One in eight tenants admit to letting out part or all of their rented property - and that rises to a quarter of younger tenants.
Nearly half of renters who sublet their properties did not disclose this to their landlords and just over three-quarters of respondents did not review their existing lease agreements to determine if sub-letting was permitted before doing so.
The findings show that 13 per cent renters admit to renting out part of the home they currently live in, ranging from a single room to the entire property. This rises to 25 per cent amongst younger people, aged 18 to 34.
Some 23 per cent eventually discovered their tenants’ subletting arrangements and tenants often face severe consequences including eviction, not having their lease renewed or receiving a negative reference for future rental applications.
Despite the risks almost one in four - 22 per cent - of respondents said they would still consider or are already signed up to Airbnb or similar services in the coming year to rent out part or all of their rented home.
Nearly half of young people said they would consider (40 per cent) or are already signed up (six per cent) to these types of services. Similarly, half of Londoners would consider this or are already signed up.
The study looked at eight particular cities. Of those Glasgow had the highest proportion of sub-letters (32 per cent) followed by Birmingham (23 per cent), Brighton (20 per cent) and London, Liverpool and Newcastle (17 per cent).
Direct Line’s Sarah Casey says: “With the market having seen an increase in average rents in the last year, it is hardly surprising that a larger number of renters are tempted to offset this expense by sub-letting their property.
“Landlords and tenants need to be aware that sub-letting has serious insurance implications. Subletting is not covered under most landlord insurance policies, so it’s really important that landlords make tenants fully aware of the restrictions on the lease and maintain that communication to help prevent any breaches.
“Tenants also need to be aware that their contents insurance is very unlikely to cover any theft or damage to personal property in the event of subletting.
“It’s important that landlords perform regular checks on their rental property to ensure that only those listed on the tenancy agreement live in at the address. Should they become aware of any changes, it’s important that they deal with the situation swiftly and notify their insurer to make sure they have the appropriate landlord insurance in place.”
The survey involved 2,000 tenants questioned in May this year.
Want to comment on this story? Our focus is on providing a platform for you to share your insights and views and we welcome contributions.
If any post is considered to victimise, harass, degrade or intimidate an individual or group of individuals, then the post may be deleted and the individual immediately banned from posting in future.
Please help us by reporting comments you consider to be unduly offensive so we can review and take action if necessary. Thank you.
.jpg)
.png)
Join the conversation
Jump to latest comment and add your reply
Had this issue many many times, the worst offenders being the young mums moving the moron boy friend in
I've often wondered how they became a mum before there was any boyfriend on the scene?
Well some want the baby so they have an excuse not to work and claim more benefits and get priority housing. Sp*rm donors are readily available at the local pubs, clubs and parks. They are often not bothered whether daddy sticks around or not. In certain cultures it's the father's only real interest and they have a habit of not sticking around and have many children by many women, often with no further involvement including paying maintenance. In certain cultures the average number of children is much higher than the UK at 5 or 6.
All they have to do is contact us As I too have had this issue and usually say yes or they r will be in trouble. And a poss chance of showing em the door. We R approachable after all. We’re not aliens!😁
I had Romanians. Lovely people but sublet. I went to my property. Got there a bit early so waited around the corner. Caught an adult man taking the rubbish out who was not the tenant. Then I had my Nigerians. Once gone I have many letter for insurance of cars and bank letters for African people who are not the tenant....
Licensing Scheme’s is the biggest cause of sub-letting in London.
Taking control of the Property from the Landlord at the same time restricting the number of occupants he can have.
Then the Tenants have all this spare capacity to sub-let while excluding the landlords from the property or Tenants complain about harassment to get landlords slapped down.
The demise of the Private Rented Sector is going very well.
There are fines for subletting too. It means one property can become an illegal HMO. Fines of up to £30,000? Then where you don’t have an HMO licence a Rent Repayment Order to the tenant as well? Sounds stupid but they way things are going these days…..
An HMO by no fault of the landlord
Or no knowledge of it by the landlord.
The tenancy need to clearly specify no subletting, restrictions outlined as head lease do not allow it, insurance and council restriction. Clearly state of the consequences such as penalty cost, legal cost and council fines etc.
Please login to comment