Rent rules apply to Licensee?

Kai123

Hello,

Been googling away at this but not having much joy.

I rent a second bedroom from the landlord that also lives here (but rents from the property management agency that owns the building).

My rent is fairly good, but the lease is up in March. I'm at a crossroads on making long-term plans and might stay here for another year or two. I know I am a Licencee but wondering if I can negotiate a good lease and have it covered for no increases as per the new tendency laws.

Kai.

athtrasna

Kai123 wrote: »

Hello,

Been googling away at this but not having much joy.

I rent a second bedroom from the landlord that also lives here (but rents from the property management agency that owns the building).

My rent is fairly good, but the lease is up in March. I'm at a crossroads on making long-term plans and might stay here for another year or two. I know I am a Licencee but wondering if I can negotiate a good lease and have it covered for no increases as per the new tendency laws.

Kai.

You are not a tenant so can't avail of tenancy protection laws like this. Your landlord would be foolish to give you anything resembling a lease thus bestowing you with rights you're not entitled to but you are definitely not covered by the rent review legislation.

Kai123

athtrasna wrote: »

You are not a tenant so can't avail of tenancy protection laws like this. Your landlord would be foolish to give you anything resembling a lease thus bestowing you with rights you're not entitled to but you are definitely not covered by the rent review legislation.

I gathered as much, but the rights from the lease is interesting. It was a fairly stock lease so nothing special, but I assume from what you said, my rights extend only to whats mentioned on the lease?

athtrasna

Kai123 wrote: »

I gathered as much, but the rights from the lease is interesting. It was a fairly stock lease so nothing special, but I assume from what you said, my rights extend only to whats mentioned on the lease?

You'd have to consult a legal professional on that, there is some confusion. For example a lease may say the contract can be broken at a months notice. As a licensee you're only entitled to the undefined "reasonable notice " which could be hours depending on the reason.

Mrs OBumble

You can ask the person you are renting from: if they like living with you, and they get a fixed-term lease themselves which covers the period with reasonable rent, then they might be willing to negotiate with you about the specifics that apply to you. If you are bringing something to the negotiating table (eg you wash their dishes or cook for them 3 time per week ... or whatever they would value), they might even agree for you to pay less rent then so for them to pay more.

Whatever you agree would not be legally enforceable - but as we see in lots of threads here the law can be an a** and very difficult to enforce anyways.

Licensee arrangements are all about negotiation.

That said, there is provision that once you have been there for six months you can ask to be added to the tenancy agreement - and I have a feeling that this cannot be reasonably refused. This gets you legal rights, but it also gets you responsibilities like being jointly and severally liable for the entire rent, and having to give significant notice when you move out. You may or may not want to take these on - and if you don't, then remaining as a licensee may be the best option.

Kai123

Thank you for the replies Athrasna, Mrs OBumble. My question is answered