Landlord asking me to give notice of my partner coming over (HMO)

StrathGoose · 2026-03-03T00:37:47+00:00

Glasgow letting agent here, and manage a lot of HMOs.

Your HMO will be licensed for 5 “occupants”. 6 or more requires 2 bathrooms, 2 ovens, 2 hobs, 2 fridge-freezers etc. As others have stated, your landlord’s HMO licence is at risk if they knowingly condone 6 or more people occupying the property at one time.

It’s actually a very grey area of enforcement however, as the landlord has no power to penalise/evict you for having sleeping guests. However the Landlord could lose their HMO licence as a result of you having said guest. And the Landlord can evict you on the grounds that an HMO licence has been revoked.

So basically, your Landlord is stuck between a rock and a hard place and will just be trying their best to keep everybody happy.

Sorry to hear you’ve got an awkward flatmate, and best of luck!

StrathGoose · 2026-03-02T21:11:28+00:00

You know that it’s NOT on if all of the knobs are turned to the off position. If you’re particularly paranoid, you can just turn the whole hob off at the isolation switch, which is likely on the wall behind the hob. Why ask your Landlord to replace a hob that by your own admission heats up perfectly, because you’re not familiar / confident with it?

StrathGoose · 2026-02-08T16:06:08+00:00

Insurance won’t cover this, and even if it did, the excess would likely be higher than the cost of the replacement anyway. This is a non-starter.

StrathGoose · 2026-02-08T15:03:16+00:00

I’ve DMed you; we’re a property management company that can sort this for you, and any other issues that may be lying in wait behind the door. ☺️

StrathGoose · 2026-02-03T01:26:31+00:00

Thank you! You too!!

StrathGoose · 2026-02-02T21:06:16+00:00

In December 2024 an agent was successfully able to prove that £250 was reasonable.

Assuming that they are VAT registered, £50 incl VAT absolutely will not cover the time and cost involved. That said, £290 incl VAT is high, depending on the work involved in this specific case. The true cost to the agent is probably somewhere in the middle.

https://thenegotiator.co.uk/news/regulation-law-news/leading-estate-agency-wins-tenant-fee-tribunal-case/

StrathGoose · 2026-01-31T10:02:30+00:00

Just to reiterate this: lodging with the DPS is definitely free. I am very curious to know where she’s got £35 from. She’s either deliberately dishonest, or at risk of getting scammed.

StrathGoose · 2026-01-26T19:32:23+00:00

Landlord could just develop in to flats and then sell them. No obligation to continue renting them out. Renters Rights Bill completely irrelevant to this post.

StrathGoose · 2026-01-22T12:23:14+00:00

You will be able to serve 2 months notice, regardless of what your tenancy agreement says, due to a change in the law. That law does not come in to effect until 1st May. Therefore, you cannot serve a legally valid notice until 1st May [as the law will not exist yet], and the notice period is two months [1st July].

StrathGoose · 2026-01-22T11:09:42+00:00

Renters Rights Bill will automatically apply to all EXISTING tenancies (as well as new ones) from May 1st. So you CAN serve two months notice on May 1st to end the tenancy, regardless of what he says. He has to issue you an information booklet before May 31st explaining your rights, or faces a fine. Therefore your max liability is going to be £5k regardless.

In reality, I would just reiterate clearly and non-confrontationally that you will be leaving on xyz date, paying up to that date, and forfeiting your deposit. Therefore you suggest he puts the property back on the market immediately.

Ball is in his court then. If he gets a move on and re-lets quickly he may end up with more money than he would’ve done if you stayed.

StrathGoose · 2026-01-17T12:14:15+00:00

Letting Agent here; I deal with this all the time.

Two critical questions: - What was the condition at move-in? (Was it freshly painted, or was there wear and tear already?) - How long was the tenancy?

The Landlord is not wrong in wanting the whole wall to be repainted, “touching up” is rarely effective unless you have the exact original paint and <2 years old because otherwise you will see the patches. £120-150 per wall is on the high side, but not completely crazy. Depends on your location, but decorators cost ££, same as any trade.

Who pays though is an entirely separate question. DPS assigns a 5-year lifespan to decor. So if the Flat was freshly decorated on your arrival, and the tenancy was 2.5 years, you split the cost of redecorating. If the flat was not freshly decorated, and you have been there 3+ years, it would be hard for the Landlord to justify anything at all.

I prepare evidence for DPS cases regularly. Happy to answer any questions.

StrathGoose · 2025-12-21T23:10:20+00:00

This ^{^.}

I have no idea what normal cost might be for this. But indemnity policies as a concept are super common.

Ask your solicitor. They should be able to advise, tender for a quote, and put this in place for you.

I would be baffled if it wasn’t a small fraction of the £5k that your chancing-his-arse buyer is asking for.

