Houseshare - can the landlord withdraw Sky?

moneydispute

Hi there,

I've been in a houseshare for a little while with 4 other people and we've just received notice that the Sky will be withdrawn and the landlord no longer wishes to provide it, and in return we will receive a small discount in rent (13 pounds - the cost of Sky/divided by the number of people in the house)

I'm not too happy about this as part the reason I moved into the house was because all Sky services were provided and included as part of the rent.

Where do I stand? I need to check the specifics of the contract when I get home, but I suspect the Sky service is not mentioned at all, however the house was clearly advertised as having Sky. The 13 pound monthly discount doesn't really help. Do I have an argument at all?

go_cat

Why don't you and your housemates get it yourselves

BitterAndTwisted

I'd ask the landlord why he's choosing to cancel or not renew the Sky subscription.

There's no reason why you as tenants can't enter into a new contact with Sky, it will just mean that someone has to be responsible for applying for it, then paying for it and collecting everyone else's share every month. Plus, there's likely to be a minimum-term contract which may take you beyond your tenancy agreement's term and could be costly to cancel.

poppysarah

go_cat wrote: »

Why don't you and your housemates get it yourselves

Because it's a fixed term contract and someone has to take responsibility for paying it. They won't let 4 people be on the bill.
If you are only going to be there a few months then it's insane to lumber yourself with the contract.

moneydispute

go_cat wrote: »

Why don't you and your housemates get it yourselves

1) ties us into a long term contract
2) means 1 persons name is on the account and is liable for everybody else
3) makes things tricky if someone leaves and the room is empty for a while

G_M

If it was clearly part of the contract the LL cannot withdraw it.

Is it mentioned in your tenancy agreement?

How long have you been there and how long has the LL provided Sky - it could be argued that there is an implied term to the contract if Sky has been provided for some time, and/or since you moved in.

moneydispute

I moved in about 18 months ago

I believe the Sky has been provided for about 2/3 years (long before I moved in)

tim123456789

It has to be a really dumb LL who stops this if the tenants actually want it

tim

moneydispute

tim123456789 wrote: »

It has to be a really dumb LL who stops this if the tenants actually want it

tim

They're initial reason was that it's unfair on the tenants who don't want Sky to have to pay for it. After further questioning it appears the real reason is because Sky have increased their prices.

mrsbmartin

So work out who does/doesn't want sky and offer to pay extra to cover the cost to the LL...it should work until only one HM (for example) wants the sky but doesn't want to pay the full cost...eg The current cost is £52pcm. Assuming it has gone up to £60pcm but only 3 of the HM's want it...you would each pay an extra £7pcm to cover the cost.

Of course...if it is part of the tenancy agreement then the LL should be the one absorbing the extra cost.

moneydispute

mrsbmartin wrote: »

So work out who does/doesn't want sky and offer to pay extra to cover the cost to the LL...it should work until only one HM (for example) wants the sky but doesn't want to pay the full cost...eg The current cost is £52pcm. Assuming it has gone up to £60pcm but only 3 of the HM's want it...you would each pay an extra £7pcm to cover the cost.

I've suggested this as a possibility to the landlord, however it is not without its problems, eg if one of the people paying for the Sky moves out.

I'm more concerned as to what right the LL has to withdraw the Sky (assuming the contract makes no mention of it)