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Help, my landlord is letting my flat illegally
dange777
Posts: 6 Forumite
Hi everyone, I could really use some advice.
I signed a tenancy agreement with an estate agent for a one year contract on a flat.
The problems started when I tried to get on the electoral role. The council have confirmed that the flat is not an official residential address. Royal mail do not recognise the address as official either.
There is no electricity meter - the electricity is being taken from another property, probably the shop in front (more later).
There is no landline (probably because it's not a registered address.
The estate agents are useless and told me to just use the address that the previous tenants used, the postman will find it. Completely ignoring the fact that the property is not a official residence.
So, I decided to do my own research. A look on the council website shows that the building belongs to the shop in front. A application for planning permission to turn the building into a studio flat was rejected in 2001. In 2013 a planning application was accepted to retain the building for storage and ancillary use for the shop in front. And it can only be used for that purpose in conjunction with the shop. So in other words it can not be used separately to rent out.
I now have no idea where I stand. I definitely want out of this building. As it is illegal, I'm pretty sure that my contract is void, however I have no idea of my rights when it comes to the time needed for me to move out. As I'm not supposed to be here in the first place can they just kick me out on the streets as soon as I bring this up with them?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Dan :j
I signed a tenancy agreement with an estate agent for a one year contract on a flat.
The problems started when I tried to get on the electoral role. The council have confirmed that the flat is not an official residential address. Royal mail do not recognise the address as official either.
There is no electricity meter - the electricity is being taken from another property, probably the shop in front (more later).
There is no landline (probably because it's not a registered address.
The estate agents are useless and told me to just use the address that the previous tenants used, the postman will find it. Completely ignoring the fact that the property is not a official residence.
So, I decided to do my own research. A look on the council website shows that the building belongs to the shop in front. A application for planning permission to turn the building into a studio flat was rejected in 2001. In 2013 a planning application was accepted to retain the building for storage and ancillary use for the shop in front. And it can only be used for that purpose in conjunction with the shop. So in other words it can not be used separately to rent out.
I now have no idea where I stand. I definitely want out of this building. As it is illegal, I'm pretty sure that my contract is void, however I have no idea of my rights when it comes to the time needed for me to move out. As I'm not supposed to be here in the first place can they just kick me out on the streets as soon as I bring this up with them?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Dan :j
0
Comments
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Your tenancy isn't void. The breach of planning is only an issue if and when the planners decide to enforce it - and is primarily your landlord's problem rather than yours, it doesn't mean anybody's entitled to kick you out at short notice.
And you don't need an "official address" to be on the electoral roll - even the homeless can register to vote.0 -
Thanks, that's really helpful! I feel a bit better now knowing that I'm not going to be on the street. And I had no idea about getting on the electoral role without an address! You learn something new every day...0
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Are you not paying council tax?An answer isn't spam just because you don't like it......0
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How are you paying for your electricity then? is the a separate meter in the shop for you, or are they just asking for 50% of the bill?0
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Your tenancy isn't void. The breach of planning is only an issue if and when the planners decide to enforce it - and is primarily your landlord's problem rather than yours, it doesn't mean anybody's entitled to kick you out at short notice.
If the OP is living in a flat which is not meant for habitation; do you think that they should move out?
There will be no fire regulations that are appropriate, the flat is not safe.0 -
sevenhills wrote: »There will be no fire regulations that are appropriate, the flat is not safe.
Any functioning smoke alarms ?
Gas safety certificate ?
Electrical safety certificate ?
EPC rating ?
Deposit protected ?Any language construct that forces such insanity in this case should be abandoned without regrets. –
Erik Aronesty, 2014
Treasure the moments that you have. Savour them for as long as you can for they will never come back again.0 -
sevenhills wrote: »If the OP is living in a flat which is not meant for habitation; do you think that they should move out?
There will be no fire regulations that are appropriate, the flat is not safe.
Planning has nothing to do with fire regulations.
There may also be breaches of Building Regulations but that cannot possibly be concluded from the small amount of information provided. It may be perfectly safe yet still in breach of planning.0 -
We haven't been told that it isn't safe, only that it doesn't have planning consent.sevenhills wrote: »If the OP is living in a flat which is not meant for habitation; do you think that they should move out?
There will be no fire regulations that are appropriate, the flat is not safe.0 -
Your council should have a department that deals with privately rented property. Ask them to do a safety assessment of your accommodation. If they think that it isn't safe they will deal with your landlord. The landlord may be required to make it safe or he may be prohibited from letting it.0
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No, the "landlord" is paying that. Included in the rent.diggingdude wrote: »Are you not paying council tax?0
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