenanted property, usually known as a property in multiple occupation, if the property was a flat, house let to a tenant, then within reason a landlord would not wish to control who was a guest at the property.
As to a landlord giving 24 hours notice, if the tenant/s who made the original complaint agreed to waive that notice period, then no notice by the landlord is required.
The property has to comply with legislation, ie. number of bathrooms per number of occupants, number of kitchen sinks per number of occupants, and regulation covering the number of adult person per size of sleeping room/bedroom.
Any breach of the legislation falls upon the licensed person and owner of the HMO, AND not the tenant, with strict penalties. It is for this reason that a landlord has to has strict control on who is, and the numbers are resident at the property.
The above covers a shared tenanted property, usually known as a property in multiple occupation, if the property was a flat, house let to a tenant, then within reason a landlord would not wish to control who was a guest at the property.
As to a landlord giving 24 hours notice, if the tenant/s who made the original complaint agreed to waive that notice period, then no notice by the landlord is required.
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