bedroom door locks

choose_wisely

DD is moving into new house with friends. When they viewed the house there were locks on each door. On getting the keys we asked for the ones for the bedrooms, but were told that it would invalidate the landlords insurance And why would it be a problem as they are friends.

The info supplied stated where to get spare keys from, so we thought that we had been given the wrong info by the LA. We queried it later and were told that locking the doors wasn't allowed. The printed documents have now been changed to that effect and that it would breach the terms of the mortgage if they locked their doors. I would have thought that they should be entitled to privacy and also concerned about contents insurance.

Can this be right, and any advice about insurance provision, please?

Forgot to say that there are 5 of them.

Thanks

Fire_Fox

Welcome! You need to consider whether a House a Multiple Occupancy (separate tenancy agreements) or a standard shared house (all on one Assured Shorthold Tenancy). With locks the landlord may need a HMO license (without this his insurance may be invalid), there are issues with fire safety/ exit strategies, that if each room has a lock it may be deemed a separate household and be liable for separate TV license, the landlord may end up liable for the utility bills and council tax instead of the tenants.

If the tenants are on one AST there will be no problem with contents insurance, friends are not seen as any different to parents and children living together as one household. Privacy and trust are personal matters, not the landlord's problem. Get your daughter a small safe for her valuables, set up passwords on her computer and so on.

http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/pdf/322460.pdf

choose_wisely

Thank you Fire fox. Lots of bedtime reading following on from your link. There must have been some changes that we were not aware of. With 5 of them I thought the HMO would apply. They pay different amounts of rent depending on the room size and the info states that they each rent only their own room.

I had been reading about the need for locks for contents insurance. They will not be having a joint policy. This worries me too, particularly as they have moved their belongings in from storage on the day the contract began and rent was being paid but cannot occupy it yet as repair work is still being carried out.

Thanks again.

CIS

With 5 of them I thought the HMO would apply. They pay different amounts of rent depending on the room size and the info states that they each rent only their own room.

Its a HMO for council tax purpose and the landlord is responsible for any council tax due on the property.

enabledebra

The main issue is how the local council deals with the HMO licensing. There's always a balance to be struck between safety and security - usually as long as the door can be opened from inside without a key (thumb lock for eg) safety and security can be balanced. Landlords don't like locks on bedroom doors because students lose keys and it's a hassle for them but they say it's because it's a fire safety issue and claim it's not allowed under the HMO standards and/or that their insurance won't allow it. Either of these might be true but you can ask for evidence of what effect on the landlord locking doors would have. It's not just a question of being friends in terms of security- students often invite others to stay as guests overnight for example- or not being able to trust that others will always leave the front door secure.

When it comes to breaching the terms of a contract the issue is what can the landlord do about it? Often student landlords will have lots of terms in the agreement (I've seen terms that oblige the students to wear full length pyjamas but what would happen if they didn't?) It depends if the landlord can prove the breach caused them loss or if the tenant could be evicted for the breach.

penny-lane_2

Hi, I dont know legal stuff but i have just moved out off a student house, there was 5 of us living there from 2010 to 2012. We had locks on all of our bedrooms and were given keys when we moved in.
I think locks on bedroom doors are important, one reason is so people cant just go wandering in when they feel like it and another is because it keeps things safe from burglary, if 5 students are living in one house thats potentially 5 laptops, 5 tvs, 5 printers, 5 mobile phones. If all bedrooms are locked then its reducing the amount of things that could go missing.