Raising rent because of Flatmate

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Aaroona

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#102997 28-May-2012 10:51

So I'm currently rent a place at the moment with my girlfriend, and we are considering getting a flatmate - mainly to offset costs etc..

The Agency I'm going through has said that the owner may put up the rent if I decide I want to have a flatmate.

Is this even legal? The place itself was rented to me as a 3 bedroom at $330 a week. I would imagine if I wanted to have someone living there with me, that would be my decision as long as the rent was paid and we followed the rules of the complex.

Who would be best to contact about this?

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#631357 28-May-2012 10:52

Have you got your rental agreement contract? There should be a section about sub-tenants.

gzt

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#631359 28-May-2012 10:53

Does your tenancy agreement say it is a two person occupancy only?

Aaroona

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#631360 28-May-2012 10:53

lxsw20: Have you got your rental agreement contract? There should be a section about sub-tenants.

Hmm, good point. I'll have to wait till I get home to check it out - this was only decided last night, so haven't had time to check.

surfisup1000

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#631368 28-May-2012 11:08

Aaroona: So I'm currently rent a place at the moment with my girlfriend, and we are considering getting a flatmate - mainly to offset costs etc..

The Agency I'm going through has said that the owner may put up the rent if I decide I want to have a flatmate.

Is this even legal? The place itself was rented to me as a 3 bedroom at $330 a week. I would imagine if I wanted to have someone living there with me, that would be my decision as long as the rent was paid and we followed the rules of the complex.

Who would be best to contact about this?

It would seem stupid to me that they would raise the rent in this case.

It is a 3 bedroom , presumably you are using only a single bedroom.

But, it will be in your contract, especially if it is a decent letting agency. If the contract does not mention restrictions then by default there is no problem.

Aaroona

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#631369 28-May-2012 11:09

surfisup1000:
Aaroona: So I'm currently rent a place at the moment with my girlfriend, and we are considering getting a flatmate - mainly to offset costs etc..

The Agency I'm going through has said that the owner may put up the rent if I decide I want to have a flatmate.

Is this even legal? The place itself was rented to me as a 3 bedroom at $330 a week. I would imagine if I wanted to have someone living there with me, that would be my decision as long as the rent was paid and we followed the rules of the complex.

Who would be best to contact about this?

It would seem stupid to me that they would raise the rent in this case.

It is a 3 bedroom , presumably you are using only a single bedroom.

But, it will be in your contract, especially if it is a decent letting agency. If the contract does not mention restrictions then by default there is no problem.

Those would be my thoughts as well.

At a stretch I could see needing to ask the agency (possibly for bond/insurance purposes), otherwise I don't see why it should make a difference.

langers1972

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#631371 28-May-2012 11:23

Extra wear and tear on the property is one factor that a landlord will cite as a reason to increase rent and there is a good possibility that their insurance will also be affected.

This is basically subletting and that's always a no-no to most landlords/agencies.

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ChevronX

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#631372 28-May-2012 11:24

My brother rented with a couple, in I think it was a 3 bedroom house for a few weeks until the landlord found out, apparently he was unaware my brother was staying there and kicked him out, I guess some people are partial to how many and what kind of people are allowed. I guess if you are upfront to the land lord in the first place it helps your cause, although I do agree they should not raise the rent it is best to check first.

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bazzer

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#631377 28-May-2012 11:36

There are a number of reasons why it coudl be considered reasonable.

I assume you're paying the water charges yourself, so that's irrelevant. Certainly wear and tear would be increased if there were three people living there compared to two, don't you think?

Aaroona

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#631378 28-May-2012 11:38

bazzer: There are a number of reasons why it coudl be considered reasonable.

I assume you're paying the water charges yourself, so that's irrelevant. Certainly wear and tear would be increased if there were three people living there compared to two, don't you think?

Yes, but again, the add that I went through said $330 for a 3 bedroom house.

Am I to assume that if I had a family of three, I would be expected to pay extra for each member of my family?

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#631390 28-May-2012 11:50

Workmate moved in with friends who rent a 6 bedroom house.... when the l/lord found out, they put the rent up. Funny thing was, only 3 people were living there to start with apparently.... go figure.
So still empty rooms...

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hellonearthisman

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#631395 28-May-2012 11:55

The number living i the flat should equal the number of bedrooms, 1Double and 2 singles means it can have 4 people.
The subletting is only if you you moved out and rented it to another party, boarders/flatmates doesnt break the subletting rules.

They should not put your rent up just because the number of people change, if that was the case, then they should cut the rent when one of your flatmates moves out or goes away for a holiday for a few weeks.... yeah right that would happen.

Still the landlord can just put up the rent, but needs to give you written notice.
tenancy: Rent frequently asked questions - Department of Building and Housing

unreasonably stop a tenant who wants to sublet or assign the tenancy to someone else, unless it is stated in the tenancy agreement that the tenant cannot assign or sublet the tenancy
Has a line of what landlord must not do, "unreasonably stop a tenant who wants to sublet or assign the tenancy to someone else, unless it is stated in the tenancy agreement that the tenant cannot assign or sublet the tenancy"

There is also a tenant must point "make sure the number of people living in the property does not exceed the amount the tenancy agreement allows (this does not include people visiting for a short time)"

So you need to look at your contract to see what you can do.

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bazzer

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#631406 28-May-2012 12:03

Aaroona:
bazzer: There are a number of reasons why it coudl be considered reasonable.

I assume you're paying the water charges yourself, so that's irrelevant. Certainly wear and tear would be increased if there were three people living there compared to two, don't you think?

Yes, but again, the add that I went through said $330 for a 3 bedroom house.

Am I to assume that if I had a family of three, I would be expected to pay extra for each member of my family?

Possibly, I wasn't party to the discussion. Do you think you should be able to have 6 people living there for the same price? Anyway, as people have said, check the contract. Regardless of what you think is fair or not, it should be covered in that and you did sign it.

bazzer

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#631408 28-May-2012 12:05

hellonearthisman: They should not put your rent up just because the number of people change, if that was the case, then they should cut the rent when one of your flatmates moves out or goes away for a holiday for a few weeks.... yeah right that would happen.

In this case, if the third flatmate moved out permanently, then you would be totally within your rights to request a reduction in the rent for the exact same (actually inverse) reason it was put up. In reality, I bet the landlord would give you the reduction and then use it as an excuse for the annual rent increase anyway!

vexxxboy

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#631410 28-May-2012 12:07

this answers a few questions

http://www.landlords.co.nz/ask-an-expert-full.php?askanexpert_id=1383

Common sense is not as common as you think.

nate

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#631427 28-May-2012 12:26

ChevronX: My brother rented with a couple, in I think it was a 3 bedroom house for a few weeks until the landlord found out, apparently he was unaware my brother was staying there and kicked him out, I guess some people are partial to how many and what kind of people are allowed. I guess if you are upfront to the land lord in the first place it helps your cause, although I do agree they should not raise the rent it is best to check first.

It's on your rental agreement how many people can stay in the house. You can have people visit and stay but not for long periods of time.

If in doubt, it always pays to chat with your landlord. My folks are landlords, and have been since I can remember - if you're reasonable, most are happy to be a accommodating.

The worst thing to do is keep your landlord in the dark as it will end badly.

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