Estate Agent doesn't allow guests

Furberserver

Hi,

My Girlfriend is jointly renting a flat through an estate agent, they both contribute 50% of the rent.

The room mate does not want her to have any guests over, and has said she needs to get approval from the estate agent. The estate agent is telling her if she wants a guest to stay the night, she needs the room mates approval, otherwise they can't stay.

The contract has no mention of guests, and i think its generally understood that guests staying over 14 nights need approval from the landlord/agency. My understanding is that by refusing a guest to stay a single night, they're breaching her right to quiet enjoyment.

As a new user, i can't post links. But this is where I've got that detail from:
bbc(dotcodotuk)/news/business-44041999
(Point 16)

I plan to go to their office this weekend and discuss. If they still refuse, what action can be taken against them?

Thanks,
Simon

Thrugelmir

Furberserver wrote: »

My understanding is that by refusing a guest to stay a single night, they're breaching her right to quiet enjoyment.

Wouldn't it be the room mate that has their rights breached.

kinger101

If they share a room (which is what room mate means despite an American's inability to grasp English) then it would obviously be very odd to have you, room mate and girlfriend in same room overnight.

If it's a house share and your girlfriend is a tenant, don't discuss it with the agent. It's none of their business. Your girlfriend can have overnight guests. If the other party doesn't like it, they can rent somewhere on their own.

Annisele

It doesn't sound as though it's the landlord preventing your gf from having guests over - it's the other tenant. The landlord is simply declining to get involved in a dispute between the two tenants.

You say your girlfriend is renting the flat jointly with somebody else. So yes, she has the right to invite a guest - but the joint tenant also has the right to kick a guest out of his/her home. Practically speaking, that means no guests unless both tenants agree.

It sounds as though the other tenant doesn't want you to stay and is trying to get the landlord to be the bad guy. That's not really fair of the other tenant, but it's also not the landlord's fault.

Do you know why the other tenant doesn't want you to stay? Only one bathroom, and not enough time in the morning for everybody to use it and get to work on time? You drink the other tenant's milk? I think this is going to be an "ask other tenant nicely" situation, and it'll be easier to resolve if you know what the other tenant's problem is.

If it's just "other tenant wants only one other person in the flat", then other tenant is perfectly entitled to feel that way. They're likely not hugely compatible with your girlfriend - and maybe they want to rent separately once this lease is over - but again, not the landlord's problem.

G_M

PLease clarify the arrangement:


* does girlfriend have a sole tenancy in her own name?
* or is she in a joint tenancy with the ... err.... 'room mate'?
* or is she a lodger? Does she pay rent to the room mate?
* does she share a room with the room mate?
* if so, are there any other people living in the property and sharing parts of it?
* if so, how many people? Do they each have their own tenancy agreements?

* or does she have her own room and share other parts of the property with.... a 'house mate'?

Furberserver

To clarify, they share a flat with separate ensuite rooms.

It's not actually me, he doesn't want her to invite any friends over.

She's not at all loud, and the rooms are very seperate with own bathrooms. He's just awkward and doesn't want to share space with anyone. His latest reason is that at the moment it's half term (he's a teacher) and doesn't want anyone else around when he's in.

The landlord is making up all kinds of claims like one of her friends who wants to stay 1 night is from overseas so they're not allowed to stay.

Furberserver

They both have individual tenancy agreements. It's only the two of them.
There's no mention of guests at all in the contract.

oldernonethewiser

kinger101 wrote: »

If they share a room (which is what room mate means despite an American's inability to grasp English) then it would obviously be very odd to have you, room mate and girlfriend in same room overnight.

If it's a house share and your girlfriend is a tenant, don't discuss it with the agent. It's none of their business. Your girlfriend can have overnight guests. If the other party doesn't like it, they can rent somewhere on their own.

I must admit this made me smile.



If the other person has an issue with guests then ask why. If there is no easy resolution then time to look for a new place to live.

Furberserver

The last time she had a guest, the room mate complained to the estate agent and they contacted her telling her she can't have guests without his approval.

G_M

There are 3 aspects to this.

From a legal perspective, neither the housemate (clearly not a room mate at all!) not the agent, not the landlord can prevent her from having guests. That includes overnight guests. It would only become a (legal) issue if the 'guest' stayed so long as to suggest it was now their primary residence.

She has a right to 'quiet enjoyment' of her tenancy. That has nothing to do with noise - it is a legal concept, in Common Law, that a LL cannot interfere with a tenant's basic right to enjoy the home they rent without undue interference.

There is also a human issue.
She is living in close proximity with another person, sharing facilities etc, and keeping a decent relationship is important. Sharing a house/flat always involves compromise (but yes,on both sides). Communication and compromise is key.

Finally there is also a practical issue.
An extra person around can add costs. If the house mate is paying 50% of the bills, but the guest(s) are frequently adding to costs (cooking, baths whatever), then that can lead to bad feeling

Furberserver wrote: »

The last time she had a guest, the room mate complained to the estate agent and they contacted her telling her she can't have guests without his approval.

Either
* ignore
* speak to the housemate and resolve or
* move (though this may need the LL's consent to an Early Surrender)

oldernonethewiser

Furberserver wrote: »

The last time she had a guest, the room mate complained to the estate agent and they contacted her telling her she can't have guests without his approval.

And there is written confirmation of this somewhere?