I currently have a tenant who originally rented the property as a single occupant. Recently, he requested my permission to allow a Ukrainian mother and daughter, refugees, to stay with him. After reviewing various threads and issues raised by other landlords regarding similar situations, I declined his request last week.
Now, he has approached me again, this time asking for permission to allow his pregnant girlfriend and her mother to move in. However, the same nationality and IDs as before were presented, which raises concerns about his honesty. I suspect that they may already be living in the property without my permission, and he is now seeking approval retroactively.
I find the situation quite suspicious and would appreciate your advice on how to proceed.
The property is rented out through an estate agent, who recently conducted an inspection and confirmed that all bedrooms, including the lounge, have beds, very strange . It’s a 5-bedroom property. I also sent a contractor to carry out some repairs, and he mentioned that a woman and a girl were present in the property at the time of his visit.
Now, the tenant is asking for permission to move his family in. I’m wondering on what legal grounds I could refuse this request.
Because it’s your choice. You do not have to allow any other tenants or residents. You do not need to give a reason.
You may choose to get agent to send a letter advising that allowing any other residents is a breach of tenancy and subject to eviction. He may just say they stay occasionally.
To this seems clear cut, either allow them as permitted occupiers or time for giving him notice.
If a single person rents a 5 bedroom property you have to assume that he is planning to fill the other bedrooms somehow. Its not unreasonable and you dont really have a basis to refuse. What would you have said if theyd applied together?
I would give It serious consideration on the basis that:
the girlfriend and mother both pass a Right to Rent check
they are given permitted occupier status and you dont have to re-contract with them all being tenants
they each sign documents confirming their relationship to each other so that you have evidence its not an HMO.
You wouldnt be able to accept any rent from them, but they would not acquire tenancy rights. You would need to be clear with him that if the relationship breaks down, he must ask them to leave as they are effectively only his guests.
I’m sort of in the opposite situation. Having had my Ukranian mother in law AND brother-in-law stay with us for nearly 2 years and despite its a 5 bed house I’m fed up of it.
So initially looked into getting a rental and despite us having more cash in the bank than the value of any flat we looked at, no mortgage and net income more than 6x the rent, we couldn’t act as guarantor - I mean we could but it wouldn’t be good enough in today’s market as they are on UC. (We’d planned that the rent would come from our income but would also apply for HB on their behalf but that’s no good for some reason - you can see how naive I am)
So here I am now having to buy a place for them. My plan would be once they’ve moved in to try and get housing benefit to pay a good portion of the rent and a year or two down the line either sell or possibly re-rent. Which brings me on to why do other landlords hate DSS ? Would they hate it if it was a relative? I could see worries about the typical type of person on UC but if Ukranian females escaping war, most would definitely NOT want to sit around on the dole given they have permission to work.
Thanks for your reply. I would have accepted if he had mentioned that his girlfriend and his mother would be staying together as a single family. Just a week ago, he asked for permission for them to stay as Ukrainian refugees, which I denied due to HMO bureaucracies and other potential issues. Now, he is presenting the same names and IDs as family members. I am wary of his dishonesty and what else he might do going forward. He is currently in a 12-month fixed-term contract and is in his 5th month. Your points are valid, and I will ask the estate agent to check for the right to rent and have them sign a document confirming their relationship. Thanks.
@michael11 having been someone on UC and HB looking for a property I can see why you say about landlords “hating DSS” however having read a few posts on here (from experienced ll) I see things a bit differently I would imagine the vast majority (granted not all) of landlords have no issue with “the typical type of person on UC” (which I think from YOUR perspective is a very narrow minded stereotypical statement)
When someone is on UC the Housing benefit (depending on the Local Authority) is paid either to the claimant or to the Landlord if its paid to the claimant SOME of the people on UC MAY be struggling financially and be in financial difficulties so there will often be a tendancy on receiving the benefit in NOT using a large portion of it for the rent and buying other things (im not one to judge on someone elses choices) therefore falling into arrears with the rent and causing a landlord (who on the whole are himan beings with feelings) to have to take steps to evict a tenant thats already struggling
If the Housing Benefit is paid to the LL from my previous experience of claiming benefits they dont rush and there can be a gap of upto possibly 7 weeks in some cases before the ll receives anything and although (i may be wrong with this statement and am happy to be corrected) they may get all the 7 weeks paid to them there is that uncertainty in those weeks that money will come (they only have the tenants assurance they have applied for HB) also the tenant can contact the DWP at any time and ask them to either stop payong the HB or to pay it direct to tenant without the ll knowing
so for a ll its easier and more peace of mind to go with a tenant that is employed and has a steady regular income
Also you say that you plan was that they would get HB to pay a good.portion of the rent this would depend on how much your LA pays if you search on line for Housing benefit amounts in my area this will tell you how much they pay towards the rent
You say youd planned that the rent would come from.your income but they would claim HB why would they need help paying the rent (thats what HB is for ) if your paying it is that not technically fraudulent???
Also i take great offence at your statement and assumptions that people
On UC sit around on the dole many are nit in work for various health reasons some (like myself) would love to work however having a disabled parent and absolutely no other family I had to give up a 60+hour a week job and move back in to my dads as his fulltime carer and trust me i work twice as hard now as i ever did at work for.not even ÂĽ of the.money so dont you ever assume or state or infere that someone on UC is just sitting around without first knowing their circumstances
if there was a cast iron guarantee from HB people that the landlord would get the rent directly as long as that tenant was there then this will help to a huge extent. But there is not. So till then… which will be never
Be aware that the agent may push for a new contract making them all tenants as they make more money this way. I dont believe that this is in your interest.
A signed note from each occupant in their own words would suffice as evidence of the relationship.
You cant really ask the permitted occupiers to state formally that they will move out as you have no legal relationship with them and its unenforceable. I’d get the tenant to sign up to that. It doesnt really add much to your legal rights, but it helps clarify things.
I would be asking the agent to provide proof that they have done this by passing you copies of their IDs and the dates that the originals were seen by the agent. Get a paper trail for every action that agents carry out in your name because it’s you that will be standing in court, not the agent (well, at least not initially )
not easy to fix. If a tenant says they want the housing allowance paid to them ,the local authority will do just that and ignore the landlord. When the Goverment decided 20 years ago to pay recipients directly the housing benefit, guess what I decided to do…
mmh, a bed in the lounge?? why dont you get a handle on this yourself, go round do an inspection, talk to the people face to face.
In my experience renting a bigger house if its not a tight family unit it often means they they sub let to improve costs and dont look after the place. it becomes more of an HMO in reality. I tend to agree with Mark 10.
Also dealing with UC is more time consuming, generally more problematic. Colin has been around the block on this and knows what he is talking about.
You can ask your agent to carry out a credit check on the proposed occupants. Most likely they will not pass in which case you have a good reason to refuse.
Do you have HMO license for the property? If not then that is a reason to say they are not all related and therefore cannot stay long term. If you do have HMO license then you can charge each adult additional rent.
What about your landlord insurance. If you allow more occupancy then your insurance could be invalid.
Be aware that the AST on Government website does stipulate the main tenant can sublet your property based on your permission and you can refuse subletting if the proposed additional tenants don’t pass the credit check.
Thanks, Alex.
The tenant is requesting permission for his girlfriend and her relative to stay with him. He remains responsible for paying the full rent. In this situation, on what grounds should I ask the agent to proceed with the credit check? They likely won’t pass the credit check, which would be in my favor. However, the tenant might challenge my request since he is now responsible for 100% of the rent.
Thanks.
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