I’d like to raise a couple of issues around the communal areas in an HMO - as tenants we are expected to keep the property we rent clean and damage free otherwise we’ll be liable for cleaning and repair costs at the end of the tenancy - what is the position though for tenants when the landlord fails to keep the communal areas clean and uses them as storage spaces for bags of sand and cement old fridges copper piping etc - at the minute there’s a fridge copper piping (ten feet lengths) chests of drawers and flooring materials in both the ground floor and the first floor communal areas - as tenants we have never been asked if we minded our space being used as a dump temporarily or otherwise - there are fire safety issues of course but there’s also the issue of fair play - has anyone any ideas about how best to approach the landlord re cleaning communal areas and his use of them as convenient storage spaces?
Write them a polite email and ask them to remove their belongings.
Find a different home and report the landlord to the environmental health and licensing teams.
Regarding storage you can ask the landlord if his going to remove it
Cleaning and damaging is subject to contract
Is there an additional fee added on the contract regarding weekly cleaning?!
If not then you and other sharers have to work out a cleaning schedule
Damaging landlord is usually not responsible for misuse u have to replace or repair anything you damage
Landlord is only responsible for wear and tear only
Hope this helps
That, I believe would be illegal under the Tenant Fees Act.
Cleaning of communal areas is Landlords responsibility, but it doesnt mean they have to do it, or pay someone to do it, it just means they have to make sure its done, and this could be to motivate the tenants to do it themselves.
The stored items is wrong, unless its agreed in your contract, so you could raise that between all occupants