Half of subletting occurs with landlord consent
Alarming new research suggests that nearly half of tenants that sublet their property do so without the knowledge or consent of their landlord.
Findings from the report by the National Landlords Association come as the Government recently proposed the introduction of minimum room sizes in order to clamp down on problems with rented accommodation, such as unauthorised subletting.
Permissions
11% of tenants admitted that they have sublet all or part of their property in the past. Of these, just 5% did so with the permission of their landlord.
26% said that they have approached their landlord over the possibility of subletting, but had their request turned down. 22% of requests were permitted. 63% said they hadn’t or wouldn’t approach their property owner about this.
‘These findings indicate that subletting is not common in private rented homes, but worryingly that where it does happen, much of it takes place behind landlords’ backs, without their knowledge or permission,’ said Carolyn Uphill, Chairman of the NLA. ‘This isn’t something apparently harmless, like putting your flat on AirBnb while you are on holiday.’[1]
‘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,’ she added.[1]
Half of subletting occurs with landlord consent
Problems
Uphill went on to say that, ‘subletting 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.’[1]
‘The NLA advises all landlords to insert a clause into new tenancy agreements that makes clear sub-letting is only allowed with the landlords’ permission, which should not be unreasonably withheld. This would reduce their exposure to a whole host of unnecessary risks, including hefty fines and even a prison sentence,’ she concluded.[1]
[1] http://www.landlords.org.uk/news-campaigns/news/half-tenant-subletting-occurs-behind-landlords%E2%80%99-backs