Tenant wants to move partner in

Weeleesie

I recently rented out my property to two new tenants who are friends. They have only been there about 6 weeks, and one of the tenants has sent me a message to say his girlfriend will be moving to Scotland soon (they're all from Romania), and if he's allowed to move her in.

While I appreciate his honesty at not doing it behind my back, I do have some concerns. As this would mean there are now 3 individual tenants, I believe it his would make my property an hmo, am I right? This is something of never looked into before as I never thought I'd need to with a 2 bedroom flat.

What are the implications of this in terms of:

1) The tenancy, it's in the name of the 2 current tenants only. Would I need to draft up a new tenancy agreement, or just an agreement that the current tenant would cover the rent for his girlfriend and also accept responsibility for any damage she may cause?

2) Mortgage - I currently have a residential mortgage (with permission to rent out), which is due to change to a buy to let mortgage soon. Is there a difference if it's an hmo in terms of what's on offer and rates etc?

3) Licence - would I need a licence for an hmo or is that only large HMOs? Would I need anything else in place other than the standard gas safety checks, PAT testing etc? I seem to remember an electrician saying to me I'd need smoke alarms in each bedroom if it was an HMO, even if there's only 2 bedrooms (I already have 3 smoke alarms in the communal areas).

Lastly, if I say no to his request, there's a good chance he may move out, meaning I then need to search for new tenants again (I think his friend would also move out). Do I have any claim for having to readvertise so soon after the tenancy started, as I feel he has probably planned this all along?


Any help appreciated.

davidmcn

HMO only (might) apply if there is more than one "household" in the property, which doesn't sound like the case here.

Weeleesie

But as far as I'm aware (from googling) an HMO is 3 tenants who are unrelated, which is what would be the case here.

elsien

Why would she need to be on the tenancy?
He can have a friend to stay if he wishes - it's down to them how they arrange costs between themselves.

G_M

he and his girlfriend will be a single 'household', so no increasse there in terms of HMO.

This is Scotland yes?


In Eng you could add her as a Permitted Occupier, but Scottish tenancy law ma be different.

[Deleted User]

G_M wrote: »

he and his girlfriend will be a single 'household', so no increasse there in terms of HMO.

This is Scotland yes?


In Eng you could add her as a Permitted Occupier, but Scottish tenancy law ma be different.

Your property is an HMO if both of the following apply:

at least 3 tenants live there, forming more than one household
toilet, bathroom or kitchen facilities are shared

A household consists of either a single person or members of the same family who live together. It includes people who are married or living together and people in same-sex relationships.

From this I would take that he and his girlfriend will form a single household but the friend would be the 2nd household? So HMO rules would apply?

G_M

Deleted_User wrote: »

From this I would take that he and his girlfriend will form a single household but the friend would be the 2nd household? So HMO rules would apply?

Yes I think you're right....

Weeleesie

Deleted_User wrote: »

Your property is an HMO if both of the following apply:

at least 3 tenants live there, forming more than one household
toilet, bathroom or kitchen facilities are shared

A household consists of either a single person or members of the same family who live together. It includes people who are married or living together and people in same-sex relationships.

From this I would take that he and his girlfriend will form a single household but the friend would be the 2nd household? So HMO rules would apply?

Thanks, this is what I found too, so it would be an HMO? Is it a lot more hassle being an HMO, based on my points above?

newsgroup_monkey

Surely, the 2 friends are already 2 separate households, so the partner is largely irrelevant?

[Deleted User]

newsgroup_monkey wrote: »

Surely, the 2 friends are already 2 separate households, so the partner is largely irrelevant?

no because the household thing only makes a difference if their is 3 or more unrelated people in the property. As soon as you go to 3 people and they share facilities then the hmo rules kick in

mchale

Deleted_User wrote: »

no because the household thing only makes a difference if their is 3 or more unrelated people in the property. As soon as you go to 3 people and they share facilities then the hmo rules kick in

But surely a tenant only becomes a "tenant" when they pay the rent or are on the TA, so therefore if girlfriend just lives there & no paperwork is amended is she a tenant?