Outcry over landlords banning working from home

Generation Rent and Shelter are slamming landlords for “draconian rules” that ban tenants from working from home (WFH).

An investigation by The Independent reveals a trend in SpareRoom adverts specifying that a tenant must not work from home.

Ben Beadle has hit back, pointing out that landlords can’t simply hand over the keys and ignore their responsibilities for what tenants do in their rented properties.

£1300 and no WFH

A tweet went viral claiming a landlord wanted to rent a double room for £1,300/month but said tenants couldn’t work from home, even though there’s a desk in the room.

The post questioned: “£1300 and no working from home, even with a desk?”

Many on Twitter expressed outrage at the post, with one person criticising anti-WFH rules as “utterly ridiculous,” while another commented, “They can’t tell you how much time you can spend in your own home. The audacity of these people.”

None of your landlord’s business what you do

Ben Twomey chief executive, of Generation Rent told the Independent that landlords are being selfish by not allowing tenants to WFH.

He said: “If you’re paying rent for a home, it should be none of your landlord’s business what you do in it.

“Unfortunately, in practice, there is little stopping landlords from imposing draconian conditions on their tenants, because they can threaten a Section 21 eviction if you don’t comply.

“It doesn’t matter if an unreasonable requirement is lawful – being able to evict without needing a reason trumps everything.

“When the next government reforms tenancies, as all major parties have promised, it must abolish Section 21 and make clear that unfair terms like banning working from home are not legal. That way, the selfish preferences of a landlord will not mean homelessness for a tenant.”

Landlords are free to dictate unfair and unreasonable terms

Shelter’s legal team told the Metro newspaper that it’s perfectly legal for a landlord to either ban a tenant from working from home or charge more for access to shared facilities.

Shetler legal team told the Metro: “We might consider the restriction to be unreasonable or unfair, but the landlord will no doubt argue that they have their reasons for imposing this condition, and that it is reflected in the rent, so it is unlikely to be considered an unfair term under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.”

Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, adds landlords are being unreasonable when it comes to WFH.

She told the Metro: “We haven’t built enough genuinely affordable social homes for decades and renters are paying the price – private renting has ballooned but regulation hasn’t kept pace, stacking the deck against renters.

“As a result, landlords are free to dictate unfair and unreasonable terms, knowing tenants will just have to put up and shut up in the hope of keeping a roof over their heads.”

My business to intervene

Ben Beadle, chief executive of the NRLA, says the £1,300 room advert in question is a lodger advert where the rules are different.

He said on X, formerly Twitter: “Firstly, this is a lodger advert with a live in owner. Section 21 is not relevant to a non AST. Lodgers have far fewer protections and if you’re sharing your home, you might forgive someone for imposing conditions. Akin to a flat share where someone is being added to a tenancy and other renters making sure that whoever joins them is a good fit.”

He adds Generation Rent needs to understand that the responsibilities of being a landlord extend beyond simply collecting rent.

He said: “The issue I have with this is the comment from Generation Rent: “If you’re paying rent for a home, it should be none of your landlord’s business what you do in it.”

“I’d love to be able to hand over the keys and abdicate my responsibility for what a tenant does there. The reality is, I can’t.

“Licensing conditions require me to deal with ASB; neighbours implore me to manage the tenancy when things are to their liking (gardening, rubbish, low level noise).

“And frankly, if a tenant turns my house into a knocking shop or a drugs den it is 100% my business to intervene.”

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