Multi Occupancy Rental Question

kitkat11

Hi,
Sorry if this was posted before, I currently don't have the internet at home at the moment and can only access the net in an internet cafe.
Has anybody got any advice for me? The situation is as follows:
We moved into a new flat two weeks ago. We are two professionals, working fulltime in stressful jobs, which is the reason we moved - wanted somewhere quiet.
The flat we moved just moved in has one other 2 bedroom flat upstairs. There is lots of building work going on upstairs at the moment, we thought they are just refurbishing for new tenants. Have now found out that they have turned the 2bedroom flat into a multi occupancy flat, and they are moving in seven students!
We want to get out of the contract, it is a contract we have just signed, for six months, but can we get out of it? How? I am planning to go to the CAB, but maybe someone has made a similar experience. Thanks

mchale

Dont think you will be able to break you contract just because a flat has more occupants than yours, I would check whoever is doing the conversion is observing the HMO guidelines regarding room sizes & toilet facilites, as the are rules governing over occupancy in a HMO regarding sq footage per person, it may pay to get in touch with your local building inspector & or env health dept, as a two bed converted to a HMO for 7 sounds dodgy.

tbs624

Kitkat - unless you could definitively show that your tenancy was dependent on peace and quiet, that your LL had guaranteed that p&q and that he knew that this p&q was unlikely to be the case, ie that that had been some form of material misrepresentation, the only way you can get out of the contract is if the LL agrees to you terminating it . Usually a LL will only do this if replacement tenants can be found and they can also look to you to cover the costs involved - advertising etc.

If there are professional builders in they are only supposed to work certain hours - most council websites say 8am to 6pm m-f, 8am to 1pm Sat & nothing on Sun or Bank Hols. If there is constant work going on all evening and at weekends too you should maybe try talking to them first and/or contact the local Council's environmental health officer: they can issue a noise abatement notice or a fixed-penalty notice for night time noise.

The sort of conversion you describe *should* have been notified to the Council - there are specific building regs that have to be met, and a property intended for 7 individuals would need to be licensed as an HMO. Councils hold a public register of HMOs which you can check.

TJ27

tbs624 wrote: »

a property intended for 7 individuals would need to be licensed as an HMO. Councils hold a public register of HMOs which you can check.

It's unlikely to be licensable, unless the council have implemented some sort of additional or selective scheme.

There's not usually a register of HMOs but there should indeed be a register of licences, or licensed HMOs. Sometimes councils put this on their website, sometimes you have to call into their offices.

I agree that it's worth complaining to the noise pollution guys if it goes on for long periods of time out of normally acceptable hours. Quick calls to building control and the private renting team wouldn't hurt either.

kitkat11

Thanks everyone. I am going to speak to the council about the HMO.
I am going to get legal advice about this as well, I am so desperate to get out.
By the way, I found out that this landlord has lots of property, and that they have been taken to court about stuff in the past. Apparently the landlord uses different names ... sounds very dodgy.