Can my tenant change the front garden of our house to a 'off road' parking area without our consent

[Oldsu]

Just after Christmas 2022 an elderly aunt died and left us her house, I love the house but its too far from, where I work, so we will move there in a few years time when I finally retire, the house is a Victorian cottage with a lovely front garden (roses and a magnolia tree and original railings) as neither DH drive we wont need a parking area when we move in, parking in the road seems to be difficult but there are no double yellow lines or residents parking permits so not impossible, we have factored this in with the rent and are charging 1/3 below market .

We rent this through an agency who have spoken to us a few times about putting in a parking area and we have said no, last September our tenant emailed me directly and asked me when the work was going to start, I forwarded it to the agents and told them to speak to the tenants, last November the tenants emailed me again asking about the work and said they would be looking to pay a reduced rent until the work is done, again I forwarded it to the agents for them to deal with, today I got another email telling me if the work is not done in 3 months they have the 'legal' right to get their own company to do the work and charge us afterwards. I want to forward it to my agents but it seems the agents are not making it clear about the parking area or the tenants are ignoring them so I think I am going to have to deal with the last email myself

When we inherited the house all paper work was done including updating the property records on the Land Registry so DH and I are on the LR as owners.

So my question is, I understand they wont need planning permission if the correct material is used but would need it to put in a dropped kerb, if they do apply would the council check the LR to check they are actually the owners of the property, if they didn't get planning permission but got a company to do the work anyway would the company also have to check the LR to make sure the customer has a right to make the change. I know it would be easier and simpler to put in the parking space and revert to a garden when we move in but I don't want to its my property and my garden. Any help would be appreciated

Section 4.2 of the standard shorthold tenancy covers this. Essentially they can't do anything without express written permission
It seems likely to me that they took it on the beleif that the front garden could be used for parking.
I honestly would give them notice now. They may just decide to alter the garden and in reality, you are never going to get the money out of them to reinstate it after the event.
I'd also change agent at the same time. They haven't done what you are paying them for. And charge market rent! If the next tenancy is likely to approach when you will want the property back, I'd let prospective tenants know that you will want them out on x date.
Alternatively, you might just decide to leave it empty and pay an agent to do a weekly check on it.

Are you the landlord or do you pay the estate agent to provide full management (~20% of rental income each month) ?

if you do follow the advice to serve notice on the tenants @Oldsu - make sure you get copies of what the agent send to them and make sure it is correct.

if the agents don’t serve notice correctly it’s completely invalid.

Don’t start making threats about them having to pay for new contracts and inventories if you change agent though - it’s not their fault your agents are shit. You need to follow what you’re actually allowed to do - not what people think you should be able to do.

Honestly, why are you fannying about?

REPLY to their email and TELL THE TENANT YOURSELF that you are not authorising them to carry out any works on your property and therefore any damage they do to your property will be charged to them.

copy the EA

instruct EA to give notice at the first opportunity and get rid of them.

seriously! This is adulting, you need to actually communicate properly and protect your house.

You pay the agent a percentage to deal with all this , no reason for the OP to have any contact what so ever with the tenant .

The agent needs telling that this is not going to happen and to serve the tenant notice ASAP

I’d just serve notice they sound wilful.

Because the agent is clearly shit and not dealing with the situation so the OP needs to…

Except in this case the agent may well be the problem - in which case mailing them both together to lay out the position clearly is probably the only option.

OP - is there any connection between the tenant and someone in the agency? Even by rubbish agent standards a third reduction on rent and a promise of major works for shorthold seems insane.

When we had our drive paved over (it was concrete and we wanted brick work), no one asked for proof that we owned the house

So how would any contractor know they werent to work on the house because the residents dont have the right to do this work?

I know, but when I was renting the agent took care of the run of the mill stuff, but on occasion the LL would communicate to be clear on more complex topics

it’s not forbidden to be clear with a tenant. If the ea isn’t doing enough, this at least deals with an issue that would be extremely difficult to resolve

Good idea to go in in person. Stand your ground.

mailing them both together to lay out the position clearly is probably the only option.

I like this idea.

If this was me I would also be very worried about whether your tenants might have made any alterations inside the property, as they seem to think they have the right to make alterations outside. Has there been a property inspection recently?

They are being ridiculous.
I would serve them notice.
And change agents.

So are the tenant also saying they'll pay a lesser a,Lunt than the cheaper than market value rent they already get that reflects the lack of off street parking?

Because that also needs addressing.

Just make sure as well that anything you discuss verbally is followed up with an email to confirm that discussion.

We discussed X. We agreed y. You said Ab,c and I I agree to xxxx and disagreed with xxxx and made express instructions that was not to happen etc etc.

Also forget passing footing around with photos of the area and historical interest.

It's YOUR property.

