My legal responsibilities as a landlord and council letter

ftsos

Hello Everyone,

I have a very worrying situation. I am hoping someone on here can give me some advise or if anyone else has been in a similar situation some guidance would be amazing.

I am what some people call an accidental landlord. It was never in the plans. Anyway, I joined the NLA (National Landlords Association) from the very beginning to keep on top of things and try and do things by the book.

I rent a 3 bedroom house to a single mother with 3 kids. The council have written to me saying someone has made a complaint that there could be more than one family living there, in other words I either need to get a HMO (multiple occupancy license) or provide proof they want. I know this is not true, and it was started by a neighbour who was not happy about the family that moved in. Its a really nice family and I am not just saying that.

So the council wrote to me requesting further documents, of the 13 things they have asked, 2 of the items include the following:
1) Fire Alarm/Emergency Lighting Test Certificate
2) Electrical Appliance Test Certificate

I have fire alarms and they are inspected. However, what I am trying to figure out, is do I need to provide proof of "Lighting Test Certificate" if its a single family home and not a HMO? Secondly, do I need to provide proof of "Electrical Appliance Test Certificate" if its a single family home and not a HMO?

Please help or give me advise if you can. I realise we live in cynical times and because of high rents many people end up living in cramped accommodation which should not be allowed. However, this is definitely not one of those situations.

Thank you.

theartfullodger

You need to treat this seriously: Overcrowding (which is what is alleged) is a criminal offence & can result in fines & a criminal record for the landlord (yes, the landlord, see sections 331 onwards of 1985 Housing Act.
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1985/68/part/X/crossheading/responsibilities-of-landlord

You may THINK it's a single family: What, I submit, is you need EVIDENCE it is - so explain what's happening and ask tenant if you can quickly pop round, take some photos of all the rooms to show all is well: Ideally within an hour (so if there is someone else there it'll be obvious..).

Clearly tenant can kindly refuse (legitimately) either the request outright or the timescale.. See what happens..

ProDave

Re electrical stuff. As a landlord, you need to provide an EICR (Electrical Installation Condition Report) on the fixed wiring. PAT test (portable appliance test) on any items you supply that have a 13A plug, e.g. washing machine, dishwasher, fridge, kettle, hoover etc. You need to have a certain number of mains powered smoke and heat alarms, and CO detectors if there are any gas or solid fuel appliances. If you have gas, you need to provide a landlords gas safety certificate. Emergency lighting is not needed for a single dwelling. And you need to provide an EPC energy performance certificate.

This is all to ensure that you as a landlord are performing your duty of care to provide a safe home.

Social landlords by the way are exempt from a lot of that. Draw your own conclusions.

Up here in Scotland, you also have to be registered with the council as a landlord, and any deposit you take has to be lodged with a recognised deposit scheme. And if you use an agent they must also be registered.

ftsos

Firstly, guys thank you for taking the time to reply to me.

@theartfuldodger , I am taking this extremely seriously. I am stressed out. I can't believe they councils can get away with this if a situation is innocent. I have done on the spot inspections. The property is 2 roads down from mine.

I have spoken to the tenant. They are more than happy to co-operate. They feel its the next door neighbour who is being vindictive who has reported. So I plan to send a copy of the passport of all the people living in that house, which essentially is the mother and her 3 little kids. I will also take a photo of her parents who have their own tenancy agreements with another landlord, but they come on the weekend to babysit, but DO NOT stay overnight. Then I will say to the council, please do your own on the spot checks, and if you can prove to me that there is more than one family living there then I will evict them.

My other option, which I have been considering is to evict them. They have always been good tenants. They have lived there now for almost 2 years without issues. So it feels so unfair.

@ProDave, mos of the borough in London are now following suit. So I have had to register my properties with the council and I think I pay £500 a year or something like that for the "privilege" of being a landlord. It just feels like you are now looked as a "bad person" if you happen to be a landlord.

Thanks for educating me on the testing. However, there is no gas. I haven't supplied any electrical appliances. So I assume all I need is to get the EICR done quickly. Does the fire alarm needs to be on the mains or can it be battery operated?

F_T_Buyer

Why not supply a copy of the tenant agreement that states the people who rent it. I'm sure in there it explicitly states there is to be no subletting.

theartfullodger

F_T_Buyer wrote: »

Why not supply a copy of the tenant agreement that states the people who rent it. I'm sure in there it explicitly states there is to be no subletting.

Oh, silly me, didn't appreciate that EVERYONE always sticks to ALL terms of ALL contracts at ALL times.

Thanks!

theartfullodger

ftsos wrote: »

....@theartfuldodger , I am taking this extremely seriously. I am stressed out. .....

Lodger not dodger: I don't dodge.

Serious point: Detail, spelling, wording matters, especially with landlord/tenant communications, with council communication & any court papers. One letter wrong could end up with a court case being chucked out!

G_M

It sounds like the council are asking for evidence of compliance with HMO rules.

What you want is evidence that it is not an HMO.

When did you last inspect? How many people appeared to be living there at the time? When did you last communicate with your tenant? Saying what and with what reply?

G_M

ProDave - are you referring to HMO rules or non HMO letting rules?
If the former, I bow to your superior knowlege as I have little experience.
If the latter, I disagree!

ProDave wrote: »

Re electrical stuff. As a landlord, you need to provide an EICR (Electrical Installation Condition Report) on the fixed wiring. PAT test (portable appliance test) on any items you supply that have a 13A plug, e.g. washing machine, dishwasher, fridge, kettle, hoover etc. You need to have a certain number of mains powered smoke and heat alarms, and CO detectors if there are any gas or solid fuel appliances. If you have gas, you need to provide a landlords gas safety certificate. Emergency lighting is not needed for a single dwelling. And you need to provide an EPC energy performance certificate.

This is all to ensure that you as a landlord are performing your duty of care to provide a safe home.

Social landlords by the way are exempt from a lot of that. Draw your own conclusions.

Up here in Scotland, you also have to be registered with the council as a landlord, and any deposit you take has to be lodged with a recognised deposit scheme. And if you use an agent they must also be registered.

ftsos

Hi Guys,

If it was as simple as providing a tenancy agreement, that would be no problem. I can give names and date of birth of everyone who should be living there.

I would even go as far as asking the council to do their own random checks, which they said they might.

However, what I can't understand, how am I supposed to prove no other people are living there. I can only prove the people who I expect to be living there, and provide their ID's and the tenancy agreement, and the random checks I have done.

Life is just getting stupid. You are assumed guilty, until you can prove your innocence.

G_M

ftsos wrote: »

Hi Guys,

If it was as simple as providing a tenancy agreement, that would be no problem. I can give names and date of birth of everyone who should be living there.

I would even go as far as asking the council to do their own random checks, which they said they might.

However, what I can't understand, how am I supposed to prove no other people are living there. I can only prove the people who I expect to be living there, and provide their ID's and the tenancy agreement, and the random checks I have done.

Life is just getting stupid. You are assumed guilty, until you can prove your innocence.

Read post 8 and answer the questions!