Landlord input - possibly moving girlfriend in..

longtimelurkersam

Looking for the LL's view point on this.
I rent a nice apartment, not cheap, I am a good tenant and all that goes with it who is now on a periodic tenancy with a very detailed inventory signed by me and the independent check in fella.

My girlfriend lives overseas and is moving to the UK. Depending on where work takes her she may end up moving in with me.

Why is it of any interest to you? My name is on the tenancy agreement, you have my deposit registered where it needs to be and I am the one paying the rent and all the bills.

You could not credit check her. You could not in fact do any checks on her as I am pretty sure most of the overseas data you wouldn't be able to access although I do appreciate I might be entirely wrong. She won't have a bank account at least not to start with.

She currently comes and stays every few weekends for a long weekend so why is making it 7 nights a week different?

I guess I can see some of the reasons, she could damage the place etc, but I am responsible for guests damaging.

Thoughts on a postcard please......

Fire_Fox

Guests don't have to be evicted through the courts, residents do. If she moves in, you split up and move out without leaving a forwarding address the landlord can neither relet nor easily chase the occupant for rent. Guests don't generally hold a key, not so often left unsupervised for whole days or even weeks, don't have guests of their own. Too many new residents could make the place an unlicensed HMO. Having informal residents could negate the landlord's insurance.

Apply for your girlfriend to be added as a permitted occupant, offer a guarantor for her instead of credit checking.

G_M

You move out.

She doesn't.....

longtimelurkersam

Thanks guys. She already has keys when she is here for the long weekends and is left alone whilst I am work on the Friday, however I do understand what you are getting at.

I guess after having paid over £400 in my own referencing/credit checking fees I would expect to have my pants pulled down again if I went down the permitted occupant route and the LA really doesn't deserve even more money for old rope. Appreciate the LL perspective, just complicated by LA's and there fees for not a lot of actual effort.

ps they have my forwarding address it is where my home and mortgage currently are....I have to live elsewhere in the country for my work.

Werdnal

Have you spoken/written to the LL direct? LA obviously see the £££ signs in signing up another tenant, but your LL may not have an issue.

Fire_Fox

Don't involve the letting agent, approach the landlord directly. Ideally for taking someone to court your residential address is required, which shyster tenants use to their advantage by doing a flit. If a landlord gets a CCJ without the tenant being aware of the case the tenant can apply for a set aside.

G_M

Ask the LL direct whether you can either add her to the existing TA (by a Deed of Variation) or start a new tenancy with both names.

Explain about her overseas history and he may well agree it is pointless to credit check her. He has in any case aleady established that you are good for the rent on your own.

However he may want to double-check whether she has any CCJs in the UK, or been declared bankrupt (he'll only have your word she's never lived here) - but he can check this for around £15

ParagonAdvance (Tenant referencing provider – there are others. Use Google) Letsure

Ofer to let him see (and photocopy) her passport for ID purposes.

longtimelurkersam

I don't have the LL's contact details but can easily ask for them as because of the good info on here I know they have to give them to me by law within 21 days of my request in writing. Thanks MSE. :money:

I am not interested in starting a new tenancy as I am a contractor and only have a 28 day notice period which could get given at anytime so now I am periodic I want to stay that way.

I have been very surprised that the LA have not tried to get me to renew but I think they knew I was well informed (thanks again MSE) when they called a few weeks in advance of the expiry of my AST and I advised I would make a decision nearer the time and would most likely go periodic to which they came out with some rubbish about LL wanting guarantees etc (it was at this time that I was going to request LL's address and just ask them outright) so I said no problem, I might just leave on the last day with no notice as is my right and give you back the keys etc. It soon made them shut up.

I have some breathing space as it is not happening to the end of the year at which time I will know if my contract is being extended and then I can decide whether to just wing it for a few weeks (if contract ends I will go back to my home) or approach LL directly.

What would be the problem if she did have CCJ';s and had been bankrupt? I guess we are back to the "resident" thing and getting them out etc.

longtimelurkersam

oh and they have more than enough data on me even for the most inept LA to track me down if I ever did a bunk!

keyser666

Just to clarify you can do credit checks on people from other countries. For example Experian and Equifax are two of the 3 main companies in the USA

missrlr

Just gone through this as a LL, mortgage companies (well mine anyway) require all persons living at the house to be listed on an tenancy agreement. They have obligations e.g. If the LL does a bunk and not paying mortgage, paying mortgage company direct, getting out if the company requires in event of repossession and to understand there is a mortgage company involved in the process.