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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

If my tenant has negotiated a lower rent because she is a single mum of 2 she should not move in her entire extended family?

344 replies

QuintessentialShadows · 08/06/2008 21:05

She negotiated her rent down, as she was just her and her two kids. Ideal quiet tenant, long term let.

So, a whole gang of people surprised my dh at the house when he went to London to have a final look prior to tenant moving in.

My other neighbour down the road got talking to them ( same ethnicity) and they said they were ALL moving in. Mum and her two children, her husband, her brother, her mum and her dad.... Only mum is named on the contract and the contract stays that nobody else can live there aside from named tenant.

Where do I stand? Can I demand higher rent bearing in mind wear and tear of appliances etc? With three working grown ups living there, surely they can afford it?

OP posts:
clam · 09/06/2008 22:13

Re: Freckle's points, WHY are rental agreements apparently so different? I didn't have any of the clauses you mention. Ought not they to be the same nationwide, pretty much, according to the type of let?

Original poster
QuintessentialShadows · 09/06/2008 22:16

sorry guys, I am mellowing. I managed to go to the state run wine monopoly and secure myself a bottle of Montepulciano D'Abruzzo.

I will protect my assets, I will get back in touch with lawyer tomorrow. I have asked for numerous "minor" alterations, such as immediate family to be defined as husband and children only, and break clause after six months.

OP posts:
clam · 09/06/2008 22:20

Pass some of that over here, would you?
Cheers!

Original poster
QuintessentialShadows · 09/06/2008 22:21

Are there any other "minor" alterations I should perhaps suggest?

OP posts:
Original poster
QuintessentialShadows · 09/06/2008 22:22

Oh I know, feed the carpe every day in summer and weekly in winter, in the same section that deals with mowing the lawn and keeping the garden neat.

OP posts:
lucyellensmum · 09/06/2008 22:23

Ive not read the thread, but this sort of reminded me about when i was a single parent living in rented accomodation. People really don't give you too much credit. My landlady received a complaint from my neighbour (she lived away) that, a) i had a dog - she had agreed to this and b) i was having various men visit the house at different times at night, oh and wild parties. This was following one birthday when i had gone out wiht my Mother, best friend and Auntie (ok so we were a little noisy when we got back but nothing excesssive). The "Men", bearing in mind i was "courting" DP who lived a long way off and came only at weekends, were My friend who dropped in a card before i went out. My father, who was babysitting, my best friends boyfriend who took over from my Dad when he had to go and work his nightshift, for an hour before i got home! They were implying i was running a house of ill repute!

Some people have nothing better to do in their lives but judge. But hey, i guess it was nice for my landlady to have a neighbour to spy keep a friendly eye on the place.

Original poster
QuintessentialShadows · 09/06/2008 22:30

LEM, I am sorry, it must have been upsetting at the time, but I am sorry you had a bad experience.

I was renting privately for years before finally purchasing a house nearly ten years ago now.

I have once been thoroughly screwed over by landlady and agency, when we signed a one year lease (with a six month break clause) and it turned out that the landlady did not actually WANT to let her property for more than six months, but did not want to do a short let. She had family lined up to move in, so we got notice after just four months. That was when DH and I moved out of student accomodations to get our first proper flat on our own. We needed a reference for our second flat, so dh asked in work. His manager did one. And he read it up for us shortly after we moved in. It said:
"XXX is a very pleasant guy, he does what he is told, and is not in the habit of trashing furniture so you can safely let to him".

OP posts:
Freckle · 09/06/2008 22:31

You could add a clause that there are to be no alterations to the property, including any additional locks on internal or external doors and that the agents, when doing their inspection, must have access to every room in the house and any external buildings.

Original poster
QuintessentialShadows · 09/06/2008 22:36

Freckle, thanks, that is a very good idea. I shall incorporate it in my mail.

OP posts:
lucyellensmum · 09/06/2008 22:43

quint, sorry, it was a bit of a hijack really. Im not sure i could rent out a home i was attached to either tbh, so you i appreciate your concerns.

whispywhisp · 09/06/2008 22:54

Did you get rid of the sofa QS or is that a daft question??!!!!

