A LANDLORD has sparked fury after demanding an extra £1,000 from his tenants for inviting friends over to their flat.
Despite the cost-of-living crisis putting a pinch on budgets across the country, one greedy landlord has been slammed for their shameless cash request.
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Taking to Reddit to ask for advice over the audacious situation, one student renter said he was left puzzled when the landlord said he and his housemates needed “permission” to have friends over.
And the story caused uproar online, with people slamming the landlord’s subsequent demand for an extra £1,000 deposit mid-tenancy.
Other renters were quick to brand the landlord “unprofessional”, feeling he may be pressuring the tenants because they are young students.
Despite claiming to have “never broken the contract”, the student said the landlord insisted they had to try and charge extra cash from the group.
Explaining the situation, one of the students wrote: “Me and my flatmates were asked to pay extra deposits because the landlord did not like us having visitors over… which is not stated in the contract.”
The student added that the contract says one visitor is allowed at the property at a time, and they can stay up to one night.
“He also said that the property is messy, mind you we are university students and we will clean the property before we move out,” he said.
“He is using the excuse of the state of our rooms as well as the fact we’ve had visitors over without his permission (each stay was only like a couple of hours max, during the day) to charge us an extra £1,000 pounds for a deposit.
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“Does anyone have any suggestions on what we should do?
“I have a feeling that if we pay the deposit he will use the same excuses and keep the deposit after the contract has ended and we’ve moved out.
“We have cleaned the property yesterday but he said this to us today and we are kind of worried.”
‘UNPROFESSIONAL’
The post was quickly flooded with comments from other angry Reddit users, who couldn’t believe the nerve of the landlord.
One said that unless they have broken their contract, and are “operating under an assured shorthold tenancy”, the students should simply ignore the landlord’s demands.
They added that the students should contact housing charity Shelter for advice on their sticky situation.
Another added: “You have the right to quiet enjoyment of the property.
“Landlords who try to stop tenants from having a reasonable number of friends or a partner over can f*** right off. Politely tell them so.”
A third agreed, adding: “Sounds like they want you out and you ain’t getting the original deposit back either.
“There’s going to be something you’ve done that will cost exactly the amount of your original deposit to repair.”
Another user felt that the landlord may have opened themselves up to trouble through their outrageous actions.
They said: “If he’s as unprofessional as he sounds, he might have to pay you up to triple your deposit.
“Check the Tenancy Deposit Protection Scheme. Also – as other people are saying, if you’ve got a normal shorthold tenancy he can go and swivel unless he can prove you’ve broken the contract.
“I know you’re young – but don’t let anybody push you around. Learn your rights, read your contract and stand your ground.”
