When Does a Guest Become a Tenant?

As a Landlord you want to be able to give your tenants the freedom to enjoy having friends and family over to visit throughout their tenancy. However, what happens if you believe a tenant is spending more than an acceptable amount of time at the property and suspect they have started living at the property. How do you know when a guest has become a tenant?

Obviously, you can’t just barge into a property and start making accusations, however, here are a few things for Landlords to look out for in general and when completing their usual visits/inspections if they suspect the tenant has moved in an extra tenant; 

• Who is paying the rent? - When the rent is paid every month is the payment coming from an account in your tenant's name, or someone else?
• Receiving Post – While completing normal visits/inspections look around for any post laying around, is it in the name of your tenant?
• Spending every night at the property - Something more difficult to monitor, but if you’re arriving early in the morning and the same ‘guest’ is always there then you have a right to be suspicious.
• Having belongings at the property etc. - Does the property have more belongings whenever you visit? Are the items one’s that don’t look like they fit in with the rest of a tenant's possessions?

If you are seeing these warning signs in your property, then it is time to plan how you are going to speak to your tenant about it. Go back to your tenancy agreement and confirm who should be living at the property, and to confirm any other clauses regarding how long guests are permitted to stay in the property. You also at this point need to consider if you would be happy with another tenant being added to the tenancy or whether you would like them to leave. If you wish to choose the first option legally you will need to cancel the old agreement and start a new one with both tenants named.

Every tenant of a property named on the Tenancy Agreement should also have a guarantor for their Landlord’s peace of mind. There are companies available such asRentGuarantor that a potential tenant can apply to if they have no friends or family that would be happy to or meet the criteria to be a Guarantor for them, so no ‘guest’ has an excuse to not be put onto the Tenancy Agreement. However, these companies will also need a new tenancy agreement to be drawn up as they will not be able to act as a guarantor midway through a tenancy.

After you have made these checks and decided whether the ‘guest’ can become a tenant it will be time to speak to the existing tenant. The best way to avoid confrontation is through writing. You will also then be able to have written evidence of anything the tenant says in response. Highlight your concerns within the property and outline why this is not allowed. Reference clauses in your tenancy agreement as well as recommending services like Rent Guarantor so there is no reason not to allow the ‘guest’ to become a tenant if this is something you have decided you are happy to consider. If not state how long the ‘guest’ has to leave the property before you will be completing your next inspection. As long as you’re professional and reasonable the tenant has no reason not to be the same.

To conclude if you suspect that a tenant has a guest that has long overstayed their welcome there are a few things you can look out for before you launch any accusations. Once you have confirmed whether your suspicions have authenticity to them ensure you handle the situation the right way to avoid upsetting your existing tenant and ruining the line of communication you may have with them. Check out our blog next week for our post about ‘How to Write a Tenant Guest Policy’ to set out clear guidelines for tenants to conform with and avoid any confusion in your properties in the future.

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.