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Tenant has many people living with her - any advice

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shes in breach of contract so its terminated so issue summons so they all have to leave

 

then you can re let to her only.

 

or as bad as it seems increase rent and they all bugger off = worked for me.

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There are a few problems I can see arising here. Guests are people who stay for one night or two. If tenant has allowed them to stay they might claim to have paid board. also I live in a terracced two bedroom coucil house and six people are allowed to live here. If we were on benefits as there are only two of us we might have been liable for bedroom tax. If tenant is sole occupier on benefits they may be same

 

There are two separate issues here.

 

First, the status of the additional occupants. If what OP's tenants claims is true (that she has allowed them to live there rent-free, but now wants them to leave), then they are - as I have already explained - merely houseguests who have outstayed their welcome. They are not tenants, or sub-tenants, or lodgers.

 

If the OP's T is claiming benefits and if she is claiming more money than she would be due to if the additional occupants were not there, then that is potentially (but not necessarily) a fraud issue for the benefits dept., but it does not affect the LL's position re his T.

 

Nor would it affect the T's right to change the locks and exclude them, as long as she returns their belongings to them.

 

---------- Post added 26-12-2014 at 00:59 ----------

 

shes in breach of contract so its terminated so issue summons so they all have to leave

 

then you can re let to her only.

 

or as bad as it seems increase rent and they all bugger off = worked for me.

 

Unhelpful advice (as well as barely intelligble).

 

The fact that she (OP's T) is in breach of contract on ground 12 does not mean 'it is terminated'. That is nonsense.

 

Increasing the rent summarily is not an option either, assuming it is an AST. This can only be done with relevant notice and no more often than annually. Besides which it is a sledgehammer to crack a nut (and may not work in any case. The T may simply fall into arrears).

 

---------- Post added 26-12-2014 at 01:01 ----------

 

He doesn't seem to want to evict her though in reality.

 

Quite so, and why should he? The T herself is not the problem, really (other than in that she was kind/misguided enough to allowed the hangers-on in, in the first place).

 

---------- Post added 26-12-2014 at 01:11 ----------

 

It's not as simple as that because there's not a cat in hell's chance of them all going out at the same time.

 

That depends on the extent to which they suspect that OP/his T may change the locks if they all go out.

Edited by aliceBB

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That depends on the extent to which they suspect that OP may change the locks if they all go out.

 

Why would anyone have keys cut for guests? I think the landlord should be in his rights to have locks changed as he/she has not provided keys for anyone other than tenant

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Why would anyone have keys cut for guests? I think the landlord should be in his rights to have locks changed as he/she has not provided keys for anyone other than tenant

 

Absolutely, the LL is within his rights to change the locks as long as the contract allows him to and he supplies the legitimate T with keys.

 

The practical problem of course is that unless all the additional occupants are out of the house at the same time, changing the locks does not ensure they will leave (since there will always be someone in the house to let the others back in).

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You can remove trespassers with force legally. The problem is that the landlord doesn't get to determine trespasser I'd guess, the tenant does.

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Thanks for all the discussing of this. Basically I think the tenant has allowed these people into the house quite possibly out of fear or intimidation and now cannot get them to move. I've heard of people forcing their way into properties and refusing to leave - it may well be that extreem. She has been very distressed when I've been speaking to her. To make matters worse she is in arrears with rent. She has passed the end of her AST and is now on a rolling contract with 1 month notice so yes I could kick her out very easily but the problem is I can't quite bring myself to do it - she seems genuine and I believe she will catch up with the rent. My question was what rights do I have to kick the rogues out and it seems I have few options as it is she who needs to take the action. She would not be able to do this as has poor english and is clearly afraid.

 

I have spoken to them however and I have asked them to move out within a week. Whether they will actually do this I will have to see. If this fails I think I will have to help T out with taking legal action against them.

Edited by TimmyR

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She really doesn't need to take legal action.

 

If she has trespassers who refuse to leave, the police should (and I hope would) help her to eject them.

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She really doesn't need to take legal action.

 

If she has trespassers who refuse to leave, the police should (and I hope would) help her to eject them.

 

Ok you may be right there. I'll get her to ring the police.

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Ok you may be right there. I'll get her to ring the police.

 

The police can help in this case, the issue is will the legal tenant actually tell the police that yes she would like the guests to be removed?

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The police can help in this case, the issue is will the legal tenant actually tell the police that yes she would like the guests to be removed?

 

That's a good point; it is difficult to ask the police to turf out people you know personally, with force if need be, especially if children are involved.

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shes in breach of contract so its terminated.

No. Even if T has broken an obligation, that of itself does NOT end the letting: see aliceBB's excellent post #26.

But L could use it as a ground for serving Notice under s.8 of the 1988 Act.

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No. Even if T has broken an obligation, that of itself does NOT end the letting: see aliceBB's excellent post #26.

But L could use it as a ground for serving Notice under s.8 of the 1988 Act.

 

I'm not certain, but do you think doing this would cut much ice with a court? Ground 12 is a non-mandatory ground (for a possession order) and in any case, it is probably not a breach of the tenancy contract to have a load of non-paying house-guests to stay.

 

If the property was dangerously overcrowded as a result of the extra bodies, then the council housing dept may be interested. But OP's T is not subletting, remember, merely being overly hospitable, and her favour, she has asked them to leave. It is not really her fault that they have not done so.

 

The simplest solution would seem to be to ask the police to 'help' remove them as they are trespassing.

Edited by aliceBB

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