Help needed!

rachhh

I am a university student who in early August moved into a 3 bedroom flat, I have paid full rent and bills since this date.

Upon viewing the flat, one of the other 2 (student) flatmates had 2 friends he said were staying for the weekend before they moved into their new place. I didn't see a problem for this and so signed for the flat, paid my rent etc.

Upon moving in, the 2 'friends' were still staying as apparently their flat fell through at the last minute. These 2 'lodgers' are not students and work part time. Having put up with months of them saying 'we'll be moving out next week' I am now at the end of my tether.

They have paid no rent during the time they've been here, get all their post here and use it as their main residence. The landlord is not aware, and the flatmate who let them stay in the first place refuses to throw them out or get them to contribute to rent.

How can I get them to move out and what rules/guidelines/laws are being broken by them staying here? Also, what are the council tax implications? As neither of them are students or receiving benefits.

Thanks for any help you can provide, I really am sick of this!

Fire_Fox

Speak to the landlord: you may find the flat is effectively an illegal HMO which puts him at risk of a massive fine and/ or all the official tenants at risk of being accused of council tax evasion. What does the third flatmate think?

When was the last time you read the electric and water meters? Getting an accurate bill might be a shock. If you have their full names you might ring council tax and give them the names and rough dates they moved in/ started getting their mail delivered. Bill should come in all names tho, you might want to check for sure who is liable.

ETA I suspect the official tenants are liable

"The hierarchy of liability is:

a resident owner-occupier who owns either the leasehold or freehold of all or part of the property
a resident tenant
a resident who lives in the property and who is a licensee. This means that they are not a tenant, but have permission to stay there
any resident living in the property, for example, a squatter
an owner of the property where no one is resident."
http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/tax_e/tax_council_tax_ew/council_tax.htm

Werdnal

Firstly, LL may not have given consent for them to be there, and as he does not know, he could be in breach of HMO regulations - house of multiple occupancy, by having 3 or more unrelated people in residence.

HMO's have higher health and safety requirements (need smoke detectors installed, fire extingushers etc), and they usually have to be registered with the local council, although rules vary from area to area.

I assume as you and the other "legit" tenants are students, you do not pay council tax, but the other 2 working lodgers would be liable for CT.

Are you a joint tenant, or do you just rent a room and share the communal facilities (kitchen, bathroom etc).

The problem you have is you seem keen to continue living there, and if you "shop" the others, the remaining tenant is not going to be a very pleasant housemate for you to continue sharing with! You should try to contact the LL and make them aware of the situation, but will have to live with the consequences ...

BitterAndTwisted

It's not sensible to want these unofficial squatters to contribute to the rent. Once they start paying, if they ever do, they will feel fully entitled to stay for as long as they like. Making a sensible contribution towards the utility bills however is what they really should be doing.

You and the other tenant should be putting MASSIVE pressure on the third one to get shot of these cuckoos in the nest or you'll be discussing the situation with your landlord.