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Hi,
I own a flat in a quiet residential area in central Brighton. I'm on a volunteering holiday out of the country for a year and am renting the flat to a lovely lady with two small children. Very recently, a company has bought the 3 storey house next door, applied for an HMO licence and is running an HMO from the premises. But the problem is that they are a company that specialises in housing vulnerable members of the street community - who the council have been unable to house due to their behaviour. My tenant and other neighbours have suffered a onslaught of aggressive, unruly behaviour. Members of the street homeless community are moved into the property (which has no staff) and are then left to see if they will cope with life off the street. If they don't they are evicted back onto the street and if they do they are moved to longer-term council accommodation. Nobody is there for longer than a week or two - maximum a month. These are not people who have recently become homeless, they are long-term street homeless persons with associated drug/substance misuse issues and mental health issues.
It's difficult to explain just how frightening this is for those living in the vicinity of the HMO - most are too scared to leave their homes. The owners of the HMO know the issues that are likely to be caused by their tenants and thus my question is;
a) Is this an HMO in terms of the intended nature of an HMO?
b) Can I hold the landlord responsible for the behaviour of their tenants if they know or ought to know that their behaviour is likely to cause anti-social behaviour and or criminal offences?
c) Is there legal action I can take against the owner?
Regards
R
I own a flat in a quiet residential area in central Brighton. I'm on a volunteering holiday out of the country for a year and am renting the flat to a lovely lady with two small children. Very recently, a company has bought the 3 storey house next door, applied for an HMO licence and is running an HMO from the premises. But the problem is that they are a company that specialises in housing vulnerable members of the street community - who the council have been unable to house due to their behaviour. My tenant and other neighbours have suffered a onslaught of aggressive, unruly behaviour. Members of the street homeless community are moved into the property (which has no staff) and are then left to see if they will cope with life off the street. If they don't they are evicted back onto the street and if they do they are moved to longer-term council accommodation. Nobody is there for longer than a week or two - maximum a month. These are not people who have recently become homeless, they are long-term street homeless persons with associated drug/substance misuse issues and mental health issues.
It's difficult to explain just how frightening this is for those living in the vicinity of the HMO - most are too scared to leave their homes. The owners of the HMO know the issues that are likely to be caused by their tenants and thus my question is;
a) Is this an HMO in terms of the intended nature of an HMO?
b) Can I hold the landlord responsible for the behaviour of their tenants if they know or ought to know that their behaviour is likely to cause anti-social behaviour and or criminal offences?
c) Is there legal action I can take against the owner?
Regards
R
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