Proof of family

dipesh010

Hello, 
I recently purchased 1 bed flat. The flat have 1 extra room and my friend was interested in moving in with me for  £200 rent (something that can help me repair part of my flat ). The friend is just like my family member who has helped me a lot. However my lease says i cannot let my house nor a room out. The house should only be occupied by myself and  my family.
Is it okay to keep a friend with me? 
Can i keep my cousin? is he counted as my family? 
How do i proof that the person who is staying with me is my family? 
What if i let the room out to a non-family member? can freeholder will take me to the court? how is freeholder meant to find out if a family member or none family member is staying in my flat? if it is a family member then how do i proof that in court? 
 

ACG

I do not think I have seen someone ask the same question in so many different ways in one single post before 

It sounds like there are 2 issues here:
1) You can not let the room out.
2) Only family can live in the property. 
It sounds like even if the person were your brother, you can still not let the room to them, but they could stay.

What is the freeholder like? You will have some people who are awkward and some who are not. Are they likely to kick up a fuss? 
Also what does your lease actually say? When it says family does it say/mean your immediate family (ie your partner/kids?) or does it mean your family of any description? 

L_T_88

Can you post the exact wording from the lease?

I'd generally say a lodger, living in your home as if they were a member of your family are not classed as sub-tenants and would not be a breach. However, without the lease wording I can't say in all certainty.

davidmcn

I would take it to mean no lodgers at all, it should be occupied by only one household i.e. you. If you and your friend were actually sharing e.g. joint ownership, that would be ok - but if you're renting a room to him, I can't see how that's compliant. Whether anybody will kick up a fuss in practice, I don't know. Are neighbours likely to ask or care about your sleeping or rental arrangements?

dipesh010

ACG said:

I do not think I have seen someone ask the same question in so many different ways in one single post before 

It sounds like there are 2 issues here:
1) You can not let the room out.
2) Only family can live in the property. 
It sounds like even if the person were your brother, you can still not let the room to them, but they could stay.

What is the freeholder like? You will have some people who are awkward and some who are not. Are they likely to kick up a fuss? 
Also what does your lease actually say? When it says family does it say/mean your immediate family (ie your partner/kids?) or does it mean your family of any description? 

It only says  'use the premises as a private residence in sole occupation of the lease or their family'
Freeholder specifically mention this to my lawyer so sounds like his concern about this point. However, previous owner rented this flat for 7 years (I guess without freeholder finding out). The ground floor people were a bit upset with the people as they were making too much noise.

dipesh010

davidmcn said:

I would take it to mean no lodgers at all, it should be occupied by only one household i.e. you. If you and your friend were actually sharing e.g. joint ownership, that would be ok - but if you're renting a room to him, I can't see how that's compliant. Whether anybody will kick up a fuss in practice, I don't know. Are neighbours likely to ask or care about your sleeping or rental arrangements?

Speaking of neighbours the ground floor people are a bit fussy (they dont like noise as once my friend visited me and a simple conversation  disturbed her) 
If ground floor people see someone entering the front door they might ask my friend some questions (not that he need to answer). But the question is if they were to complain to the freeholder then how do you proof the person who is with me is my friend of family member? 

Thrugelmir

dipesh010 said:

davidmcn said:

I would take it to mean no lodgers at all, it should be occupied by only one household i.e. you. If you and your friend were actually sharing e.g. joint ownership, that would be ok - but if you're renting a room to him, I can't see how that's compliant. Whether anybody will kick up a fuss in practice, I don't know. Are neighbours likely to ask or care about your sleeping or rental arrangements?

 But the question is if they were to complain to the freeholder then how do you proof the person who is with me is my friend of family member? 

Driving license? Passport?  Other form of identity card i.e. work pass? 

MWT

dipesh010 said:

But the question is if they were to complain to the freeholder then how do you proof the person who is with me is my friend of family member? 

Since this is a friend not a family member you cannot prove that he is a family member anyway, and since your terms require those living in the flat to be limited to you and your family, you cannot allow your friend to live there paying you rent without being in breach.

dipesh010

MWT said:

dipesh010 said:

But the question is if they were to complain to the freeholder then how do you proof the person who is with me is my friend of family member? 

Since this is a friend not a family member you cannot prove that he is a family member anyway, and since your terms require those living in the flat to be limited to you and your family, you cannot allow your friend to live there paying you rent without being in breach.

How do you prove if somebody is my family? i.e my father, brother son is my family so can he stay in my house (no rent)?
instead of a friend what if I keep a cousin in that house (not rent involved). Will that brach my lease? 

what happen if people in ground floor complains to the freeholder? do the freeholder takes me straight to the court? or do I have a chance to explain him the situation i.e his my family and not paying any rent

elsien

Out of interest, if it’s only a one bedroom flat what’s the extra room that your friend would be sleeping in? 

MalMonroe

Hi - in your original post you said "my friend was interested in moving in with me for  £200 rent (something that can help me repair part of my flat )."  But now you are saying that your friend won't be paying rent. Is a cousin also involved? Three people in a one bedroomed flat? That's a bit crowded. 

In theory the freeholder would contact you before taking any action against you, surely? 

I think you'd be better off just living in the flat by yourself. And then when you can afford it you can join together with your friend and your cousin and buy something bigger for you all to live in.

Your neighbours and the freeholder don't seem to be very nice and you really would be better off living elsewhere as far as I can see.