Some UK landlords want to ban tenants from working from home
Credit: Pixabay: Pexels
It may be the trend post-Covid to either partially or fully work from home, but it seems that UK landlords are not on board.
A post on Twitter/X claimed that a landlord attempting to rent a double room had stipulated that the tenant could not work from home—even though there is already a desk. The post went viral, sparked outrage, and raised questions about the legality of such a policy.
Apparently, this is far from a one-time incident, as this type of condition is becoming increasingly common in rental adverts. So much so, that it has raised the concern of charity Generation Rent. They want the new government to impose regulations to stop this practice.
Ben Twomey, Chief Executive of Generation Rent, affirmed, “If you’re paying rent for a home, it should be none of your landlord’s business what you do in it.”
“When the next government reforms tenancies, as all major parties have promised, it must abolish Section 21 and make clear that unfair terms like banning working from home are not legal.” he continued.
Can a landlord ban a tenant from working from home?
Speaking from a legal standpoint, a lawyer confirmed that landlords could not stop tenants from working from home. However, the situation becomes more complicated when tenants seek to run a business from their rented accommodation.
Conversely, Abtin Yegeneh, a senior associate in the dispute resolution department at solicitors Lawrence Stephens, said, “The continued existence of Section 21 eviction means that tenants could still be forced to move on if they try to work from home, making this a more complicated issue for all involved.”
It seems that landlords do not hold all the power, though, as the Small Business Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 (subject to several exclusions) provides that landlords cannot unreasonably refuse a tenant’s request to do so.
With more people looking to adopt different working practices to the typical nine-to-five in the office, perhaps the new government should review this area sooner rather than later.
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