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>> No. 5797 Anonymous
4th August 2015
Tuesday 3:23 am
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So I'm going to do viewings for some private student housing and my main concern is security.

As far as I'm concerned all I want is a simple lock on the bedroom door and be unlockable from the inside without a key using a thumb operated catch. Did a bit of googling about and I can't find anything that clearly says in black and white under the law that HMOs are required to have such locks. Is there any act that states this? Also going through a few forums and it seems some landlords are a bit arsey about it and try to shut up security concious students with TV licensing costs being brought up. Another thing I should really google a bit more as my knowledge on the subject is that it is irrelevant if you have equipment that can watch live television, you are not required to pay for a license. However that knowledge is from the man down the pub.

What's the proper way of going about asking for locks on the bedroom door without a landlord trying to pass the cost off to you when it seems that they must be legally required to do so themselves?

While I'm here, any general tips on not getting fucked over by a landlord?
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>> No. 5798 Anonymous
4th August 2015
Tuesday 1:17 pm
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If the rooms are rented on individual tenancies, then there should be locks on the doors; the landlord has no such obligation if the property is rented as a whole on a joint tenancy. The legal distinction isn't written anywhere in statute, but is a matter of what is being rented. Tenants on a joint tenancy are collectively renting the whole house for their joint use, whereas tenants on individual tenancies are specifically renting a room for their sole use.

http://www.landlordlawblog.co.uk/2012/10/31/should-bedroom-doors-have-locks-on-them/

A TV licence is required to watch or record live TV. TVL will attempt enforcement action if you own equipment capable of receiving live broadcasts, but you're only obliged to have a license if you actually use the equipment for that purpose. You can declare to TVL that you don't need a license at the second link below. Again, the type of tenancy is relevant - a shared house on a joint tenancy is licensed as a single household, whereas individual tenancies will be treated as separate households each requiring a license.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/tv-licence
https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/cs/no-licence-needed/about.app

If your landlord insists on charging you for a lock, agree on costs before any work takes place. Call a couple of locksmiths for a quote.

More generally, just be a hardnosed cunt. Landlords will try whatever they think they can get away with, in the knowledge that students tend to be naive and passive. Read your tenancy agreement carefully and get things in writing. Take a thorough inventory before you move in - photograph every room and make a written record of any defects or damage. If you have any significant dispute, get yourself down to the Citizens Advice Bureau.
>> No. 5800 Anonymous
4th August 2015
Tuesday 2:44 pm
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>>5798
>You can declare to TVL that you don't need a license at the second link below.
Indeed you can, but personally I wouldn't. If down the line a dispute does arise (because they ain't just gonna take your word for it) and it doesn't go your way, you'll be seen to have deceived them, not just evaded your obligation.
>> No. 5801 Anonymous
4th August 2015
Tuesday 3:29 pm
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>>5798
I would have to assume it's on an individual tenancy basis going by the definitions on this site
http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/content/joint-or-single-tenancies

The houses I am looking at will be with strangers as everyone I know has already got their housing sorted out with no room for me therefore locks on the bedroom door is something I would like and would prefer not to have my stuff nicked.

Now this is where I'm getting a little confused
According to:
http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/for-your-home/students-aud1?WT.mc_id=r107&x=0
>If a student has a separate tenancy agreement for their room, they will need to be covered by a separate licence.

But I should be covered by
> If a student never watches or records programmes as they're being shown on TV or live on an online TV service, they don't need to be covered by a TV Licence.
>That means they only ever watch TV programmes before or after they're shown live – either on a TV or online through on-demand services like YouTube, BBC iPlayer and Channel 4 On Demand / All 4.
which is accurate of my situation. But knowing the TVL they'll try their best to get me to buy one.

There is one thing to note is that some of the houses I will be viewing have a telly in the communal lounge so I'm fully expecting that I may be forced to buy a license anyway but if they were to force a second one due to individual tenancy I won't be best pleased.
>> No. 5802 Anonymous
4th August 2015
Tuesday 3:36 pm
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On the subject of TV licensing, the lads above are correct.

>if you have equipment that can watch live television
...and you are using that equipment to watch live television, then yes you do need a licence. Otherwise you're fine. If you just own a television, but you only use it for DVDs or iPlayer or Xbox, then no licence is needed. As for streaming live TV on your computer or phone, TVL will have a hard time proving it.

If you don't need a licence (or if you do need a licence but don't want to pay for one), do not contact TVL to tell them this. That just flags you up for a priority investigation, and someone will be sent round to confirm anyway. Instead, just sit on your arse and ignore the scary-looking computer-generated letters that come through your letterbox each month saying 'final warning' and 'an investigation has been opened on your address'.