Original poster
QuintessentialShadows · 09/06/2008 22:56

It turns out that my rather mentally unhinged neighbour asked for it. I expect either OUR sofa or her old sofa to be dumped in the vicinity of our house shortly....Possibly under the bushes on the Green

OP posts:
whispywhisp · 09/06/2008 22:59

Tell you something QS...despite all the stresses and strains of what you've been thru these last few days...your humour has shone through! Good for you!!!! xxx

Original poster
QuintessentialShadows · 09/06/2008 23:29

Thanks Whispy, lol. That is good to hear!

OP posts:
expatinscotland · 09/06/2008 23:44

We know our landlord is very attached to this, his house.

We were with them right before they left for Africa, DH even drove them to the airport.

And the last night, we all went out for dinner and drinks, and all the heather was coming in, and he looked all around and said, 'This is such a beautiful place, my country.'

Couldn't even change so much as the doormat without thinking to ask him first.

My mother was just joking, 'Maybe they'll stay there and continue to let to you.'

Nope, and we never expected that. A deal's a deal. One good turn deserves another - they got us out of Edinburgh, we look after their home and make sure it's in better shape than we found it, if that's possible, for when they get back.

Karma schmarma, this will be the best place we'll ever live, and so cherish each and every day we are here. What else do you have to take with you but memories?

Original poster
QuintessentialShadows · 10/06/2008 00:04

So profound and so true expat. And I think, where you live now, and where I live now, is not so different.

I look out on a dark blue fierce ocean, pale blue skies, a horizon of snow capped peaks, I breathe the cold crisp air, and I think Who cares that it is 30 degrees in London, and that the walking paths along the Thames have this speical damp summer smell I love so much. This is where my mind can breathe. This is where I can look out of the window and feel my soul connect in a direct line to speak to the rocks, the boulders, the seaweeds and the heathers, the birch trees, the blueberries, and the melting snow....

OP posts:
expatinscotland · 10/06/2008 00:08

And we'd have never found that out if it hadn't been for our landlord, so you can better believe we'll look after his home because it's as precious to us as it is to him.

It's really nice to be able to take care of something when you know the owner is such a terrific person. You think, 'Wow, the good guys really get what they deserve sometimes.'

prettybird · 10/06/2008 09:22

QS - you could say to Foxtons that if there are roblems with evicting the tenants when the time comes that relate to the concerns you have now, then you will hold them jointly liable in getting the problems sorted. That might give them more of an incentive to "do the deal properly" as oppsoed to just "close the deal".

clam · 10/06/2008 10:18

And get them involved in some written correspondence/emails on the subject so you have some proof. List phone calls, making a note of exactly who you speak to each time...

stuffedaubergine · 10/06/2008 10:29

Oh yes. Notes, notes, notes.

Original poster
QuintessentialShadows · 10/06/2008 11:12

The first solicitor proved rather useless in that I only ever got to speak to his secretary. I have gone back to another local and well reputed firm I know, the solicitor (a litigator) has been forwarded a copy of the contract. I have outlined the issues to him. He really thinks the property would be too small to house all the people, but agrees she has not yet done anything wrong.

The agency does not respond to emails, other than sending me stuff. They call. I shall make a point of sending a summary of all telephone calls hereafter.

Though I have asked them to call me this morning, but they havent. SO I am not really impressed.

OP posts:
prettybird · 10/06/2008 11:15

If you summarise the calls in e-mails to them and say that in the absence of any correction, you will ake these as an accurate record of your "transactions" with Foxtons......

stuffedaubergine · 10/06/2008 14:17

Hope things have gone well for you today QS. Good to take back control and make demands of your own.

Original poster
QuintessentialShadows · 10/06/2008 20:32

What is it with solicitors? Two has already been briefed, and not gotten back to me. I guess it means there is nothing to do. Oh well, it could be worse.

OP posts:
clam · 10/06/2008 21:08

How about asking the agents to spell out very clearly exactly what the course of action they/you could take, should it turn out that the tenant has more adults living at the property than are listed on the agreement. And to confirm that they appear to be saying that although only her name is listed, it's perfectly OK for numerous others to live there if they are close family. I just do not understand how that can be the case. Otherwise, what's the point of naming tenants? You have signed the agreement on the condition, presumably, that it will be her and 2 kids. If that's not the case, then surely it's invalid? This has been bugging me all day!