22nd
Nov 2015
New findings show that just fewer than 50% of tenants are subletting their property that they are renting without their landlords’ consent.
This is in light of the new government proposals for minimum sizes of rooms in private rented accommodation. Its intentions are to reduce overcrowding in properties that is caused by tenants subletting rooms.
Only 11% of tenants owned up to subletting rooms or the whole property and 5% candidly said that they did not bother to gain their landlord’s permission.
Just over quarter of tenants 26%, had asked their landlord about the possibility of subletting that were turned down and 63% stated that they had not considered it at all.
The research found that 32% of tenants had asked for permission to sub let and 22% of the approaches had been accepted by landlords.
An Industry spokesperson, said: “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.
“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.
“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”
Richard Merrick of PIMS, said: “We always advise our members that allowing subletting is an extremely risky affair.
“If they are determined to go ahead then we advise them to take necessary precautions if it is going to take place in a current tenancy. Always carry out credit checks and as many references as possible, the checks should be charged to the original tenants.
“It is also of paramount importance that all new tenancy agreements should include a clause that stating the landlord will only allow sub-letting if they grant permission.”
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