electric heaters for bathrooms
Is there a notice period a landlord must give before increasing rent?
My landlord hasn’t been supplying adequate central heating, so pretty much all of us ought electric heaters.
He’s now telling us starting today we have to pay more for the electric.
Can this be done with no notice period? I’m on a contract but for some reason nobody else living here is.
Also, small issue, if 5 of us live here, is there a minimum amount of bathrooms that need to be in the building, and what is considered a bathroom?
This is in England.
Cheers!
Your property is a ‘HMO’ and as such is covered by the “Licensing & Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation and Other Houses (Miscellaneous Provisions) (England) Regulations 2006.
Schedule 3 says that every room must have a sink for handwashing with cold water and a constant supply of hot water. If there are 5 sharing the house then you need 2 baths (or showers) and 2 loos – 2 full bathrooms is okay, or separate rooms.
With regard to rent. If you are in the first 12 months of your tenancy agreement, the landlord can not increase the rent. After that, he needs to give you a formal notice of a minimum of 1 month on a “Section 13 notice”. The rent increase to take effect on the 1st day of a tenancy period. The LL can not increase the rent more frequently than every 12 months. (Section 13, Housing Act 1988).
IF the electricity is not included in the rent, ie he is saying the price per unit you pay at the meter is going up – then he can do this as often as he wants – those of us who pay directly to the electricity companies have been suffering this regularly for some years now. It might be that the LL simply can’t afford the electric you are all using without recouping some of it from you.
EDIT: Just to correct other posters… The 1985 Landlord and Tenant Act (section 11) obliges the landlord to provide facilities for space heating, but it does not oblige him to heat the place at all – ie, he can provide central heating but expect the tenants to pay for the electricity if they choose to run it.
