Is my landord legal?

clutton_2

""""Gecko mentions that the property is subject to a "normal mortgage" so unless the LL has the necessary "consent to let" his insurance cover is likely to be invalidated anyway.""

i think this is one of those "urban myths" that go around

whenever i fill in an application form for insurance for my portfolio, and i change insurers to get best value, i have never been asked "do you have consent to let from your Lender"

i cannot see that "consent" is important to insurers if they do not ask about it ......

thus how could a claim be invalidated if this information is not asked for in the fist place ?

socrates

clutton wrote: »

""""Gecko mentions that the property is subject to a "normal mortgage" so unless the LL has the necessary "consent to let" his insurance cover is likely to be invalidated anyway.""

i think this is one of those "urban myths" that go around

whenever i fill in an application form for insurance for my portfolio, and i change insurers to get best value, i have never been asked "do you have consent to let from your Lender"

i cannot see that "consent" is important to insurers if they do not ask about it ......

thus how could a claim be invalidated if this information is not asked for in the fist place ?

If there is a way an insurance company can get out of paying a claim - they will find it!

clutton_2

dont be silly - if a fact is materially important insurers will ask you about it on the proposal form - of course they know that some LLs dont have consent - and of course they know that some LLs let on a residential (rather than a BLT) mortage - but they dont ask about that either - what does that tell us ??

gecko

Thanks for all the information guys. I have seen a corgi gas safety certificate and also spoken to his parents about tax, insurance etc. and they said they will ask the LL. I am looking at buying in the next few months so will sit it out...

Paley71

"if you are all 4 unrelated tenants then he is operating a HMO and you would be well advised to talk to your local council private sector lettings officer"

Not always so...the house next to the property we've just left had nine unrelated men living in a three bed house and the housing officer told me it did not qualify as HMO!

clutton_2

""the house next to the property we've just left had nine unrelated men living in a three bed house and the housing officer told me it did not qualify as HMO!""

utter rubbish

there are two types of HMO - depending on the number of storeys in the property.

There are also fire regs, tenant density, H&S regs, HHSRS to be complied with -

Some HMOs are licensable - some are not

local authorities have interpreted the 2004 Act in so many different ways its untrue - all i said was to check with their local council - as councils vary enormously

these 9 guys - was this a house in Coventry by any chance ?

Paley71

South Derbyshire...the tenants are immigrant workers.
I think the council just bend the rules to suit themselves as he more or less said that he was prepared to overlook the situation as they would have house them.

clutton_2

""think the council just bend the rules to suit themselves as he more or less said that he was prepared to overlook the situation as they would have house them.""

this makes my blood boil - absolutely boil - the whole point of the 2004 Act was to stop bad landlords - and in some parts of the legislation councils and housing associations are subjected to far LESS rules and regs than private landlords - eg LHA does not go to council tenants - but direct to the council

this refusal to uphold the law because it would cost them money is simply wicked

whatever nationality our workers are, they need protection from exploitation - and shoving that many folks into a small house is a very high risk strategy

you can bet your boots if the residents were white anglo saxon protestants, the council would not dare risk breaking the law in this manner

i reported 3 2 bed terraced houses in coventry which contained 24 young africans on three storeys with plywood "walls" and no head-room in the attic "rooms" - no smoke alarms, no fire exits - nothing ...........

Paley71

I agree, I can't believe the council just allow the landlord to exploit them and give not a toss about them or the property...just making money to buy the BMW's he ferries them all to work in (probably paying them £1 an hour)

TJ27

A shared house with nine unrelated men in it is almost always going to be a HMO.

I can think of some circumstances where it might not be. Has the house been converted into flats? Is the house their main residence or are they migrant workers who regularly come and go? The second one can sometimes be hard to prove.