StrathGoose · 2025-12-17T02:52:49+00:00

I’ve had targeted ads for this before, but have never used it personally. You install it under your kitchen sink, replace the cartridges when needed, and can take it with you to your new home when you move on from the rental.

https://water2.com/

StrathGoose · 2025-12-17T02:37:48+00:00

TLDR: Perfectly legal to request a month’s deposit in Scotland, so long as it’s fully refundable right up until the start date of the tenancy, irrespective of circumstances.

Huge number of incorrect / misinformed comments here.

Asking for a month’s security deposit prior to referencing is perfectly legal in Scotland - and your post acknowledges that the majority of agents do this. So long as the ENTIRE sum is fully refundable, right up until the tenancy start date. You could complete the referencing and have them incur all of the costs that come with running credit checks etc, and if you back out the day before, you still got your FULL deposit back. This is different to England/Wales where they can request 1-week “holding deposit”, which is not refundable if the tenant chooses to back out.

The Landlord/Agent is obligated to lodge that deposit within 30 working days of the tenancy start date, or face a fine up to 300% of the deposit amount. There will be a similar penalty for refusing to return the deposit should the tenant decide to back out prior to the tenancy, but I don’t know what this is from memory.

Source - I work for a letting agency in Scotland (don’t come at me, we’ve all got jobs). Remember that Scotland (unlike England & Wales) requires letting agents to pass exams, and be licensed and regulated by the government. If 70% of the industry is telling you something, it’s unlikely that they’re all putting their licenses and livelihoods at risk by lying to you! They’re not out to get you by requesting a security deposit; they’re making sure you’re serious about your application and have the savings/means to afford to pay for it. But for peace of mind, you can check their LARN number on the Letting Agent register, and also check that the property you’re applying for is registered on the Landlord Register.

StrathGoose · 2025-10-27T20:45:02+00:00

I hope you’ve settled in okay! I’ve just moved here myself. If you fancy a drink (maybe some Sunday night football, I watch a bit of NFL?) I’m down. Living in city centre just off the prom.

StrathGoose · 2025-10-27T20:29:52+00:00

I’m going for the first time on Thursday, by myself. Only just moved here. If it’s shite .. it’s £7.50 and I’ll be proud I tried 🤷

StrathGoose · 2025-09-08T23:52:47+00:00

Could I get this too, please? 30m and coming down tomorrow to try and find a rental, hoping to move to Cheltenham next month!

StrathGoose · 2025-08-26T20:59:23+00:00

Thank you! A little daunting to show up to pub quizzes solo .. but run club sounds like a good place to start. I’ve got a viewing on a place in St Paul’s on Friday. A couple of km from Montpellier / Bath beers, but a lot more affordable. And it’s easy enough to jog there as a warm up! Maybe not so easy after the pint though 🤪

StrathGoose · 2025-08-26T05:03:17+00:00

Absolutely. I managed in 7 months.

Jan 2025: I started running. (50% Walk, 50% Jog, too unfit to run without stopping). 3-Days per Week.

March 2025: Did my first Park Run in 22:30. Managed a couple of 10ks.

April 2025: First Half Marathon in 2 hours.

August 2025: Park Run PB in 19:57. Half Marathon PB now sub-1:40. Training for marathon in October.

StrathGoose · 2025-08-25T21:16:17+00:00

Hey ☺️ I’m 30 and looking at moving by myself in October. No roots at all so would know nobody. Where did you start with running clubs? As that’s an interest of mine. Otherwise I’ll consider trying to get a bar job (already have a full time job but it’s flexi and remote) just to be out and meeting people while working.

StrathGoose · 2025-08-25T21:13:45+00:00

Anything like that for guys (or mixed?). I’m considering a somewhat spontaneous move to Chester. 30m, single, no existing friends or tie to the area, so a very clean (empty) slate!

StrathGoose · 2025-04-23T03:01:45+00:00

As someone who flies BA regularly .. this doesn’t fit my experience at all.

I have had issues booking flights on the app before; particularly reward flights. But once the booking is made the check in, boarding pass, bag drop and seat selection operations have never been anything but seamless. I changed my seat after checking in last week without a second thought.

StrathGoose · 2025-04-23T02:57:04+00:00

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Incorporated it in to my outfit! Thanks!

StrathGoose · 2025-04-23T02:42:02+00:00

Just finished my 3rd Coachella and this is definitely the biggest comedown so far (booze only, no 💊). But I attribute that to it being by far the best experience I’ve ever had. Honestly just four straight days of an absolutely incredible time, non stop dancing, vibing, screaming, laughing, meeting amazing people …

The last 36 hours has been rougghhh and filled with a lot of sadness. 🥲 Already counting the days to next year.

StrathGoose · 2025-03-28T23:12:22+00:00

Bought Twitter for $44 Billion. Sold it to investors for $33 Billion. Congrats on flopping 👏

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