Is my landlord BU or AIBU? HMO and locking bedroom.

[CinnamonandGinger]

I’ve been having difficulties with my landlord, and have posted on here before about him. He is very forceful and behaves like a bully.

I live in a flat share with four other people, who I didn’t know before I moved in (it’s an HMO - house in multiple occupation).

Recently, my landlord employed a handyman to change the doors to our bedrooms, to make them fireproof (the council required this). Each door has a lock fitted to it.

The landlord now wants my flatmates and I to return our keys for the locks to him. He won’t say why he wants us to return the keys (although he didn’t want us to have locks on our doors before they were fitted, and said this was a health and safety issue - he’s trying it on, clearly).

Some of my flatmates have already given their keys to the landlord when he came to our flat today for viewings, but I and my other flatmate haven’t. He messaged us asking us why we haven’t given him the keys.

I really don’t want to give him my key as I feel it’s my right to have a lockable door to my own room.

As I live in an HMO, my understanding is that each of my flatmates and I rent our rooms separately from the landlord. Therefore, we each need locks on our rooms, and we are fully entitled to this.

I will phone Shelter tomorrow with my flatmates to confirm this, but just wanted to hear your thoughts on this. AIBU to want to lock my own room - or is my landlord BU?

I lived in a share house with 9 bedrooms, trust me, you’re allowed to lock your room.

I've lived in lots of house shares. I've always locked my door when sleeping and when out.

Yes, if you rent your room ( as opposed to the whole flat ) then you must have a lockable door with a thumb turn lock.

Check on your local council website for their HMO regulations . Our local rules are much stricter that the legal minimum. If there are 5 of you sharing then you are a large HMO.

Yes make a copy and give him one.

I’ve checked my local council’s website’s HMO regulations, and they don’t mention anything about tenants having the right to lock their own bedroom doors.

Short of phoning Shelter tomorrow, I have no idea how I’ll be able to convince my landlord that I’m fully entitled to having a lock on my bedroom. I know I shouldn’t have to need to convince my LL that I need a lock, but I’ve no idea what will convince him.

Could citizens advice help. Get a copy of the key and an inside lock and a bloody camera. Aim to move at all costs.

Tell him he is liable for any lost property due to inadequate security. Type up a contract ask him to sign it, if he is taking your right to privacy. Bluff say you have had advice from citizens ad, in order for him to take key he must be liable for lost property or any harm that came to you.

I wouldn’t bother trying to convince him. I’d just quietly cut a copy, hand him the original and think no more about it. He will only find out if he or someone working for him tries to get into your room when you’re out without prior arrangement, which, obviously, he has no right to do. That would be the time to go to the trouble of printing out pages and pages of housing legislation, calling Shelter, the council, writing formal letters etc!

OP,

What's important here is your agreement..

Are you all on individual tenancy room only agreements? If you are, then each room will form individual households. Therefore, locks on doors will have to issued as will keys. For fire regulations, as all doors are exits for residents, the locks have to be thumbkey locks on the outside.

The rules are very strict on HMO. You have tenure of your room and are entitled by law to enjoy peacefully your room and feel safe.

Having a spare set of keys for the rooms is irrelevant.

He's being more than unreasonable. He's overstepping the mark. Don't give hom the key. Inform him you aware of your rights and you'll get him a spare set cut.

I have a close acquaintance who owns a few HMOs in a seaside town in the UK.
He had to remove the individual locks. Not for fire safety as OP has been told but because the local clowncil told him locks=flats, not a HMO, so different council tax, rules and regs etc.

@CinnamonandGinger How about this

'LL I would be more than happy to give you the key to my door and NOT lock the door anymore as long as you are wiling to sign a contract staying that if any of my valuables were to go missing you would be happy to replace them'

My daughter lives in a shared student house - all of the bedrooms have doors that can be locked. The landlord does have a copy of all of the keys though for emergency access only

I’ve checked my local council’s website’s HMO regulations, and they don’t mention anything about tenants having the right to lock their own bedroom doors

It’s about the type of tenancy you have. You only rent the room and share the rest of the facilities.

If you and 4 friends sign one agreement to rent the whole flat then you don’t have the right to locks on bedrooms doors, although many landlords will fit them as standard.

I would have thought for insurance your allowed a lock. I lived in a shared house with no Locks and people kept going into my room because they were nasty girls. However if something was stolen from what I understood with my insurance because there wasnt a lock I would have ‘willingly’ let them in. If he already has a copy ask him to have a copy (get your own first) and then ask him why you can’t have one if he won’t let you. Can’t see any reason not to other that something dodgy.

My DS lives in a house with 3 others. They all have locks on their bedroom doors. I'm guessing that the landlord/agent also has a key but they are allowed to (and do) lock their own rooms. It is a student let but is done as individual bedrooms rather than let out as a whole house - which seems to be the way the agents do it in their city - so if one of them moved out, the others wouldn't be liable for the rent of the vacant room.
I have no idea of the law regarding an HMO but I sincerely hope this is not a fire risk issue as all student landlords would be breaking the law!

Call the council for advice. I'm a landlord and I have keys to the properties but obviously it's my tenants place and I don't have the right to enter without permission.
How are you going to keep your belongings safe?
HMO's should be the same rights as other tenants but do get in touch with the council just to make sure.

Thanks so much for your help, everyone.

I’m going to get a copy of my key made this week.

I’ve spoken to Shelter, and they’ve said the landlord is out of order. I’ve made notes of my phone call with them and also have details of who I spoke to at Shelter (they might have a record of the phone call anyway).

One of my flatmate also found out that we can complain to a wider authority set up by the Mayor of London (as we’re in London) as well as our local council.

We won’t complain until we’ve left the flat though.