You've decided to rent it out cheaply to someone whilst you don't live in it.

Doesn't matter what they think re it's layout etc. they absolutely CANNOT change how it looks to suit them etc and you don't have to give any reasons beyond - NO I own the property and do not want that.

Personally I'd also be servicing them notice that when the tenancy ends after the year you will not be renewing their contract. Something tells me these time at are the type who will just sit pretty for free making you get them evicted through the courts.

New property agency and new tenants.

This just sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. I would give the tenant notice to end the tenancy and find new tenants. I would also put it on for the full market rent, being very clear that there is no/limited parking.

Echoing others, the tenant absolutely cannot modify your property without your permission. Putting in parking is NOT a maintenance issue, they are 100% wrong to say they can do the work and charge you if you unreasonably delay work. That only applies to maintenance/repairs, NOT modifications to the property.

You need the agent to show you what they have written in emails and sent to the tenant. You need copies showing that they absolutely do not have permission to change the front garden to parking.

You need the agent to send them a formal letter saying no to the changes and if they attempt to do them, they will be legally liable for the costs returning the front to a garden AND get an immediate an eviction notice.

Id then no matter what not renew their lease, the cheeky fuckers.

I private rent too, so I’m a tenant. I’m not bashing tenants, it’s the ones you have that are terrible and in your shoes, I’d not want them in my property past the 30 Jun 23 end of tenancy.

I'd be concerned about any internal changes they've made too. The lack of comprehension that they can't just alter things as they wish is strong in this tenant.

OP I was an accidental landlord too ( dad had 2 properties but developed dementia so I had to take the reins). I was lacking in knowledge and easily bullied by EAs and tenants. Now I’ve had to toughen up. Recently EAs stuffed up in a few issues and, I felt, were unsupportive during a very stressful major leak situation at 1 property. I asked to speak to the agency manager and was very clear I’d leave the agency if they didn’t improve. They’ve certainly upped their game since.
By the reactions to your post alone, it’s obvious this situation is completely unacceptable. The tenants have no right to a paved front garden. You cannot reinstate a mature tree and heritage railings. You are in the right here, do not bend or compromise. It’s a good idea to ask to see all email communications on this matter. Give the EAs a fright if they have made noises to the tenants about a paved garden. Make it crystal clear to the tenants it’s not happening. Consider telling them that if they are not happy you would consider mutually agreed surrender. Good luck, you are totally within your rights to say no here.

I'm not sure I blame the tenants. It seems likely that they've been told by the agents that you will be putting in parking and have rented on that basis. You say they have a rent reduction but do they know that - has the agent told them? They sound as frustrated as you are and no-one is communicating properly. You are the one who has most to lose so you need to take action. Go and see the agent - now - and find out what is going on. And email the tenants saying there are no pans to put in parking and never have been. That will not be changing and they were given a rent reduction from market rate due to the lack of parking. Tell them to speak to agents. And do that now too.

You don't need to do any of this

Tell them it's absolutely not happening, end of story. If they don't like it they can rent elsewhere.

Its your house ffs they have no right to do anything to the garden

I lived in a rented, and lovely,Victorian cottage for years it was in a conservation area and we just accepted the parking situation (until DH got sick of it). The rent was indeed lower to compensate. I'm not a driver so wasn't bothered

My point is I think your tenants are the ones in the wrong here, who on earth would persist and claim they had a legal right to do work on someone else's property like that? As your rental.agency say they are clearly persistent. The rental agency probably at fault too but the tenant's behaviour sounds most bizarre. I can't fathom it.

Go through the agent , but send a recorded delivery letter to the tenants too. I don't think it's necessary to get any status applied on the property. You should be doing as little work as possible here. It's a simple NO. They can choose to live elsewhere if they are unhappy with it.

""at least when I speak to the tenants I can tell them that I am looking into it that could at lest prove to them I will not be changing my mind""

You don't need to prove anything to them. It is your property, you do no want to dig up the garden that is 100% your choice. It sounds like the agent lied to them but make it clear they are not to touch the garden.

I would reply to the tenant with the agent in copy so it is clear everyone is getting the same message. You don't want the tenant coming back with some email that tells them something different from what you've told the agent.

Something like... :

Dear tenant,

I am writing in respect of add address which is a Victorian cottage with a front garden containing roses, a magnolia tree and original railings.

There is no parking at the property and as owner of the property I have no plans to change the property to create parking. The rent for the property is lower to reflect the lack of parking.

You have no right to make changes to the property and if you do so I will have no choice but to view this as willful damage and take appropriate action.

I am sending this message directly to you and agent name so that there is no confusion on this point. All future communications should be via agent name as the property agent, who I pay to manage your tenancy, and I will not be responding to emails sent to me directly.

Yours sincerely,