Factors change whether your tenancy agreement is joint or separate. According to TVL's website:
>If you've signed a joint tenancy agreement with your housemates, it's likely you'll only need one TV Licence to cover all the TV receivers in your house. So it's a good idea to share the cost. If you don't have a licence between you, whoever is found watching TV when an Enforcement Officer comes to visit is at risk of being prosecuted and fined up to £1,000. It could be you, whether you own the TV or not.

>If you've signed a separate tenancy agreement and you're using a TV receiver in your room, you'll need a TV Licence of your own.

So, if you don't need a TV licence and your landlord tries to get you to buy one, tell them to fuck off. If your landlord provides you with a TV, and you don't want to use it to watch live broadcasts, tell them that you will not use it to watch live broadcasts and therefore don't need a licence. And if one of your mates puts a TV in the living room, and you don't have a licence, then do not use it to watch live broadcasts.
>> No. 5803 Anonymous
4th August 2015
Tuesday 3:40 pm
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>>5801
I cross-posted with you. You seem to know that you don't need a licence.
>I'm fully expecting that I may be forced to buy a license anyway but if they were to force a second one due to individual tenancy I won't be best pleased.
How you negotiate with your housemates over the communal telly is up to you - if you want absolutely no part in paying for the licence, then tell your housemates that you have no intention of watching live broadcasts on it. From the perspective of TVL, as I posted above, it appears whoever is the one watching the TV when an enforcer pops round is the one lumbered with the fine.
>> No. 5804 Anonymous
4th August 2015
Tuesday 5:58 pm
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>>5797
>While I'm here, any general tips on not getting fucked over by a landlord?
Get a mortgage. They're pretty much universally cunts, it's their job to fuck you over. They've had more tenants than you'll have had landlords, and are very much aware of how to get the maximum profit for the minimal effort.

The only good experience I've ever had with a landlord was when I rented a house on the property of a member of the landed gentry, who amazingly actually seemed to give a fuck when I was having an issue. Say what you will about feudalism, at least when you were getting fucked over in terms of property relations it was done paternalistically.
>> No. 5805 Anonymous
4th August 2015
Tuesday 10:49 pm
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>>5804
>it's their job to fuck you over
Are we still talking about landlords or is it banks now?
>> No. 5806 Anonymous
5th August 2015
Wednesday 3:10 am
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>>5802
>And if one of your mates puts a TV in the living room, and you don't have a licence, then do not use it to watch live broadcasts.
Not quite. When it comes to communal areas, as long as someone in the house has a licence, you're covered. You can get away without a separate licence for your own room if you don't use a telly that way in your own room.

Seconding the no-contact approach. As always, like any other authority, anything you say to TVL can only hurt you, not benefit you. Mileage will vary with the opt-out - some people will tell you they've had no trouble, others will tell you they've had as much or even more hassle as a result. All the pondlife you see on YouTube getting their homes searched with the police in tow without exception brought it on themselves by sending silly letters and generally making a lot of noise (for this reason it's now considered bad form to withdraw access without a very good reason). It looks like the preferred and recommended way of managing without a licence these days (legally or otherwise) is simply to not engage with them in any way, shape or form. It used to be that the standard response chain for an opt-out was being repeatedly told that they didn't believe you, followed by a visit where they verified that you didn't need a licence but still didn't entirely believe you, though I daresay that with a government not exactly enamoured of the BBC and the telly tax they may well have been made to improve in this respect in recent years.
>> No. 5807 Anonymous
5th August 2015
Wednesday 8:42 am
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>>5806
So you're saying, if housemate A puts a TV in the living room, housemate B has the only licence for his own room, and housemate C is watching the TV when a TVL goon calls, everything iis fine and dandy? I'm not convinced. If the house is separate tenancy the communal area has to have a licence for any telly watching in there to be legal.
>> No. 5809 Anonymous
5th August 2015
Wednesday 9:29 am
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>>5807
>So you're saying, if housemate A puts a TV in the living room, housemate B has the only licence for his own room, and housemate C is watching the TV when a TVL goon calls, everything iis fine and dandy?
Yes. A TV licence covers premises, not people. Remember that thanks to The Databasetm the visitor already knows that someone there has a licence, and is looking to catch out the rest of the house for not having licences for their separate areas.
>> No. 5810 Anonymous
5th August 2015
Wednesday 11:41 am
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>>5809
You're confusing me.

>A TV licence covers premises, not people.
So then by that logic, housemate C should get done for watching TV in a communal area with no licence attached to it.

