Cooling off period?

swifthit1

Hello, MSE community. I have a question regarding a properly my girlfriend has just rented.

Basically i was meant to be moving to the usa, on a uni scholarship, but its fell through, and now im staying in the uk.

Unluckily, my girlfriend has signed a contact for a new property. for herself and her friend 2 days ago. Within the agreement there is a claws about other people staying there, will incur a 100 pound charge per month from the deposit.

So my main questions are Can we make changes now or is it too late? i thought maybe there may be a 7 day cooling off period? The landlord is very strict and bossy, and has messed my partner about a lot already, by rising deposit and rent, move in date, and the length of the contract.

Could i live in the address with my girlfriend, without the landlords consent?

If we contact her, has she got the right to add as much as she wants to the rent, and we will have no other choice but to pay, as the contract has just been signed?


-
We have went through an agency, we have not yet received a tenancy agreement, we just signed it at the agency on Saturday (we are still waiting for it to arrive, they said they would send it but... yeah).


Thanks.

G_M

There is no cooling off period.

A landlord cannot prohibit friends visiting. It is the tenant's home and they can invite who they want.

However, that is not the same as you 'living there'. Sub-letting is not the same as an overnight guest, or someone coming to stay for a week or two.

Your best course of action is to discuss this with the LL and come to some agreement.

(ps - love the 'claws'!)

swifthit1

The claws said. "the maximul number of regular occupants on the premesis must not exceed that stated in the tenacy above/ where at any time in the tenacy this number is exceeded, there will be a monthly charge of £100 to be applied retrospect to the commencement of the tenacy and will be deducted from the deposit and a new AST must be signed by the tenant."

would i be a regular tenant is i slept there 4 days a week?
Or does it mean if i was literally registered there, i have my own bills at my current address, and im already registered somewhere else.

if i cant sleep there 4 days a week how much can i, without her charging an outrageous sum of money.

societys_child

Whooosh . . . maybe it's santa claws

G_M

If a tenant has a boy/girlforend to stay overnight 3, 4 nights a week, that is clearly a guest.

If you live there 7 nights a week, on an ongoing basis, and contribute to the bills/rent etc, you are clearly a sub-tenant.

Somewhere in the middle is a dividing line. There is no legal definition of where that line is exactly. It depends on all the circumstances, and ultimately, only a court could decide.

But significant factors would be:

* do you contribute to bills?
* do you contribute to/pay rent?
* do you have another home? Are you registered for council tax, electoral register, utility bills etc somewhere else?
* Where do your bank, your employers, HMRC, the Benefits Office etc send your correspondance?
* is this you 'primary' residence?

It is claws to impossible to give a black and white definition.

DVardysShadow

The landlord is very strict and bossy, and has messed my partner about a lot already, by rising deposit and rent, move in date, and the length of the contract.

Scary. Don't let her get her clause into you.

swifthit1

Thanks Gm, help greatly appreciated.