AIBU to refuse a tenant's vulnerable guest staying in my HMO?

[Poster555]

NC for this. I know landlords aren’t always popular here.

I own and manage a few HMO’s in a nearby city. All legal requirements fulfilled, and normally have long term tenants.

I woke this morning to a host of missed calls.
One of the tenants, who has been fine for several years, invited his friend/ relative to stay for a temporary period as she was having issues with her landlord.
He did not discuss this with me or the other tenants.

Tenants are of course allowed visitors, including overnight for a day or two ( longer if they are visiting from abroad, etc. it’s pretty flexible).
The Tenancy Agreement is very clear that visitors visit the person, and they should never be left unsupervised in the property or given a key.

Around 6 weeks ago I was at the property for a routine treatment. The visitor was there alone. I had to ask her to leave as harmful chemicals were being used.

I had a chat with the tenant later and he explained it was a one off emergency.

It later transpired after complaints from other tenants and some unexplained damage that she was living in the property.

That was a problem. She had no primary address elsewhere and her presence took the property into the next level of HMO, meaning it needed to be registered.
The penalties for not registering when required are severe.

I told the tenant he needed to tell her to leave.

He did so and was met with a lot of resistance, but eventually she went, only to return in the early hours some days later. He felt he had to let her in.

He asked for my help to get her to leave. She refused, saying the council had told her that I’d have to get a court order to evict her.

Legal advice was that he invited her in and once he told her she was no longer welcome we could change locks when she was out.

She actually went out without a key and whilst she was gone he put her belongings in a locked shed outside, offering to open it when she needed.

That was about a week ago. I thought it was sorted. The calls in the early hours were from my tenant and the police asking if I would agree to her staying the night.

I would have said no and fortunately as they couldn’t reach me she was not allowed in.

This woman clearly has problems. I’d say she is vulnerable, but the same council that was advising her not to leave my property, whilst refusing any sort of practical assistance, would also be the ones taking action against me for running an unlicensed HMO.

The tenant is being bullied by so called friends to let her stay. He is under a lot of pressure but I’ve had to tell him that if he lets her stay I will have to take steps to evict him.

I have told him that I will speak to any official bodies that are trying to pressure him, and to the ‘friends’
I wasn’t expecting to speak to the police at 2-3 am though. Apparently they weren’t happy with me and thought the tenant should be able to take her in.

I don’t think the tenant is technically vulnerable. He is helpful to his own detriment

Unfortunately it's to your detriment too, @Poster555 - something I doubt he truly cares about despite the bleating, especially as it now turns out he's letting her through not one but three doors

Though "I don't want her here" may be trotted out for your benefit I'm afraid I wouldn't give it much credence, and while it's understandable that your main motive is to keep her away I still think a very hard line is needed here

So he seems to "fear people in authority"? Fine - then let yours appear to be the greater one, stick purely to what you have to do, and avoid any and all manipulation

Typo

I'm surprised that nobody is picking up on the fact that she has no right to stay in the UK. If she isn't claiming asylum & doesn't have the required visa why isn't Border Force removing her?

It’s just not true. In this situation, the LL is not running an illegal hmo. I have a lot of expert knowledge on this area.
if this was me, I’d approach the council and explain the issue and issue formal warnings to the tenant and put in a complaint to the police.

I'm glad you've recognised that your tenant is in a difficult position OP, yes he made a mistake but we're all human. Hopefully like you say with your backing that letting her in would risk his tenancy he'll be able to stand up to those pressuring him.

That’s not the OP’s responsibility. She does have a responsibility to her paying tenants.

I am not sure if she is in the UK illegally. She is from the same country as
my tenant and he has the right to work and to rent accommodation.

He has an endorsement of no access to public funds.

It's not a popular topic on MN, SuffolkMan, but it's interesting that the community to which the tenant and this woman belong are said to be keen to encourage him to house her (to help her disappear?)

Hence why I said that the "I don't want her here" - and this after letting her in through multiple doors - is probably just something he feels he'd better trot out in order to keep his own accommodation

Is it an EU country? How long has he lived in the UK? How long has she lived in the UK?

There are various ways you can bring her to the attention of the relevant authorities.

https://www.imsallegations.homeoffice.gov.uk/start

OP, could you get a ring doorbell camera? That way the tenant could use it as another excuse as to why he can’t let her in, if she tried returning, telling her that you will know if she’s there and he will be evicted.

They are not from an EU country.

I mentioned earlier that part of the reason for my concern is that this person is not known to me. I only know her first name.

With hindsight it might have been a good idea to get her full details, but my main concern was getting rid of her, and I didn’t want to officially acknowledge her.

The OP said she didn't have the correct visa to get housed by the council, not that she didn't have a visa.

That’s an idea I could try to pursue.

I would have to check this out with my landlord legal advice team first though. I am a bit concerned that it might be a breach of the tenant’s privacy.

Or even get a dummy one? As suggested the tenant could use it as an excuse to stop her entering, she needn’t know it’s not real / active.

That’s a great idea. Thank you

Where are single people supposed to live if they can't afford a property to live in on their own?

Is there any scope to move your paying tenant to another one of your properties? Clean break etc

At best it sounds like she is on a visa waiver & has likely overstayed that. It can't do any harm to dob her in to Border Force as an illegal immigrant.

They end up dealing with loads of situations for all sorts of reasons with vulnerable people and trying to find her shelter for the night is routine.

Where in the OP's posts does it sound like that?

Also, border force work at the borders. Clue is in the name. Unless OP has neglected to tell us their HMO is located in an airport, I don't think they'll be interested.

Sounds like she could be here illegally, trafficked into the country, she could be a sex worker, or a victim of modern day slavery. You need to go to the police OP

Councils do not have a responsibility to house everyone. They never have. They have a duty to house families with children and disabled/sick people but single people are potentially only entitled to help and advice. There is a duty to house asylum seekers under different legislation.

I think you also have a duty of care to your other tenants. If she is volatile and destructive she, and anyone else’s “guest” behaving similarly, should be actively excluded. If your tenant is part of a wider cultural community there must be someone else who could support her search for accommodation.

"Dangerous chemicals" stood out to me in the op.

@Poster555 Do what is best for you. It's understandable you do not want her in your property.

That woman was staying for free, presumably. You were never legally her landlady.

Edited as hadn’t read quote history

I have no useful advice, but just wanted to say that you sound like a fabulous landlord - it is so kind of you to try to take the pressure off your tenant by telling him to tell his friends it is you refusing this woman staying.