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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Dodgy tennant has registered a business at my address- AIBU to report her?

38 replies

Rapunzel88 · 10/07/2019 20:05

My husband and I have a small house which we rent out. Three tennants have moved out today, leaving the place in a terrible mess, but that's another story.... Whilst we were cleaning up l found a piece of mail with a company name and our address. Googled the company and the director is someone we've never heard of (ie not one of the three names on the tenancy agreement). It's in the tenancy agreement that they should not have been running a business from our property. Is this something I should be worried about? Should I report this person? Who should I report her to? Any advice gratefully received.

OP posts:
MyOpinionIsValid · 10/07/2019 20:08

A company registered address is not necessarily the same as running a business from the address.

I would go to Companies House and ask their advice

Christmastree43 · 10/07/2019 20:09

What part of the country are you in OP? I know someone in a certain region of the UK who goes around doing this, she will use the new fake identity and business as her ID for her new tenancy (leaving that house in a shithole as well before swiftly moving on)

RLOU30 · 10/07/2019 20:09

That doesn't mean anything. My tenant had his company mail going to the flat he lived in. It was his home.

Namechangeforthiscancershit · 10/07/2019 20:23

It has to go somewhere, she was living at the property so presumably was getting lots of post. It doesn't mean the business is being run from the property.

Original poster
Rapunzel88 · 10/07/2019 20:24

Thanks Myopionion l will contact Companies House tomorrow.

Christmastree43 we're in South London

RL30 This person was not named as a tennant in the agreement, they should not have been living there!

OP posts:
Garby · 10/07/2019 20:24

Use the website Endole, they can tell you if a company has been set up at your address and if it is still in use. If it looks dodgy report it to Action Fraud via their website.

Then contact companies house ASAP with your Action fraud crime reference number.

I had someone do this at my old address while I was living there and they opened bank accounts fraudulently, they were intercepting the post (external post boxes) and I only found out about it by chance.

Companies House can disassociate the address with the company (although frustratingly by writing to the person who has set it up, at the address) so you need to return all post sent to this person to sender. I did this (including financial documents from the three banks they had set accounts up at) marking the envelopes ‘recipient not known at his address, address being used fraudulently, police aware’.

MulticolourMophead · 10/07/2019 20:28

You can search Companies House online. I use this all the time at work. If the company is registered, you can find all sorts of details like addresses, names, etc.

Onesailwait · 10/07/2019 20:37

off the point of the thread I totally read that as doggy tenant!. I thought someone had set up a business under the name of their dog at your address!! WTF 😁

jennymanara · 10/07/2019 20:38

Are you sure this person was not actually living at the house? GF or bf of a tenant? Registered address is just where you get your mail for a business, nothing else.

RLOU30 · 10/07/2019 20:41

Sorry, OP I misread 😬

RubberTreePlant · 10/07/2019 20:50

So not a 'dodgy' tenant, then?

If an occupier is self employed, whether sole trader, Ltd Co, or whatever, they have to supply an address to HMRC, possibly Companies House, Clients and so on.Nothing dodgy about that.

Clients visiting the premises is a problem.

Unregistered occupants is a problem.

But not the mere fact of running a business.

Christmastree43 · 10/07/2019 20:55

@Rapunzel88 ahh okay it must be a different person, the person I know that does this East Midlands.

Original poster
Rapunzel88 · 10/07/2019 21:11

RubberTreePlant accepted she may not necessarily be up to anything financially dodgy, but she wasn't supposed to be living there and they left the place in a disgusting mess, which is why I'm not feeling very charitable!

OP posts:
Original poster
Rapunzel88 · 10/07/2019 21:13

RubberTreePlant also meant to say thanks for the advice- much appreciated

OP posts:
RubberTreePlant · 10/07/2019 21:14

she wasn't supposed to be living there and they left the place in a disgusting mess, which is why I'm not feeling very charitable

Well, yes, I understand that.

But i'd forget reporting her for being self employed Wink

RubberTreePlant · 10/07/2019 21:15

X post. YW Smile

CodenameVillanelle · 10/07/2019 21:30

Report to whom? They have moved out! It's not illegal, just against the terms of your tenancy agreement. Which has now expired.

Original poster
Rapunzel88 · 10/07/2019 21:56

Fair point, Villanelle. Perhaps I'm over- reacting. I'm still seething about the mess and various broken things l now have to replace...😡

OP posts:
RosaWaiting · 10/07/2019 21:59

But if she’s registered the address at Companies House, is that legal?

NigellaAwesome · 10/07/2019 22:19

This could well be fraud / identity theft. I would report it to Action Fraud.

jennymanara · 10/07/2019 23:40

There is no issue with the address being registered at Companies House up till now. It simply means where the post for the company goes to. The registered address can be a PO Box. But now it should be changed.
It does not mean that any business is being run from the premises. And in fact sometimes the registered address is the contact for the company secretary, not the director.

jennymanara · 10/07/2019 23:42

And there is nothing to report. If the address is still your address on the companies house website after a few weeks, at that point inform them the address is wrong.

RosaWaiting · 10/07/2019 23:50

There’s a note here about using an unauthorised address

www.gov.uk/government/publications/reporting-fraud-about-a-company-to-companies-house/reporting-fraud-to-companies-house--2

daffydowndilys · 10/07/2019 23:54

Did they not give you a deposit? Can you not claim from that?