Immigrants en mass invade my property ?

Reply to the comment left by "Sally T" at "19/07/2014 - 15:10":

Don't be so sure. Legally he owner is responsible for breaches of HMO rules etc, not the tenant. Council enforcement will expect landlord to sort it out (as he is clearly aware of it happening).

After engaging in the process to evict, he could then go and try to get council assistance( eg a report to be used at possession hearing). Going to council while 'letting it ride' is not a good plan.

Well if the tenant sub-let as a HMO, I would think that he is the landlord for HMO regulation purposes.
I think a relevant example would be if a leaseholder lets the property as a HMO: I doubt any breach of HMO regulations would be pinned on the freeholder.

Not so in this case I'm afraid.

Reply to the comment left by "Renovate To let" at "19/07/2014 - 19:07":

Reference? 😉

We've had to deal with a few cases of subletting in our flats. On an inspection I noticed multiple beds so I quizzed my tenant about it whilst there and he explained the furniture was all his and that he had nowhere else to put it. I warned him that we would not tolerate subletting and he understood. I then popped back a few days later and knocked on the door and a stranger answered the door. I asked if I may come in and he said yes. Once in I asked if he knew who I was and he said you must be the landlady, so at least he knew that the person he was renting from was not the owner. I then wandered round and chatted to all the other occupants - 12 people in my 2 bed flat, all from overseas. I wrote down their full names and noticed one of them on the phone. I asked him if he was speaking to my tenant and he said yes, so I indicated to give me the phone and I very politely said hello and perhaps he could pop round to see me? 5 minutes later he was on the doorstep and looked very sheepish! I explained to all the people there that he was not allowed to let to them and unfortunately whatever arrangements they had made with him were not appropriate for the tenancy that had been agreed with me, and I would give them 10 days to all leave.

They DID all leave and the tenant served me notice and he moved out. All very amicable and sorted out SO MUCH QUICKER than if I had taken legal steps. In fact I heard later from 4 or 5 of the tenants that had been living in there, on different occasions, to see if I had any other properties available. I am afraid that I told all those who enquired that I had nothing else, just in case I found the same situation occurring!

But this was in a situation where all the sublet tenants seemed to be really nice, so I'm not saying this would work in every situation.

This is what i would try and do. In the long run diplomacy and talking work better than aggression and fear.

Reply to the comment left by "Romain " at "19/07/2014 - 19:55":

Sec 263 housing act.mthose tests are how a local authority decides who to enforce against or prosecute. Owner or lessee.

You can't duck landlord responsibilities to a tenant but you can to a lessee.

In this case the landlord is aware and so should be documenting fully the steps he is actively taking to resolve the situation.

Yvette, fortunately you were lucky, because these sub-tenants were recent immigrants, presumably they may not be totally aware of our Housing law, and also they probably knew that overcrowding in UK is unacceptable, and the law may not be on their side entirely, but believe that as a landlord/lady you can't just walk in to your own property that you rent without giving some form of notice, perhaps I am wrong, may be you can knock on the door and ask your tenant if you may be allowed in, and only then perhaps if the tenant formerly agrees that you may walk in without having to give notice, may be someone can clarify this point.

I have also done this once as I happen to be driving past a house I rented being in the next town, so I called in unannounced and rang the door bell and asked my tenant if it is possible for me to pop in quickly to check that everything is Ok, She was British born & bread and knew all her rights but did permit me to come in as long as I was not going to be too long, but after being there for 2 years, towards the last few months she stopped paying me rent and stopped taking my calls and when I called in person after giving her a notice that I need to inspect my premises, she was not at home and so I did not go in just in case she accuses me of any of her valuable things gone missing. later on I sent her another written notice stating that i will be calling on such and such a date with a gas safe engineer to conduct a gas safety check, she allowed him in but refused me entry!

I lost over 9 months rent, served her a section 21 notice and she left on the very last date at the last hour, got my keys back without having to take her to a court, but she left enough mess behind and lots of damage to my property that I am still trying to fix it since getting my keys back in February. I am getting letters for some Foreign names, which meant not only she was a social tenant but also sub-letting, as there are two separate internet connections to this house now.

I believe a phone call or a letter through post giving plenty of notice is necessary before a landlord can visit a property, even that the tenant can refuse if he or she feels it would be inconvenient.

Only in a case of Emergency can a Landlord enter his premises unannounced, but what do you call an Emergency, possibly the Police phoning you to secure the house after a burglary when the tenants may have been away, or fire or flooding.

So yes, this approach can work on some tenants especially if they are from abroad and they have no idea of their rights as a tenant or a sub-tenant, but as they learn more and more of our housing laws and how to exploit them, things are getting worst.

It's stories like this that really put me off single lets!

Reply to the comment left by "Renovate To let" at "19/07/2014 - 22:58":

Thanks for the reference.

The tenant is the landlord of the HMO if he sublets.
According to s.263 the tenant who sublets would clearly be the person managing the HMO: he is the lessee of the premises and receives the rent from the HMO tenants.

I agree that who would be the person controlling the HMO is not as straightforward to determine based on the wording. As you said, when made aware of the situation the higher landlord should takes step to resolve the issue, and document them, to protect himself.