He Wants To Report His Landlord For Not Having An HMO License, But He’s Afraid Of What Happens Next
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Imagine finding out that your landlord doesn’t have the proper license to rent out rooms in his home. If you were moving out soon, would you bother to report him or simply move out and move on?
In this story, one man is in this situation, and he’s not sure what to do. He wants to report his awful landlord, but he’s also kind of scared of the potential consequences.
Besides the license issue, there are quite a few awful things he has had to deal with while living there, and he doesn’t really want anyone else to be able to rent the room. He doesn’t want anyone else to have to deal with what he dealt with.
Let’s read all about it.
WIBTA for reporting my awful landlord
I (24M) live in a shared house in London. I rent just one room and there’s another 5 people living here, four are family members (about 20-40 years old) and another is their friend.
I have found out recently that my landlord has been renting without a HMO license. In the UK, you need a HMO license to legally rent if there is more than one household (family) living in a place.
He has registered the flat as being occupied by only one family, when in reality two extra people live here.
His landlord wants him to lie.
When i confronted him about this, he said that if anyone asks, to just say i’m a cousin.
I’m moving out soon because my contract is finally up and i need somewhere legal to apply for a visa for my husband to live with me.
If I report him to the local council, I’m pretty sure I would win the case.
He’s admitted over text that he doesn’t have the license and that he’s lying to them.
He’s weighing the pros and cons.
If i do this I will get all the rent I’ve ever paid him back, and he will likely get a hefty fine.
However, it could mean that my flatmates have to move out as he may not be allowed to rent again.
While they aren’t nice people, I would feel guilty about this. The fine could go up to £30k, which is sort of life ruining.
I’m also scared that he will then come after me, he seems like a dangerous man.
But he doesn’t want the landlord to be able to rent the room to someone else.
But I also know he plans on renting this room out again, which means somebody else will be dealing with the same thing.
Ive lived here about 6 months and to be honest, it’s awful. Here’s how:
My bills are meant to be included in my rent, but the landlord has refused to pay them. This means i will regularly have no heating, hot water or electricity. In the middle of winter. Most of the time, my room is so cold I can see my breath.
The whole flat is covered in mould.
These are really big problems.
When repairs or improvements do take place, I am given no warning. I will just come home one day and the whole bathroom or kitchen will be taken out for a week. This is despite me repeatedly asking for warning.
My things get stolen all the time. The landlord threw away half my kitchen stuff (air fryer, bowls, glasses) and when I asked he just said “oh i thought that was mine”
My mail is opened without asking
Somebody put hair removal cream in my soap last month. When i complained the response was “we shouldn’t be keeping things outside our rooms anyways”
The problems continue.
The flat in general is just unsuitable for the number of people here. There aren’t any smoke detectors or fire alarms.
There are bugs and slugs everywhere.
There’s a lot more to be honest, but mainly the landlord is an AH. He speaks to me in such a berating way and just isnt a good man.
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Should I report him?
Yikes! I feel like there’s an even bigger problem here. The house sounds like it’s in unlivable condition. Nobody should be living there with bugs and no hot water or electricity.
Let’s see how Reddit responded.
This person votes for reporting the landlord.
Another person thinks he needs to report the landlord.
This person explains why they think he should report the landlord.
Everyone says to report him.
To me, it’s not even the license that’s a big deal. It’s the living conditions that need to be reported.
He’s obviously an awful landlord. He shouldn’t be allowed to rent out rooms. He needs to report the landlord for the sake up anyone else who might end up renting that room.
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