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One bed occupancy/ tenancy laws

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tizzle6560
tizzle6560 Posts: 354 Forumite
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in House buying, renting & selling
Just wanting some clarification on this really - Can a flat be marketed as a 1 bed only, but be rented out to a couple with a young child with a second bed in the living room?

And what obligations does the estate agent (who manages the property on behalf of the owner) have to ensure that it is not over occupied etc?

Thanks
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  • Cakeguts
    Cakeguts Posts: 7,627 Forumite
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    Agent is acting for the landlord because the landlord pays them. So I would guess that the agent told the landlord about the tenant before the flat was let. The landlord gets to decide which tenants get their property. If this isn't the case then the landlord needs a better agent.

    Assuming that the landlord knows that the one bed flat has these tenants living in it then the agent just follows the landlord's instructions regarding number of occupants. If the landlord doesn't know and finds out doesn't like the number of occupants they can issue a section 21 notice and change agents.
  • tizzle6560
    tizzle6560 Posts: 354 Forumite
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    Cakeguts wrote: »
    Agent is acting for the landlord because the landlord pays them. So I would guess that the agent told the landlord about the tenant before the flat was let. The landlord gets to decide which tenants get their property. If this isn't the case then the landlord needs a better agent.

    Assuming that the landlord knows that the one bed flat has these tenants living in it then the agent just follows the landlord's instructions regarding number of occupants. If the landlord doesn't know and finds out doesn't like the number of occupants they can issue a section 21 notice and change agents.

    Thanks. E.A acts on behalf of LL yes. My question still stands though - can an E.A/ LL legally rent out their 1 bed flat to a family of 3?
  • Pixie5740
    Pixie5740 Posts: 14,515 Forumite
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    tizzle6560 wrote: »
    Thanks. E.A acts on behalf of LL yes. My question still stands though - can an E.A/ LL legally rent out their 1 bed flat to a family of 3?

    Which law do you think is being broken by letting a one bedroom property to a couple with a young child?
  • Out,_Vile_Jelly
    Out,_Vile_Jelly Posts: 4,842 Forumite
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    tizzle6560 wrote: »
    Thanks. E.A acts on behalf of LL yes. My question still stands though - can an E.A/ LL legally rent out their 1 bed flat to a family of 3?

    What law do you think they would be breaking?

    Edit: Pixie beat me to it as I retyped my initial response to make it more polite.
    They are an EYESORES!!!!
  • silvercar
    silvercar Posts: 46,960 Ambassador
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    Yes they can if they wish, but they may choose not to due to extra wear and tear by having 3 occupiers.
    I'm a Forum Ambassador on The Coronavirus Boards as well as the housing, mortgages and student money saving boards. I volunteer to help get your forum questions answered and keep the forum running smoothly. Forum Ambassadors are not moderators and don't read every post. If you spot an illegal or inappropriate post then please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com (it's not part of my role to deal with this). Any views are mine and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.com.
  • PasturesNew
    PasturesNew Posts: 70,698 Forumite
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    There are many laws, but none cover specifically what you're looking for.

    I can choose to rent one room and squeeze a family of 12 into it. There's no specific law against that.

    There are other laws that might come into play - and other guidelines.

    e.g. The Council's guideline would say that's overcrowded, but they'd not scoop everybody up and house them, they'd just get more points.

    e.g. In an HMO the whole building might have an occupancy level allowed - ditto with B&B/hotels, those laws will come from the planning permission/licenses required to run a building like that.

    e.g. Private landlords might CHOOSE to limit occupancy and reject applications based on that, or even issue a "no fault" Section 21 if they don't like what's going on... or they might just allow it.

    So, in short, there's no law against your family of 3 in a 1-bed place at all.
  • Heather2603
    Heather2603 Posts: 72 Forumite
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    Are you getting confused with council overcrowding guidelines? Or HMOs? I don't think it's a huge dela for a couple and their child to live in a 1 bed flat.
  • lika_86
    lika_86 Posts: 1,772 Forumite
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    Of course there's no law, otherwise landlords would find themselves evicting couple tenants who get pregnant and have a baby whilst in a one bedroom flat, which would be a nonsense.
  • tizzle6560
    tizzle6560 Posts: 354 Forumite
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    Sorry I should clarify the situation better - the flat was rented to a single female who was using housing benefits to pay for it. An unrelated male (boyfriend) and his son then subsequently moved in permanently.

    Still all kosher?
  • davidmcn
    davidmcn Posts: 23,596 Forumite
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    Can't remember the relevant legislation but it doesn't distinguish between living rooms and bedrooms, so (assuming the rooms aren't too small) no overcrowding for a couple + 1 child.
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