This article is an external press release originally published on the Landlord News website, which has now been migrated to the Just Landlords blog.
A leading tenant eviction expert has voiced concern over upcoming Government proposals that would allow private-rental tenants to sub-let their property.
Budget smallprint
Reports have highlighted a piece of small print included in the latest Budget that points to a clause about subletting. This was included under the title, ‘support for the sharing economy.’
The information suggests that the government will: ‘make it easier for individuals to sub-let a room through its intention to legislate to prevent the use of clauses in private fixed-term residential tenancy agreements that expressly rule out sub-letting or otherwise sharing space on a short-term basis, and consider extending this prohibition to statutory periodic tenancies.’[1]
Landlord Action has moved quickly to air its concerns. The company founder, Paul Shamplina, said that the small print, ‘appears to have slipped in under the radar which, if it goes ahead, will throw up a magnitude of problems in the buy-to-let industry.’[1]
Shamplina continued by saying, ‘we have never seen so many sub-letting cases going to court because of unscrupulous tenants trying to cream a profit from property they have rented.’[1]
Problems
Mr Shamplina said that his company, ‘experience continual problems with tenants taking out tenancy agreements and then, in some instances, not even moving into the property themselves.’ Instead, he explains, tenants put up, ‘partitions,’ and then begin, ‘sub-letting to as many people as possible.’[1]
He went on to say that many tenants, ‘draw up separate agreements and trick sub-tenants into thinking they are the landlord.’ Shamplina notes that, ‘by the time landlords find out, damage to properties from over-crowding can run into thousands, and the tenant who holds the legitimate tenancy agreement is nowhere to be found.’[1]
Recommendation
Despite the content of the information yet to be disclosed, Shamplina suggests that, ‘there should have been a period of consultation with the industry before this was announced.’ He feels that, ‘this is not the way to fix the housing shortage and in fact will have quite the opposite effect if more and more landlords are exposed to the risk of nightmare sub-tenants.’[1]
Sub-Letting concern for rental market
Shamplina concluded by saying, ‘giving landlords even less control over their own property by preventing them from instilling clauses which prevent sub-letting could drive more good landlords out of the marketplace.’[1]
[1] http://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/news_features/Landlord-Action%3A-%E2%80%9CSub-letting-will-be-catastrophic-for-the-rental-industry%E2%80%9D
