Are landlords responsible if their tenants move in next to a neighbour from hell who makes their life a misery?
The question is likely to be decided in court, where one angry tenant who unwittingly moved into a flat with alleged noisy neighbours.
The tenant claims the landlord and letting agent should have told him about the neighbours before he moved into the flat in West London. He is demanding £9,000 in compensation, comprising £5,000 lost earnings and monies paid at the start of the tenancy.
The tenant, Nick Hatter, 27, told The Telegraph he told the letting agent he was looking for a quiet flat and was assured noise was not a problem.
However, from the start, he claims he was woken by loud music at 2 am, could hear neighbours talking and coughing and that he was disturbed by rumbling London Underground trains.
The landlord and letting agent have declined to comment about the case.
But although the law says tenants should enjoy ‘quiet use’ of their private rented home, the term stops landlords entering a rented home without permission and has nothing to do with noise levels.
The case highlights a gap in the law between buying and renting a home.
If the tenant was a buyer instead of a renter, the seller would have a duty to disclose a nuisance or antisocial behaviour nearby which is enforceable in court.
But a landlord has no such obligation to a tenant unless they ask a specific question before signing the rental agreement. If they do, failing to own up about defects or issues with neighbours could be considered a breach of contract.
If a landlord keeps quiet and the tenant moves in and complains, they would probably have to prove the landlord knew about the problem before the contract was signed.
I guess the success of the case will be based on the strength of the evidence that
1. The alleged noise was in fact a nuisance
2. The landlord/agent knew about the noise issue and made a misleading omission of material information that affected the tenants transactional decision to rent the property as per Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 regulation 6?
As a Landlord who has properties some 300 miles away how could I know if there are noisy neighbours in close proximity to my property unless my tenants advise me of the fact and even then it is disputable as what constitutes noise
This tenant has complained about the rumble of trains, surely this individual realised he was close to a railway line and should have checked to see how busy that particular line is used
As to neighbours talking and coughing that is often the drawbacks of living in older flats but is usually a very low and inaudible murmur
The problem here is more about taking responsibility and this tenant needs to accept his share of it
Landlords should declare any know issues but it is not for them to have to try to find out if there are noisy neighbours what is he/she supposed to do go and knock on doors and as the neighbours are noisy or not
The tenant also has the police and local authority to complain to should there be a genuine issue