Landlord demands cash in hand or cheques - is he fiddling the books?

olly300

OP whether you are student, living in a house share or renting as a family you will find some landlords always questionable. Unfortunately it's a fact of life in England and Wales.

One of your major issues seems to be a lack of communication with your house mates and your landlord.

If you talk to your housemates and it's agreed you all don't like the landlord using the place when he feels like it then tell him he can't. You can then find out how to enforce it.

It's not normal to have lock on doors in house shares even when you are sharing with people you don't know. Its up to you to:
1. Get to know your house mates
2. And have a relationship with them where you can tell them if their friends/acquaintances are causing a problem.

G_M

Landlord has access. Landlord sleeps there sometimes (albeit in sitting room). Landlord pays bills/has name on utlities ("All bills etc are accounted for")

So you are a lodger

Landlord 'lives' with girlfriend (define 'live'). LL does not have a bedroom.

So you are a tenant

Other questions relevant to identifying which is true: Is he on the electoral roll at the property of at his girlfriend's home? Does his post (eg from banks, mortgage company) come to the property? This is relevant to whether this is his main home and you're a lodger. Many people have a main home but stay regularly with their girl/boyfreinds.

But essentially, as long as a landlord gives correct notice, he doesn't need to provide a reason to ask a lodger/tenant to leave.

True, but the distinction between lodger/tenant is critical because it affects the "correct notice". And also the procedure. If tenant refuses to leave a court order must be obtained. If Lodger refuses to leave, LL can just move him out.

Running_Horse

Ultimately OP moved into accomodation not appropriate for their situation, and now wants it to adapt to him instead of adapting to it. As for the lodger tenant thing, he only has to wait for a room to become spare and inhabit it. I had a landlady who owned three big houses in London, and kept a room spare in each. But TBH it sounds like there is no problem with the house; some people just like things informal (including many lodgers who don't want all the hassle of formal arrangements).

artsy-not-fartsy

kunekune wrote: »

I read this differently from other people. It sounded to me as though the LL doesn't actually live at the house, and all the rooms are rented out. However, the LL uses the kitchen and occasionally 'puts himself up' in the lounge. If that's the case, then it is a rather odd arrangement. I'm no expert, but it does sound like it might be an unlicensed HMO. It possibly also raises issues about whether the TDS requirements are satsified. He may be claiming to his mortgage company that he lives there in order to avoid higher mortage rates.

Hi everybody,

Thanks for the massive amount of responses (I didn't expect this much feedback!) I've quoted kunekune because they're pointing out something; the landlord doesn't actually live in the house, however all the rooms are rented out, but he still reserves the right to commandeer the lounge room space for personal use to sleep over if he needs to (that is a rare occurance - but everyday he still comes in to the house to use the kitchen for lunch, use the lounge etc). He is not a live-in landlord, since he lives in a city elsewhere in the country with his partner. It is an odd arrangement since he also specified that there will be no Contract on the verbal rental agreement. Thank you for verbalising my concern kunekune. You've basically explained my underlying feeling that something wasn't quite right. An unlicensed HMO / TDS requirements and improper mortgage payments are exactly what I meant by something being wrong potentially.

I've learnt more from all of your posts than I already knew about these processes, so I thank you all very much for the insight! I'd also like to thank Running Horse for their 'administrative' and 'thought provoking' input lol but I digress...

Jowo wrote: »

If and when you move out to a house-share on a joint-tenancy, it isn't that common for each bedroom to have a lock on the bedroom doors. I don't know whether this is a CT issue, a fire safety concern or the fact that landlords don't want to be woken up by drunk tenants at 2am who've lost their key, though. You will have to get used to an element of trust.

If you install a lock without permission, you risk part of your deposit being witheld to pay for damage to the door and frame and its removal. Lodgers and tenants cannot alter fixtures, fittings, decorate and make changes like that without authority.

However, I would question whether your landlord is a legitimate live-in landlord - you should either be a lodger or a tenant and he seems to blur this.

It is a blurred situation, live out 'landlord' but not keen on locked doors, therefore anyone could gain access anytime for personal means. I will take action on this and ask for a lock because I have valuable contents in my room; we're not a social house (I hate that we aren't!), everyone spends their time outside the house or in their own room, we do not socialise together in the communal lounge space. In all fairness it's like living in four separate flats / bedsits but with a shared kitchen. Trust me on this, I've tried!

Jowo wrote: »

I do agree that there are clear signs that the landlord is trying to fly under the radar - lack of documentation, cash in hand rent. He seems to have a set-up which is merely a charade of a live-in landlord with lodgers whereas the reality is probably that they are tenants who should have exclusive use of the property without him entering the property without their notice and permission, protect their deposit in TDS, have gained permission to let the property with the lender, gas safety certificate, etc.

