At what point does a guest turn into a tenant?

neas

I used to live in a 4 perso house share... while we got away with something similar to above.... i personally disliked it cause gf moved in and didnt pay a cent towards anything... no more gas/elec rental costs etc.. she just milched all the share. and offered nothing.

Basically she was meant to move in for a 'couple of weeks'... which turned into 6 months.... Our landlord didnt bother us so long as we paid so never found out.

Either way it was difficult as a housemate to raise this problem with other housemates. It was annoying to share bathroom, to have her sit around all day not leaving her messy plates/trays and not help out with upkeep of house nor of paying any bills.

In hindsight it was pretty cheekly what they did but mweh.

ninky_2

i'd say she is a guest. people are entitled to have their partners stay over sometimes. if she is there 50 percent of the time presumably the b/f also stays with her sometimes? so this would even out the numbers.

when i shared rented accommodation it was an unwritten rule that people's partners could stay over when they wanted to. it could be annoying sometimes (if you didn't really like the partner), but so long as it didn't become unreasonable we put up with this for the very reason we wanted to enjoy the same priviledge. lls who rent to students but don't allow partners to stay over are going to find it very hard to find tenants imho.

unless she is having post delivered there or solely living there for weeks at a time or when here b/f hasn't asked her over then she is not living there. her staying is totally dependent on her relationship with b/f and being an invited guest.

Jowo_2

Yes, a tenant can have guests over - that's a right enshrined in housing law. Great that the OP doesn't mind being a spare wheel and total gooseberry. Great that the OP's flat-mate girlfriend doesn't mind visiting when the OP is fixated with her sexual relationship.

But as stated time and time again, the landlord doesn't have to justify ending or not renewing the tenancy so it is irrelevant what justification the OP provides on this topic, if he's hacked off the landlord, the tenancy will not continue. If the OP is offering a similar low level of maturity and social skills that they demonstrate here on this forum to their landlord, then it's no great surprise if their relationship is poor.

neas

if she is there more than half the time, has clothes, dvds, her things there.. even in his room then she is a tenant in my eyes.

M.Holloway

Good grief!

You people sure do get the wrong end of the sausage often!

Gooseberry: Doubtful, I am currently seeing a few girls and we all get along stupendously..like a big sexy family.

Sexual Relationship: lol, hardly. But in any case sex is a beautiful thing and not something to be ashamed of. So I highly doubt either of them care that I notice that they have sex!

It seems you are perhaps slightly Victorian when it comes to sex and sexuality, not your fault and I shan't judge you for it. We are all very liberal and a bit of sexy bater is the norm.

Annyyywwaaayy, back on topic.

I think we've debated these points of opinion to death. If I, or indeed anyone else, finds a link to some good data covering this area of law it should be posted up.

Otherwise I can only see this thread spiralling into the realms of, er, uselessness!

Jowo wrote: »

Yes, a tenant can have guests over - that's a right enshrined in housing law. Great that the OP doesn't mind being a spare wheel and total gooseberry. Great that the OP's flat-mate girlfriend doesn't mind visiting when the OP is fixated with her sexual relationship.

But as stated time and time again, the landlord doesn't have to justify ending or not renewing the tenancy so it is irrelevant what justification the OP provides on this topic, if he's hacked off the landlord, the tenancy will not continue. If the OP is offering a similar low level of maturity and social skills that they demonstrate here on this forum to their landlord, then it's no great surprise if their relationship is poor.

ninky_2

Jowo wrote: »

the landlord doesn't have to justify ending or not renewing the tenancy so it is irrelevant what justification the OP provides on this topic, if he's hacked off the landlord, the tenancy will not continue. .

this is true. but the ll should go through the proper channels to end the tenancy and not start spying on the house and interfering with 'quiet enjoyment'. tbh i think if the ll is becoming annoying it is probably better to think about moving. in my experience annoying lls never change and they ultimately have the right to evict you from the property. a bit of give and take and mutual respect is what is needed and if the OP feels this ll doesn't offer this i'd move on.

as for thinking they consider they can get more rent for the property. this may well be - in which case no matter how well you all behave he's going to try to move you on (unless you agree to pay more).

prudryden

princeofpounds wrote: »

According to this site it can even count as harrassing behaviour to prevent your tenant having guests.

http://tenantevictiononline.co.uk/tenanteviction/2010/05/20/illegal-eviction/

According to this UEA guide a tenancy clause prohibiting overnight guests is an unfair and unenforceable clause

http://www.ueastudent.com/image_uploads/advicecentreleaflets/housing_rights_responsibilitie.pdf

The OFT also state that having a guest is a normal use of a property and a clause against it is unenforcable.

http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/reports/unfair_contract_terms/oft356.pdf

Where does the OFT say that? I could only fine that an overnight guest is normal and then only on an occasional basis.

tbs624

prudryden wrote: »

Where does the OFT say that? I could only fine that an overnight guest is normal and then only on an occasional basis.

The OFT *doesn't say that Pru - PoP misinterpreted: agree with your understanding of the OFT's stance- see previous post

tbs624 wrote: »

..................You are misquoting the OFT there PoP - what they actually say is:

"Examples of potentially unreasonable prohibitions
Obligation
Against having guests overnight.
OFT view
This is normal use and enjoyment of the property on an occasional basis. (my highlighting)"

Having someone move in for a year can hardly be described as "on an occasional basis"

ninky_2

neas wrote: »

Either way it was difficult as a housemate to raise this problem with other housemates. It was annoying to share bathroom, to have her sit around all day not leaving her messy plates/trays and not help out with upkeep of house nor of paying any bills.

In hindsight it was pretty cheekly what they did but mweh.

but clearly it was more of a problem for you as a housemate than for the ll. one of the problems of sharing a tenancy is issues like this and it's one of the reasons i hated sharing. but it didn't cause a problem for the ll.

also the situation is a little different as the OP says the girlfriend is only there half the time, not permanently.