One in nine tenants sub-let – and over half don’t tell their landlords

A survey of tenants suggests around one in nine private sector tenants sublet their properties, and almost half of those do so behind the backs of their landlords.

The findings come from a National Landlords’ Association survey of 1,450 tenants which reveals that 11 per cent of renters say they sublet all or part of their property – but only five per cent of renters tell their landlords.

Overall, the findings show that around a third (32 per cent) of tenants have approached their landlord about subletting their property, with a fifth (22 per cent) of requests being permitted by the landlord.

The findings come as the government recently announced proposals to introduce minimum room sizes in order to crack down on problems with private rented accommodation such as unauthorised sub-letting, which often results in overcrowded and cramped properties.

“This isn’t something apparently harmless, like putting your flat on AirBnB while you are on holiday. We are talking about individuals looking to deceive their landlord and maximise their personal gains at the expense of proper property management standards and the risk of others. It not only increases the cost of renting for the unwitting sub-tenants, it affects their rights and can reduce security of tenure” warns Carolyn Uphill, NLA chairman.

“Sub-letting can also breach a landlord’s mortgage terms, the conditions attached to licenses granted for letting out shared homes, and invalidate existing insurance products so they must be aware of the problems it presents” she says.

Blog Post from Letting Agent Today

Central Housing Group’s ‘Guaranteed Rent’ Scheme provides professional assistance to landlords in addressing the various types of tenant-related issues highlighted in this article.

Our friendly, professional and comprehensive management service includes regular property inspections (including the regular use of digital photography for monitoring purposes) that are carried out either on a fortnightly or b-monthly basis, depending on the Council letting scheme that the property is occupied under.

Inspections are a vital part of the service we provide to landlords, as they allow us to closely monitor the condition of our properties as well as noting any occupancy issues and also allow us early intervention if necessary.

If you let your property privately, most agents will carry out inspections only once or twice a year or, at best, on a quarterly basis and these inspections may sometimes incur an additional charge for landlords.

By carrying out regular and frequent inspections we ensure that the opportunity for unauthorised subletting or unauthorised occupancy, by tenants, is minimised and significantly reduced but, failing this, unauthorised subletting or unauthorised occupancy can be identified at an early stage and reported to the Council concerned for immediate remedial action.

Our ‘Guaranteed Rent’ Scheme and management service also provides landlords with the peace of mind that they do not have to deal directly with tenants when they break the rules and can instead rely on our experienced and professional team of staff to effectively deal with all tenant management issues.

See details of our Guaranteed Rent Scheme here

 

If you have any comments, please email the author of this article and click on the link above

Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors



Registered Office: Woodgate Studios, 2-8 Games Road, Cockfosters, Hertfordshire, EN4 9HN | Registered in England and Wales | Registered Company No. 3961047 | VAT Registration No. 752 6015 48

 

Social Media Auto Publish Powered By : XYZScripts.com
Google Rating
4.8
Based on 110 reviews
js_loader