Last week we covered what to do if a Landlord thinks that their tenant has a guest that has long out stayed their welcome in one of their properties. This week, we want to focus on what they can do to put themselves in the best possible position to avoid the situation altogether.
To do this, as part of the tenancy agreement a tenant will sign before they move into the property, they will also sign a Tenant Guest Policy. The absolute key to this policy is to ensure a given clear definition of who can stay at property permanently has been given.
Within this policy will be a 'Use of Premises Clause'. These clauses can be used for many different reasons regarding a property and their purpose (e.g. whether they are commercial or residential). This limits the amount of people allowed to occupy the property permanently and distinctly explains the difference between a tenant and a guest.
An example of a ‘Use of Premises Clause’ a Landlord could use is:
The Premises shall be used and occupied by Tenant(s), for no more than THREE (3) persons exclusively, as a private individual dwelling, and no part of the Premises shall be used at any time during the term of this Agreement by Tenant(s) for the purpose of carrying on any business, profession, or trade of any kind, or for any purpose other than private dwelling.
Tenant(s) shall not allow any other person, other than Tenant’s immediate family or transient relatives and friends who are guests of Tenant(s), to use or occupy the Premises without first obtaining Landlord’s written consent to such use. Any guest staying in the property more than 2 weeks in any 6-month period will be considered a tenant, rather than a guest, and must be added in the lease agreement to the cost of the new tenant. Landlord may also increase the rent at any such time that a new tenant is added to the lease or premise.
Tenant(s) and guest(s) shall comply with any and all laws, ordinances, rules and orders of any and all governmental or quasi-governmental authorities affecting the cleanliness, use, occupancy and preservation of the Premises.
As the final part of the Tenant Guest Policy, as an extension to the ‘Use of Premises’ clause a Landlord would need to explicitly state the condition that should a guest want to become a tenant, legally a new tenancy agreement will need to be completed and the guest that is becoming a tenant can be required by the Landlord to also have a Guarantor to guarantee their part of the rent. As stated above this would be to the cost of the new tenant, not the Landlord. Meaning they will pay for the new Tenancy Agreement to be drawn up and may have to pay part of deposit if the Landlord decides to increase the rental amount.
A guest becoming a tenant would not be able to claim they did not have a suitable Guarantor. This is because apart from the usual options of asking a friend or family member, there are also companies, such as RentGuarantor that will, after assessing an application made by the tenant, act as their Guarantor for the 12-month tenancy. There is a fee that will need to be paid for this service. However, this is paid by the tenant, not the Landlord.
To summarise, a Tenant Guest Policy isn’t something complicated and is an extremely important document for a Landlord to be able to cover themselves should they expect a guest has become a tenant. Landlords may be concerned that their tenants may feel they are dictating who they can have come and visit them at their property. However, any reasonable tenant, will see it as a perfectly rational and practical agreement. There isn’t any ‘type’ of tenant that will end of having a permanent guest. Therefore, if this type of policy is issued to all tenants when they sign their Tenancy Agreement, there is no room for confusion should a Landlord need to refer back to it later down the line.
Disclaimer: Rent Guarantor is not qualified to give legal or financial advice. Any information shared in the above blog is an opinion based on personal experiences within the property rental sector, and should never be construed as legal or professional advice.
