Is it legal for a landlord to impose a limit on number of tenants?

summertimegladness

I have been renting for the last 15 or so years but have never come across this. I am looking to move from current ground floor flat into a house with my partner and daughter (who is 19 and will be moving out soon; in the next 6 to 12 months max). A lot of the rentals in my area tend to be fairly below par for some reason, even when on the pricier side (the last one I went to view smelled strongly of cats), but a really nice property came up in the last few days - pretty area, nicely decorated, close to my job. The only problem is it specifies no more than 2 tenants, despite being a 4 bedroom 2 bathroom.

I just wanted to know: is it legal to do this? And for what typical reasons would a landlord specify this? Aside from the fact the house is a semi - part of a row of 5 - and so the neighbors might be picky about possible noise issues I can't understand why a 4 bed house is only able to have 2 tenants in it.

Yellow_mango

Tenants, or occupants? I’d guess only you and your husband will be tenants (ie party to the tenancy agreement). Your daughter will be a dependent occupier?

I’d think they are trying to avoid being a HMO and want to rent to a family rather than a house share.

AnotherJoe

Yes of course its legal, why might it not be?
As to why, wear and tear might be one reason. Another, to exclude families with children (more wear and tear). Possibly they are just looking for professional couples or company funded house rentals.

My next door neighbor specified no more than two people in the house next door to me though its a 3 bedroom after not great experiences regards wear and tear with previous families of 2 adults plus 2 or 3 kids.
As above though if they specify two tenants then do they just mean two people signing the lease, or no more than two people occupying the property, and if the latter, might they give you a waiver if you can show she is leaving soon and perhaps give a larger deposit?

But the bottom line is you cant force them to let to you.

martindow

I think you are making heavy weather of this. It is possible that the agent has cut and pasted a paragraph that relates to a much smaller house.



Your daughter is not going to be there soon so just the two of you sign the tenancy. I wouldn't lose this place over your daughter staying with you for a while.


If you are good tenants the LL will probably be none the wiser and tenancies don't preclude you from having visitors staying. You would be hardly overcrowding the house.

da_rule

Completely legal, and will soon become standard practice I feel.

The Homes (Fitness for Habitation) Act 2018 makes crowding and space issues one of the 29 things that can make a property unfit for habitation. The landlord can face enforcement action by your local weights and measures authority for breaching this and you can also commence a civil claim against them where there damages are potentially unlimited.

If the tenancy agreement was signed on or after 20 March 2019 this legislation applies immediately, if it was signed before this it will take effect on 20 March 2020.

Tahlullah

Yes it is legal.

saajan_12

The number of named tenants is up to negotiation at the point of granting the tenancy. However can the landlord actually enforce such a limit on the number of occupants? I would hope if it was written into a tenancy agreement and the Tenant allowed more people to move in, then the LL can either

* use the breach in # occupants as grounds for a material breach of the tenancy and serve Section 8 which is granted by courts unless Tenant reduces # occupants; or

* claim any penalties / costs of improvement orders as a result of hte overcrowding from the Tenant.