I have a situation where a tenant often has a guest, cone over and stay with him often, for many days. reply I get is-cousin living in Austria. started to be suspicious how he can travel so often? I read somewhere that as a landlord we can specify in the contract that he cannot have guests staying more than 14 days? in a six week period? is this something one of the landlords specify or not?
You can specify any number of things in a contract. That doesnt mean theyre enforceable. Why do you want to stop your tenant having guests in their own home? As long as its only for short periods, (eg less than 6 months), it will be no problem for you.
I suggest you back off a bit and let the tenant have a life.
1 Like
thanks David, I strongly suspect he is subletting to someone who works in the area but has his own place may be elsewhere.
My tenancy agreement does not prevent tenant’s from having guests but does require them to inform me of any guests that are staying for two nights or more and get my consent. Seems to work.
Thanks Nilesh, 2 days over? may be a bit strict. I stipulate 14 days or over, still it doesnt seem to work!
I suppose it depends on the situation and location. That agreement is on a flat in central London very close to tourist spots. I don’t want a stream of ‘family’ or ‘friends’ using the flat like a hotel and annoying the neighbours. It happens. I could easily stick the place on Airbnb if that’s what I wanted.
I see, same here, may be I should think of a shorter period, but it is still not legally enforceable though.
Is it not? The tenancy agreement quite clearly states who is permitted to reside at the property. The property is not suitable for more than two adults so that is the limit I impose. What is a ‘visitor’? For me, staying overnight for more than one night is more than a visit. You become a resident ‘guest’. Are there legal definitions for these terms? What is enforceable in law?
Even if they were sub-letting, your only real option would be s21. When/if the renters reform bill becomes law, I dont see any way of removing a tenant that is sub-letting. I think that very few judges would give you possession for a s8 ground 12 breach of tenancy claim.
You can write into your contract whatever you like, but if it’s in contradiction with tenancy law, then what your contract says is invalid and thus not enforceable. If you put something like this about guests into your contract, it would probably be a good idea whether it’s enforceable.
I understand your concerns, but requesting consent when your tenants have a guest for two nights could indeed be in contradiction with tenancy law, I don’t know. Seems a bit intrusive. I think it’d be better to directly say that they’re not allowed to sublet it or let someone stay there in exchange for money.
1 Like
This topic was automatically closed 90 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.