It's been sometime since the last time I wrote here about my housing situation in London.
So far, most flatshares and houseshares have been a shitshow, and that's due to a combination of house/flatmates behaviour and landpersons' exploitation of tenants.
You see, London is a very popular place.
There is an insane demand for accommodation, but not an enough supply. Hence why, landpersons can -and do- exploit (potential) tenants' desperation.
Now, let's talk about my current s(h)ituation.
In December, my partner and I moved into a flatshare. We had been told there will be seven of us in a five-bedroom flat. There were two bathrooms (a tiny one and a larger one), no living room and the kitchen was tiny, without any windows. The room had a bed, a small couch, a mini-fridge, two wardrobes, a tv (basic channels) and a chest of drawers. Size wise it'd be ok for one person, but not great for two. Of course, it was very expensive.
One of the fridges in the kitchen wasn't working when we moved in. Oh well, it's London. Quality of life here isn't that great. So we had to make do.
- The landpersons' first lie was that counting my partner and I, there would be seven of us in the house. We were eight.
- Then, we saw random people coming in and out of the house, and after some digging found out one of the rooms had been set up as an AirbnB. We had not been informed prior. After a few days, thankfully, someone moved in permanently.
- A few weeks ago we were told by the flatmates next door that they have a B'n'B contract, which isn't what we have. So not all tenants have the same type of contract. Hmmmm....
- A couple of weeks after the coronavirus lockdown happened in UK, one of our flatmates disappeared. We were told by the landlords that he left and his room was available, so if we had any friends to tell them they could move in. Amidst the coronavirus outbreak they wanted to bring new people to the flat. By the way the guy who left didn't tell any of us he was leaving. We didn't even hear him clear his kitchen cupboard. Three weeks later someone moved in his room, and we suspect his girlfriend moved in as well, but was hiding.
- Interestingly enough, we were told by the flatmates who have been in the flat the longest (eight months), that no one ever stays in the flat for over a year. I wonder why...
- We also recently found out -by accident- that the landpersons we've met are not the actual landpersons! They are managing the property. We have no clue who the owner is, and we don't even know if we are subletting from the 'managers,' because they're not clarifying the situation.
- And to top it all off, after I did some digging, I discovered that even though this flat is classified as an HMO (house in multiple occupation) it has not been registered as such to the local council. Which of course is illegal as fuck. They probably don't even have a permit to have as many people in the house.
- Lastly, our flat is the only one in the estate that has had the kitchen converted to a bathroom and a single bedroom and then, had part of the living room turned into the kitchen and another part turned into a bedroom. Dodgy af?
Update 1 (March):
So much has happened! I confirmed our 'Managers' are breaching many laws (from health and safety to housing).
One of my flatmates has already reported them and I'm considering doing the same at some point.
Two more people moved in, as the couple downstairs moved out. They work as delivery drivers, they do not wash their hands when they return home, and they do not self isolate or wear masks when in the kitchen (our only communal area).
As I am immunocompromised, I am rather stressed by this turn of events!
I will keep on updating this list the more things come up. I truly hope nothing else comes up though. Having to deal with this during quarantine is not optimal.
I'm not even mentioning the drama between housemates to be honest. I've seen it all before, so I can't be bothered.
My partner and I have already started looking for another place.
Wish us luck!
Update 2 (April):
A flat in the building next to ours was on fire this morning (around 4am).
Thankfully, -from what I've gathered- no one was inside at the time, and the fire didn't spread. But the whole flat is destroyed. The most popular hypothesis is that it was due to the old electrics of the building. We live in a Council Estate, and I'm sure you know how terribly built they are. Cheap materials, really old cables and no health and safety in place. It is very scary to think this could happen to anyone any time, and all of your belongings, or even worse your life, could be lost within seconds. And our flat specifically has so many health and safety violations, it worries me a lot. There is a boiler between the dryer and the oven, and there's also a washing machine and a dishwasher in that same tiny kitchen.
Update 3 (May):
Another person moved into the room next door. Fourth person to move in during the pandemic.
Update 4 (June):
We got an eviction notice via text today. In 2 weeks we have to be out, amidst a pandemic (which is illegal of course).
They claimed they have to hand the property back to the Agency. We still don't know if we were subletting from them.
When I requested everything in email the 'Managers' became aggressive via text and deny us information we are legally entitled to. At least we found out the name of the agency and I have contacted them about all the illegal stuff going on.
They just emailed me they have a proposal they want to discuss in person tomorrow. Let's see.
Update 5 (June):
To sum up, we spoke with the agency, a lot of shady things are going on... They gave us two options, either take over the contract, or accept to sublet from a new person.
Finally we got that on email, as they were not communicating with us via email before.
The tenants have united against them, and we will fight for our rights.
Still not providing us with the landlord's info and other info we are entitled to, by law.
Update 6 (June):
We have spoken to a lawyer, who confirmed we are right and the 'Managers' eviction text is void, and the way they are handling the situation illegal.
The 'Managers' are trying to avoid responding to our questions via email (even though they admitted they have not protected our Deposit via the Deposit Scheme) and want to meet in person. We informed them we are receiving legal advice and we will only meet them in person if we are allowed to record them. Let's see...
Update 7 (August):
I moved out on the 20th of July. It was an utter and complete mess! The 'Managers' realised they had fucked up, they showed up to our flat without notice, the agency got involved... In the end, we did report them to the local council, including proof etc., but we don't know what happened in the end. In the last few weeks only three to four people had remained in the flat, so it was peaceful and calm, and the 'Managers' did leave us alone once they had a final moved out day.
Hopefully, this is the last Housing Horror Story I have to share.
Thank you for following my journey!