And I also agree that the OP should just appreciate that he chose an unsuitable property for his needs so should be putting his time and energy into finding onward accommodation now that it is clear he would prefer a property with less residents, greater room security and that has a live-out landlord, nobody sleeping in the lounge and so forth.

The alternative, given his original request "Please can you offer some advice where I don't have to move out but at least have some rights where I am living", is to contact Shelter to find out if his rights and the landlords responsibilities, dependent on whether his status is as a lodger or tenant.

But essentially, as long as a landlord gives correct notice, he doesn't need to provide a reason to ask a lodger/tenant to leave. I assume that the landlord could serve notice to the OP rather than comply with requests for a contract, TDS, gas safety certificate, payment by SO, lock on the bedroom door and so forth.

Again, everything that Jowo has mentioned is relevant and applicable, especially the 'live-in landlord' scenario where the reality is we are all tenants but he has privaledges to access the house, but actually lives elsewhere.

Originally I was enquiring for a confirmation that something might be wrong as opposed to a course of action. Renting property isn't exactly a subject we're all taught in school. It's something everyone should have a grasp of in day to day life, meanwhile some of it is blatantly common sense. My original posts were more about testing the water for outside opinion so I thank you all for your forum feedback.

Thanks muchly again

Todder

Sorry buddy! I don't have any idea about it.

artsy-not-fartsy

theartfullodger wrote: »

He's on the fiddle (£10 to your nominated charity if I'm wrong...)

I'd choose Shelter if you're wrong

theartfullodger wrote: »

Pay him by cheque(preferably in front of someone who would be a witness) [with polite letter, keep copy... ] , ask for a receipt,

- if I'm right & he's fiddling his income tax (most likely..) he's probably up to no good elsewhere,,, does he have Gas safety cert (that you have seen...), does he have an HMO license, does his lender know what he's doing...

Gas Cert, an HMO licence (home of multiple occupancy, right?) I'm going to ask next time I bump into him during lunchtime

theartfullodger wrote: »

I'd ask your Uni letting office (or similar name..) and the local authority private landlord dept (or similar name..) if they "know" him...

I'm not at uni, but I might follow up on the 'private landlord dept' for further info

theartfullodger wrote: »

He may just be wanting to hide the income from someone else - people he owes money too (large, with dogs..), wife/girlfriend/toy-boy... but be complying with all laws & regulations... but then again it might be a lovely warm, snow-free day outside today...]

Never thought of this, he told me he lives with his GF in some city down south, but I've seen post addressed to Mr and Mrs Landlords Name. I do know that he's either split from his wife or maybe divorced. Before I moved in there were personal looking photos on the wall downstairs, they were replaced with generic art not long after I moved in and he moved out. There are still many "family" orientated looking photos with kids and the landlord on the cork pin board in the kitchen. I'd still maintain that the guy classes this as "his house", and not a house that he just "rents out"

Jowo_2

artsy-not-fartsy wrote: »

Gas Cert, an HMO licence (home of multiple occupancy, right?) I'm going to ask next time I bump into him during lunchtime

As per before, very few private rental properties require a HMO licence and you can check the qualifying criteria on your local council website.

Many rental properties are HMOs because they have multiple unrelated households in them (i.e. groups of friends rather than families) but only a tiny number need to have a HMO licence (mandatory for 5+ tenants forming at least 2 separate households (i.e. unrelated tenants) over 3+ habitable storeys. This easily rules out 95% of properties since it tends to cover huge houses over 3 floors.

Clearly, your landlord is an accidental or novice landlord. He's ignorant, either unwittingly or knowingly, about the distinction between tenants and lodgers and therefore seems to follow rules relating to live-in landlords which he is not as its not his primary residence.

however, as per before, this accommodation simply doesn't meet your needs, you have outgrown it and your requirements have changed. I think you just need to get on with your own life, find accommodation that suits you better, instead of worrying about the landlord's life.

It doesn't stop you from following up valid questions about a gas safety cert, challenging the status of your residency with him as a tenant who is entitled to quiet enjoyment of the property on an exclusve basis without his frequent visits or being a good citizen and dobbing him into the tax authorities if that's your preference. But I just think its time for you to focus on leaving the property as you are clearly not satisfied with it.

lindos90

Do you get on with the other lodgers/tennants enough to ask them how they feel about the situation.

Do they have rent books, pay by cheque etc. If one of them does, its leverage for you to ask for the same.

Also if all of you are wanting reciepts, written contract, or confirmation of your status, you could approach him as a group, rather than you trying to deal with the concerns on your own.

I would agree, the situation seems strange, your rights are very different if a tennant or lodger, and the lack of paperwork gives you no proof of this either way, or proof of payments made etc.

adg1

moromir wrote: »

I thought the second you started putting locks on bedroom doors as individual occupants you needed to start considering HMO regulations?

It changes the property from a single dwelling to multiple occupancy. The LL would need to speak to insurers etc before OP put a lock on.