Landlord changing parking

volvo1

We are new to renting and have lived in a rental home for 5months and when we viewed with the agent he stated that the two parking places outside of our home would be ours for use during the rental term. Yesterday we received a letter stating that we would now have to have one of our cars parked quite a distance from our home and we can't see the spot from our house. Is this allowed? Hope someone can help.

AnotherJoe

Is it in the lease ? If not I think you could still claim in some way but might need to get legal about it, eg claiming it was part of a verbal contracts and you might get into a he said she said dispute. However, if you continued to park there then firstly there may not be much they can do about it,but obviously you can't guarantee there will always be a space.

I presume these are marked bays in a car park?

Nobbie1967

Reply to the agent stating that you agreed the rental with two parking spaces. This is clearly the case as otherwise why would they ask you not to park in one now. You may get an s21 at the end of your fixed term though. If this concerns you, maybe negotiate a rent reduction to reflect the loss of amenity.

Any idea why they want the other parking space? Are they going to rent it out to a commuter or use it for their own car?

dc197

when we viewed with the agent he stated that...



The title says the landlord changed the parking.
The body implies that the agent was the one to say that there was parking.
If it was the agent who promised parking, not the landlord, the ere might be far less you can do.

Who promised it? From whom was the letter?

chanz4

the agent still acts onbehalf of the landlord, so no difference

G_M

dc197 wrote: »

when we viewed with the agent he stated that...



The title says the landlord changed the parking.
The body implies that the agent was the one to say that there was parking.
If it was the agent who promised parking, not the landlord, the ere might be far less you can do.

Who promised it? From whom was the letter?

Makes no difference. the agent is the landlord's ... errr.... 'agent', so anything he says is said on the LL's behalf. It is as legally binding as if the LL said it himself.

Can you explain the set-u a bit more?

eg maybe this is actually a lease issue? The landlord owns the lease and believed it included 2 parking spots (or another leaseholder never used his), but now HE hs been told (eg by the freeholder) that only one spot can be used.

In that case the landlord has no choice - the spot was not his to let with the property in the first place. Of course, that does not protect him from being in breach of contract/tenancy agreement.........

AnnieO1234

I find it odd that if it was the case that it wasn't his spot to let that he is able to state the changes will happen at end of fixed term. I'll bet good money he wants to use the second spot himself. Are you close to a station or similar? Xxx

G_M

AnnieO1234 wrote: »

I find it odd that if it was the case that it wasn't his spot to let that he is able to state the changes will happen at end of fixed term. I'll bet good money he wants to use the second spot himself. Are you close to a station or similar? Xxx

Are we reading the same thread?

I can't see that the OP has said this change "will happen at end of fixed term."

If that IS the case, then of course it's possible. Any new contract can have whatever new or existing terms the two parties agree.

However, OP said: "...we would now have to have one of our cars parked...."

That implies a change to the current contract.

AnnieO1234

G_M wrote: »

Are we reading the same thread?

I can't see that the OP has said this change "will happen at end of fixed term."

If that IS the case, then of course it's possible. Any new contract can have whatever new or existing terms the two parties agree.

However, OP said: "...we would now have to have one of our cars parked...."

That implies a change to the current contract.

Think I need to go back to bed! I honestly read it as being something they were planning on doing at end of fixed term. Bleurgh. Reboot needed... Xxx

volvo1

Thanks everyone for your advice. We are renting a new build and there were initially 7 spaces. We were first to move in and rent and told that the two parking bays nearest our home were for our use for the length of the rental term. The problem has arisen since more people have moved in and two of the couples have purchased. Our new neighbours state that they were told the parking bays (one of which we use) belongs to them. The plans show that we have the two bays linked to our house but these seem to have been ignored now the new people have moved in. We have been here 5 months with no problems and still no one official has told us that the bays are not for us however the neighbour states that this is in their purchase contract. I will call the builder and the agent tomorrow however wasn't sure of our rights and should I ask for a refund in rent. So far we haven't received anything official just our neighbour stating that the plans have been changed and she has now bought with her house one of our parking bays. In our contract it just states that we need to park in our allocated parking slots. We were shown the plans before renting and shown where we would be able to park. Things were going so well!!

davidmcn

How far away are the other bays?