AST or lodging?

elsien

Organising and paying for repairs without the landlords agreement which are not to the landlord's satisfaction can lead to a lot more strife, complaints of bodge jobs, etc.  And if its drain issues can potentially also be expensive
Bad idea unless it's something very basic.   

no_moolah

sourpuss2021 said:

RAS said:

We already know that the friend's home is NOT part of the same building.

Sorry, I should have written 'the same property" rather than building.

We know that the annexe is detached from the main building.   And that it is not separately rated for council tax.

But is it part of the same property?  It could well be.   Just as many garages are separate from the house but still part of the same property.

And in that case the tenant may well  be a non-AST statutory tenant of a resident landlord.  In which case the deposit does not need to be, in fact cannot be protected.

Thanks for this, very useful to consider. Is it based on Housing Act 1988 Schedule 1 Paragraph 10? That describes tenancies that cannot be assured, with the existence of resident landlord being one such criteria, however I see nothing to suggest 'property' comes into it. It does talk about the landlord being 'part of the building' or 'part of the flat' though.

Does the 'property' aspect come from elsewhere?

no_moolah

elsien said:

Organising and paying for repairs without the landlords agreement which are not to the landlord's satisfaction can lead to a lot more strife, complaints of bodge jobs, etc.  And if its drain issues can potentially also be expensive
Bad idea unless it's something very basic.   

Yes I do agree, probably all the more expensive as it concerns drainage and I  imagine thats why the landlord is reluctant to get someone in. Ok so I'll advise not to raise the AST issue just yet (it still seems a bit of a grey area given sourpuss2021's post) but perhaps a considered letter will be enough, maybe one that includes a brief mention about informing the council if it continues. Thanks again all.

RAS

I'd suggest that your friend points out to the LL

a) any deterioration that has happened since they first raised the issue

b) their concern that lack of maintenance/repair might cause further deterioration before August.

Since you haven't explained what the problem is, can't advise whether it's just a problem for your friend (failing outfield/septic tank needs emptying), or affects the property (leaking pipe from cistern or from waste pipe).

sourpuss2021

no_moolah said:

sourpuss2021 said:

RAS said:

We already know that the friend's home is NOT part of the same building.

Sorry, I should have written 'the same property" rather than building.

We know that the annexe is detached from the main building.   And that it is not separately rated for council tax.

But is it part of the same property?  It could well be.   Just as many garages are separate from the house but still part of the same property.

And in that case the tenant may well  be a non-AST statutory tenant of a resident landlord.  In which case the deposit does not need to be, in fact cannot be protected.

Thanks for this, very useful to consider. Is it based on Housing Act 1988 Schedule 1 Paragraph 10? That describes tenancies that cannot be assured, with the existence of resident landlord being one such criteria, however I see nothing to suggest 'property' comes into it. It does talk about the landlord being 'part of the building' or 'part of the flat' though.

Does the 'property' aspect come from elsewhere?

Sorry, I think I may have appeared more knowledgeable than I in fact am!

Really the only situation I know about is when there's a resident landlord living in one flat in a converted house, their tenants in any other flats in the house will be non-AST tenants.

But annexes/granny flats, or seperate buildings on the same plot of land and under the same title, may well be a different kettle of fish. 

no_moolah

Had a chat with the tenant today and they confirmed that it is a drainage problem, which started last year soon after they moved in. Apparently landlord has been trying various fixes but hasn't/won't call anyone in. So a leaking waste pipe (on more than one occasion), sewage smells.. some other plumbing defects here and there). They also believe that the landlord installed all the fixtures in the property himself (including plumbing).

I said it might be worth avoiding the pain of the AST/lodging situation and going straight to the council to ask if they even know this place is being let, although probably best to wait until a month or so when exams are finished

canaldumidi

no_moolah said:

.... it is a drainage problem, which started last year soon after they moved in. Apparently landlord has been trying various fixes but hasn't/won't call anyone in. So a leaking waste pipe (on more than one occasion), sewage smells.. some other plumbing defects here and there). They also believe that the landlord installed all the fixtures in the property himself (including plumbing).

..

Sounds like a potential H&S issue - needs sorting. If LL won't get it looked at professionally I'd be calling Environmental Health at the council. Not just to get a H&S sewage leakage problem fixed but because it also sounds like the entire sewage system could be breaching the new rules on private sewage treatment.

If it's an AST(yes, i know.....)  then the The Deregulation Act 2015 (S33) protects tenants from 'revenge eviction' once a repairing issue is reported.

Tranboy

I think just miss a month rent to get back the deposit and leave, any landlord that is that uncooperative isn't worth staying with.

FreeBear

no_moolah said:

Had a chat with the tenant today and they confirmed that it is a drainage problem, which started last year soon after they moved in. Apparently landlord has been trying various fixes but hasn't/won't call anyone in. So a leaking waste pipe (on more than one occasion), sewage smells.. some other plumbing defects here and there). They also believe that the landlord installed all the fixtures in the property himself (including plumbing).

I said it might be worth avoiding the pain of the AST/lodging situation and going straight to the council to ask if they even know this place is being let, although probably best to wait until a month or so when exams are finished

Is this a garage conversion ?

May well find planning as well as building regulation breaches have taken place - You could be opening up a huge can of worms by contacting the council.

no_moolah

Yes it is a garage conversion. And yes, I was concerned about the implications of that, especially as it seems like both breaches have probably occured. I can't find planning permission anywhere and know there was a recent clampdown on landlords doing this sort of thing (using outbuildings as rented accomodation without permission). As for building regulations, I'm told the landlord initially said the electrics and plumbing had been installed professionally and signed off, but recently let the mask slip when then tenant reported one of these issues, claiming they forgot to install a p-trap... to me it all sounds very strange.