Lodgings or rent a room type contract?

Reply to the comment left by Southern Boyuk at 14/08/2024 – 09:19
I’m convinced after greedy Labour will take more money as they have from hard working people who tried to have an enjoyable retirement (Winter fuel allowance)! So much for “work hard, save for your golden years”? Well, you might have voted them in?? But the Conservative party cocked things up again as last time!

Reply to the comment left by colette at 14/08/2024 – 22:13
Being your main residence is not always enough. You also have to live there most of the time.

Reply to the comment left by DPT at 15/08/2024 – 10:50
I’m not sure where the law stands on this one “…i.e. you also have to live there most of the time”.

If your bank statements go there, you are paying the utility bills and council tax, your RV is registered at that address in your name and part of the premises are only to be occupied by you then I’m not sure how important your physical presence 24/7 actually is.

If that were not the case how could Angela Rayner have got away with buying her council house and selling it as her main home. 🙂

Reply to the comment left by Beaver at 15/08/2024 – 12:49
I think that the Protection from Eviction Act clause probably applies here, which means that as long as the landlord is living at the property when the lodgers move in and living there when they move out, the lodgers would remain licensees. Having said that, if the landlord was away for a year in their RV, I think that any lodger given their marching orders would have nothing to lose by mounting a challenge, especially if they can persuade Shelter to help them.

With regard to Ms Rayner, I think that Shelter probably thought it was wise to keep shtum.

Reply to the comment left by DPT at 16/08/2024 – 13:41
In this case my understanding is that the homeowner is retaining rights to occupy a bedroom and has continuous access to the property, but the lodgers don’t have access to the homeowner’s bedroom. This means that she can come and go as she pleases, the lodger cannot change the locks (but the homeowner can as necessary to keep the property secure). My assumption is that the homeowner will not be continually absent from the property in her RV but will be coming and going to collect mail and check on such matters as maintenance that she is liable to pay for and cannot deduct from income. This is very different from a situation in which a landlord does not have continuous access to a property and must give tenants 24 hours’ notice of an inspection.