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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to say no to my tenant's request?

114 replies

akdmummy · 20/06/2016 01:31

I let out a 2 bed house. It also has a loft conversion that doesn't comply to building regs. Now the tenant has said that they want to use it as a 3rd bedroom and will have to leave if they can't use it as a bedroom.

I am uncomfortable with allowing the space to be used as a bedroom given potential insurance and safety issues. WIBU to say no, therefore effectively making the tenant move out or am I being too cautious - (the conversion has been there for a long time and has been used by previous owners as a bedroom in the past)?

OP posts:
mammamic · 21/06/2016 19:55

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

Confusednotcom · 21/06/2016 21:06

Everyone is trying to be helpful as far as I can see. I don't think you should agree to it and put this in writing.

Mycraneisfixed · 21/06/2016 21:45

You've advertised it as a 2 bedroomed house. The loft has access to it and has a floor laid. This is not a loft conversion and you haven't said that it is. If you look at some Estate Agents' particulars of houses they often mention that a loft is floorboarded and used for storage even when it is clearly a rather nice room. However, it isn't a loft conversion because that requires a lot of work and a huge amount of money.
Stick to your guns. YANBU.

doctorboo · 22/06/2016 07:51

As a tenant who has three kids (5 and under) and is currently renting a two bed flat, I think it's perfectly acceptable to say the loft room is a no go as a 3rd bedroom.
My parents are landlords and I think it's better for everything to be 100% aboveboard and safe.
It wouldn't be the end of the world for the family stay in the property for the length of the tenancy agreement and then move to somewhere bigger. (Hopefully) there shouldn't be any dramatics, it doesn't have to be a major thing.
My three share the bigger room, bunk beds and a single, with no problem. Youngest was in our room for the first 6 months. We chose to live here because of the short distance to the primary school and we will be here for another 2-3 years. As a PP said, there's lots of homeowners with only two bedders who have more than 2 children.

doctorboo · 22/06/2016 07:54

Oops missed off the italics on the 'only' in the last sentence.

aquamarine2 · 22/06/2016 12:36

it is your property and if it makes you feel uneasy, YANBU.

Hodooooooooor · 22/06/2016 13:14

We will be able to 'police' this as (with the tenants permission) we will be going into the property to do quite a bit of updating over the next few months as the house wasn't looked after properly by the previous owner

I hope you're going to give a discount on the rent to reflect the upheaval and their lack of quiet enjoyment of the property?

scaryteacher · 22/06/2016 13:20

If they are benefiting from a new l/l who is updating the property for them,,and the l/l is working around their convenience, then why would the rent be reduced? If my l/l wanted to do something to the house, then that would be fine, as long as I knew when and for how long.

ptumbi · 22/06/2016 18:07

dailyfail (bit late to your reply but anyway...) - my loft conversion was done 25 years ago by the previous owners; they got round building regs (for fire doors on all habitable rooms) by nailing asbestos sheets to the front of all doors Hmm.

When I had my extension built at the back, I raised the matter with building control and was told that all habitable rooms needed fire doors, which I had replaced by then. And I needed hard wired fire alarms - one on each floor, wired together (a real pain as if one goes off malfunctions they all bloody go off at 2am

I suppose as a pp said, all councils have their own rules.

Gide · 22/06/2016 19:36

But, that would mean the rent would increase

You can only raise the rent by a very small amount and I think at the time of renewing the contract(which only started in March?) which would not add up to how much a 3 bed place would normally rent for. To be financially viable, the owner would be better off were the tenants to move out as she can then raise the rental for the property, but they are Iiable for rent til the end of the contract and the owner may not properly convert the loft, so the question won't arise.

Janecc · 23/06/2016 12:53

Gide. There is no rent capping in this country. Therefore at the end of the 12 month fixed term period, as long as the owner gives one months' notice, they could effectively raise the rent by however much they wanted. However, it would be imprudent to raise it to such a high rate that the tenants would wish to vacate.

doctorboo · 23/06/2016 16:18

Janecc Our last landlord told us he wanted to hike our rent from £900pcm to £1300, just as our agreement was coming to an end. We weren't willing to pay that but he found a family friend who was - it was all decided in less than 48hrs! (something that truly amazes me).

Janecc · 23/06/2016 21:19

Omg. doctorboo. That's outrageous. No wonder some people are so pissed off with landlords on this site.

specialsubject · 23/06/2016 21:56

Only on mumsnet would someone whine when a landlord has plans to fix and upgrade a property.

I must apologise to my tenant for all the external maintenance I did. The inside was already immaculate before it was rented.

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