>the visitor already knows that someone there has a licence, and is looking to catch out the rest of the house for not having licences for their separate areas.
But the licence doesn't apply to the communal area, and if the TVL goon is going into the detail of who has licences for which areas, then they'll know that housemate B's licence covers only his room, there is no licence for the communal area, and thus housemate C is breaking the law.
>> No. 5811 Anonymous
5th August 2015
Wednesday 11:51 am
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>>5810
>So then by that logic, housemate C should get done for watching TV in a communal area with no licence attached to it.
No. I'm not interested in the minutiae of TVL regulation, but that doesn't follow. A communal area is not a standalone premises and whether it'd be covered by one of its user's license is a question that has already been answered (rightly or wrongly). I've been noticing very rigid but stilted logic around here in recent days.
>> No. 5812 Anonymous
5th August 2015
Wednesday 11:59 am
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>>5811
>I'm not interested in the minutiae of TVL regulation
And yet here you are, arguing with me about it.

I double-checked the TVL site and I was wrong, apparently any licence does cover the communal area, so sorry about that. But you're still saying some weird rubbish. "Very rigid but stilted logic", ok.
>> No. 5814 Anonymous
5th August 2015
Wednesday 12:18 pm
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>>5812
No, I'm pointing out your faulty logic, you dopey shit.
>> No. 5815 Anonymous
5th August 2015
Wednesday 12:27 pm
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>>5811
>But the licence doesn't apply to the communal area
Yes, it does. It applies to whatever your tenancy applies to, and in a separately-occupied property, the tenancy gives you exclusive use of your room and shared use of the communal facilities. Therefore, your licence allows you to "use a TV" in the kitchen or lounge - and if it allows you to watch it, it allows anyone there to watch it. I, despite not having a licence, do not break the law by watching telly at my mother's home over Christmas. So you can watch TV in the lounge if someone else with access to it has a licence, and you will not need a licence for your own room if you don't "use a TV" within it.
>> No. 5816 Anonymous
5th August 2015
Wednesday 11:33 pm
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OP here again.

Honestly I can avoid TVL. I mean I'm only going to be living there for a year and I very much doubt any hired goons are going to chase up a property when the occupants are there for a short time. I know I don't have to let them into the house. Now my new flatmates is another thing. That and the only bit of bother I got in my last accommodation was a single letter saying that their database didn't notice any license holders but there was probably no trouble because I imagine TVL can't climb locked gates.

Anyway I only brought it up because apparently landlords love to bring it up if you ask for locks on the bedroom to avoid paying for a locksmith to come round at fit a lock on several doors even though they should be obliged to have them. I don't particularly care about anything else, I would just rather nobody wander into my room during a party and either steal my stuff or fuck on my bed.
>> No. 5820 Anonymous
6th August 2015
Thursday 11:57 am
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>>5816
Try find a place with locks already on the doors, or a landlord who won't be so hesitant to install locks. If they're reluctant to do something which is necessary for the security of their tenants, god knows what else they'll scrimp on. As someone who's had my room trashed and my bed fucked on when I was away and a housemate had a party, I can't overstate how important room locks are.
>> No. 5826 Anonymous
9th August 2015
Sunday 12:46 am
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Well looks like I'm going for a place where locks are on all bedroom doors and TV license is covered.

Problem is that there are several couples in the house. Looks like I'm going to go look through the market for ear plugs and noise cancelling headphones and perhaps head over to /g/ for recommendations. There was two other people in my last flat and while one of them was kind enough to play music when he was with his missus the other was fairly loud and made the remaining semester quite uncomfortable hearing that.
>> No. 5901 Anonymous
18th September 2015
Friday 10:31 pm
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To save making another landlord fucking over thread, I'll post here. Need to check something though.

Live in a house with a prepayment leccy meter, which I believe was installed for the tenancy commencing 2013. But I've received two bills for electricity from a different provider, for the end of the 2012 tenancy, and for the entire 2013 tenancy. Overall, it's about £350. The end of the 2012 tenancy's bill is in the name of the landlord, but he gave it to me to pay (I moved in 2014), and the 2013 bill is addressed to the previous head tenant, who was head tenant 2013 and 2014.

So I'm not going to pay, as I didn't live here during any of this duration. However, the landlord is adamant he doesn't have to pay, and the previous head tenant lives in another country. So if they both refuse to pay, as the current head tenant will this affect my credit rating? Can they just switch the debt to me?
>> No. 5902 Anonymous
18th September 2015
Friday 10:36 pm
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>>5901
>The end of the 2012 tenancy's bill is in the name of the landlord, but he gave it to me to pay (I moved in 2014)
Give it back and tell him to fuck off.

>and the 2013 bill is addressed to the previous head tenant
Return marked NO LONGER AT THIS ADDRESS.
>> No. 5903 Anonymous
18th September 2015
Friday 10:38 pm
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>>5902
>NO LONGER AT THIS ADDRESS
On second thoughts, if you don't have a forwarding address, maybe that should be NOT KNOWN AT THIS ADDRESS.

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