UK Landlord Forum / Life

My housemate is doing barbecue every saturday in june.

He even destroyed concrete tiles in garden and poured briquette inside afterwards to make it easier for him (have a look at pics below).

HMO contract doesnt say anything about fire risks or barbecues. It says that property should be insured.

Estate agent said they will deal with that promptly and one week has already passed - typical ignore.

This is serious fire hazard not only for the house I live in but for neighbours as well. Garden is very small and there is not enough space around fire area to make it safe. How can I deal with that problem when estate agent is an asshole?

It's none of your business and, if you don't like the behaviour of the other tenant(s) or the agent, move out.

Unless the tenant's happy to comply, there's nothing that the agent or landlord can do that will make any actual difference to the behaviour, other than evict them under s21, and why would they do that?

I'd delete the agent's name and address because search engine's exist, and evicting you on a s21 is as easy as evicting anyone else.

Quote from: jpkeates on June 30, 2025, 09:59:26 AMIt's none of your business and, if you don't like the behaviour of the other tenant(s) or the agent, move out.

I live with that knobhead who risks setting the house on fire. I will not move because I prefer to solve the problem now. Moving out is not solving the problem.

Quote from: jpkeates on June 30, 2025, 09:59:26 AMUnless the tenant's happy to comply, there's nothing that the agent or landlord can do that will make any actual difference to the behaviour, other than evict them under s21, and why would they do that?

Agent did nothing about the problem and has not even contacted that fool. They could charge him for damages at this stage. So writing that there's nothing they can do is not true. I will not pay for damages to property.

Quote from: jpkeates on June 30, 2025, 09:59:26 AMI'd delete the agent's name and address because search engine's exist, and evicting you on a s21 is as easy as evicting anyone else.

That's none of your business. I have provided their details on purpose to warn their future clients. There's plenty more problems with them but that's for another day.

Quote from: js1200I live with that knobhead who risks setting the house on fire. I will not move because I prefer to solve the problem now.

The problem is that you don't like how your housemate behaves. There are a limited number of things that can change, but at least one of them has to. They don't seem inclined to change their behaviour. I don't see what the agent can or will do. That leaves you with changing your situation (which is, at least, in your control). And you're the only one with a problem at the moment.

QuoteAgent did nothing about the problem and has not even contacted that fool. They could charge him for damages at this stage. So writing that there's nothing they can do is not true. I will not pay for damages to property.

They are not able to, unilaterally, make any charges for damage "at this point". They can try and claim compensation for a loss beyond normal wear and tear. Who they can claim from will depend on the tenancy agreement. If the garden is a common area, they can possibly claim from you. Whether they succeed or not is questionable. Normally agents and landlords will wait until a tenancy has come to an end to claim damage, because it's usually possible for a tenant to assert that they'll fix the problem before moving out.

If I were an agent faced with the situation I'd do nothing (same if I were a landlord). A tenant having barbecues in the summer isn't something I'd be that concerned about. Millions of people have barbecues in their garden, very few burn the house down. I'm not sure I'd have any right to stop them, even if I wanted to.

QuoteThat's none of your business. I have provided their details on purpose to warn their future clients. There's plenty more problems with them but that's for another day.

It is none of my business, you're right. It's against the forum rules, though.