Landlord wants to take over all bills to get a mortgage

saajan_12

G_M wrote: »

Only if that is what the tenancy agreement says.

If the TA is amended by mutual agreement to say something different, then the tenant would no longer be responsible for bills.

Yes, the TA can be amended to make the LL responsible for bills as between the LL and tenant. So the tenant can sue the LL if they fail to pay.

However the utilities companies & council aren't party to that. If the LL doesn't set up, maintain and pay for accounts with utility companies then they would ultimately cut off supply, and practically its the occupier's problem even if they can sue the LL contractually afterwards. IF the LL doesn't continue to pay for council tax, then legally as far as the council is concerned, they will chase the tenant.

Comms69 wrote: »

we cant both be missing something, can we?

I really don't understand the extreme reluctance to agree to this from other posters. Sure there's some risk if the LL doesn't pay the mortgage, but it's fairly low.

Erm because it goes against the severe warnings regarding residential mortgages on a let property given on these boards pretty much every time I remember atleast? Sure the risk of LL not paying in the very short term is low, but things can change in 6 months / couple of years.. If he is indeed going for a residential mortgage, the tenancy would be unauthorised meaning much more issues & stress for the tenant surrounding the repossession. Not worth a couple of months off bills to me..
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/67759925#Comment_67759925

PasturesNew

As has been pointed out - he's actually asking you to help him to commit a mortgage fraud, which is probably that he's not told anybody it's rented out, but that he lives there.

There's no other explanation for it....

Knowing that, if you now said "yes" you'd be party to that mortgage fraud because you know that's why you let him do it!

Comms69

PasturesNew wrote: »

As has been pointed out - he's actually asking you to help him to commit a mortgage fraud, which is probably that he's not told anybody it's rented out, but that he lives there.

There's no other explanation for it....

Knowing that, if you now said "yes" you'd be party to that mortgage fraud because you know that's why you let him do it!

I think at best it's 'suspect' not 'know'

CIS

IF the LL doesn't continue to pay for council tax, then legally as far as the council is concerned, they will chase the tenant.

The council can't transfer it to the landlord's name in the first place as it's the tenant who is liable by virtue of renting the whole property.

rtho782

If the landlord is asking that, yes he probably does want to remortgage onto a residential mortgage without consent to let.

However, there is a good chance he is already on a residential mortgage without consent to let.

The OP is not complicit in anything, it's not up to OP to enforce the terms of mortgage companies or assume what his LL *MIGHT* be doing.

I'd take the 2-3 months of not paying bills in a heartbeat. What fraud the LL might commit is not my problem. And if I say no, I'm bound to get a S21 or similar. Worse, the LL might not be able to afford his bills and if he doesn't have CTL the flat might end up repossessed. There is no possible positive outcome for the OP by refusing.

Hell, if nothing else, this gives OP lots of leeway at the end of the tenancy if the landlord starts being awkward with deposits.

sparkey1

I think your landlord is trying to pull a fast one. Possibly trying to use the utility bills as evidence that he lives there. Is he actually your landlord, maybe he is sub letting.

Maybe all his credit cards etc are also registered at the address. If there were the case, it would make it easier for him to commit any fraud. All he needs to do is use the post redirection service and you would be none the wiser.

Something isnt right. No landlord would ever want to pay your bills for a few months, and then pass them back to you.

Is he planning to raise the rent to cover the bills. Raising the rent could ensure that he passes the affordability stress tests, as he can show he is recieving a higher income, thus qualify for a Buy to Let mortgage. They use an income multiplier, but never consider if the landlord pays the bills normally unless HMO.

silvercar

Most property buyers don't have the utilities of the place they are buying in their own name, so this suggests the landlord is remortgaging the property. If the current mortgage is a residential one and the landlord is already letting it without consent, then the tenant loses nothing by the landlord remortgaging on the same basis.