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Boyfriend moved in

Started by jgm, January 08, 2020, 05:21:53 PM

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jgm

My female tenant, has moved her boyfriend in. I might have agreed to this and put him on the tenancy agreement if she had asked me to.
But out of interest what are my options, her tenancy agreement stated it was for a single occupant only, occasional visitors allowed for 7 days.
Thank you.

bloofox

#1
I'd look the other way but keep an eye on it... :o
He might be good for her and pay towards the rent.. they might spend a few quid on their love nest.. she might even talk him into redecorating with your permission..

Or he might start selling drugs from the property and inviting his mates round to ruin your relationship with the neighbours.. does the Council Tax get paid for her, and if it does it go to you..? I ask because you don't say and it makes a difference if it goes wrong.. Do your insurers care..? they might.. Do you feel uneasy about it..? Have you met him..?

These are relevant questions and I ask because I just lost a 6 year tenant, who never missed a beat with the rent, until her version of The Joker moved in.. mine may not be an isolated case but I bet it's common enough...

Check him out.. casually.

And keep us posted..it could be good or it could be a learning curve you don't need.. Hope it goes smoothly for you either way.

Elmo

I was a first time landlord seven years ago and a young lady. mid twenties rented the brand new one bed flat.  Lovely-girl the flat was always tidy, no damage, rent paid on time.  After about a year she asked if her boyfriend could move in from her home town over 100 miles away. The flat was rented through a high street agent and I agreed as long As there were no charges to myself.

The boyfriend was put on the tenancy.  The problems then started, they asked if they could alter their pay day to the end of the calendar month and I agreed providing they paid the for the gap period.  After that the rent was always late by about 10 days. The flat was not kept as tidy and when they left after another 15 months the agent had to chase them for the last months rent. Also lots of light bulbs not replaced , the expensive ones, the bulb   bracket in the cooker which was less than 2,5 yrs was broken alongside other things which the boyfriend argued about paying for.


I would not let  him stay without putting him on the tenancy although you risk him staying illegally as he is at the moment. Get him checked out with references etc.  If your lady tenant leaves he could stay illegally and you may have a job getting home evicted.

jgm

Thank you both for your informative replies. My tenant pays her rent good as gold, so so far no problems there, and  I have made discreet inquiries about him but no-one seems to know much about him. 
I have explained to her, if she wants him to live with her, I'll put him on the tenancy agreement, but no response to that.
Her tenancy expires end of April, I'll see what happens in the meantime.

Thank you both again.

Hippogriff

#4
Quote from: jgm on January 08, 2020, 05:21:53 PM...her tenancy agreement stated it was for a single occupant only, occasional visitors allowed for 7 days.

Feel confident that you can't enforce these types of terms. I mean... you can't truly enforce sub-letting and assignment these days, but certainly not controlling who stays as a guest, and for how long. You're not their mum, carer, owner. All you can hope is that people note it and play by your rules. In your original post you say that "My female tenant, has moved her boyfriend in." but you do not say whether you found this out (kinda naughty of the Tenant) or whether you were informed (much better). I think the difference here shows you what you are dealing with, and I'd act accordingly based on that.

Also, we are all Woke here... you should try to avoid saying "female tenant"... gender is inconsequential in this Safe Place. It could be a male tenant moving his boyfriend in, it doesn't change anything pertaining to what actually matters... or any other combination, I suppose... girl moves girl in, girl moves boy in (this scenario), boy moves boy in or, even, boy moves girl in... there's so many more permutations but even a Woke Forum Moderator like me does not claim to understand them all.

Try with - "My non-gender specific tenant, has moved their partner in." - you don't need to clarify if that partner is romantic or business... because it doesn't matter.

jgm

Thank you Hippogriff for your reply, but when does a guest become a permanent fixture? Would they still be classed as guests after 12 months? I appreciate guests come and go and I haven't objected to whoever has stayed, and why would I, but I just think 4 months is beginning to stretch it a bit.

If I had wanted to let to a couple I could have done so and charged a little more rent.  Our agreement which my tenant signed stipulated it was for a single occupant only, guests notwithstanding,




Hippogriff

Probably a grey area... hard to define in a way everyone would agree with. That's probably why you can't control it in the way you want (the 7 days, I mean). I would say they're not a guest of the Tenant if they stay every night and start to pay some of the rent or the bills or start receiving mail at the property, or move furniture in (now, in your case all of this is likely true - but I was stating opinion about the timescale you'd wanted to enforce, as opposed to your specific situation)... but otherwise it can be hard to pin it down... feels subjective, to me.

jgm

I'll let it roll for another couple of months and see what develops.

Thank you all again.

PS, It was suggested I post on the Moneysavingexpert forum but having seen how they savage some of the posters I thought different of it., so thank you again for your observations and your civility.