Here is a question to the blog clinic from Amanda who is a tenant
I have lived in my home for 4 years ,I am on a rolling contract . My previous landlord for this time has been trying to get planning for a 3 bed property in the large garden of the property that I rent . this was passed in August . he sold the property in September at Auction with me as the tenant (that’s another story)..
My new Landlord is anxious to start asap. The new build will be joined to my home making it mid terrace , I will lose the large garden conservatory and garage and the Front door will now come directly into the front room . I only know this because I downloaded the plans from the council website !!
The new landlord has been round on a weekly basis with various tradesmen . I have accommodated all his requests …. My question is does he have to have my consent to start the alterations or can he just continue to do whatever he likes when he likes ? , does he have to give me 60 days notice . I have nowhere else to go and would appreciate any guidance.
Answer
If the garden, garage etc are part of your tenancy then, no, your landlord cannot build on it without your permission. In a sense the property is yours and he has no right to do anything on it.
The problem is that if you have an assured shorthold tenancy, your landlord has the right to evict you after giving you just two months notice, so effectively there is not a huge amount you can do to stop him if you want to stay there.
However as it would take in the region of six months to evict you, you can cause him problems in the short term by refusing permission and access – although this may decide him to evict you as a ‘troublemaker’..
My feeling is that your best option is to try to negotiate a lower rent as effectively you will lose a large part of the property that you current rent.