A landlady has come under fire for offering to lease her garden cabin to a lodger for about £1,000 a month including bills.
Thembi Mutch advertised the cabin, which she also keeps her bike and other belongings in, on Gumtree and Spareroom for £895pcm plus bills, which in the advert she estimates would be up to £150 a month.
Dr Mutch, a freelance journalist and lecturer, says she recently built the cabin next to her house in Norwich Drive, Bevendean.
She wrote in the ad: “Looking for lovely housemate(s) for cabin … The side part of the cabin has my storage, which I access. PLEASE NOTE I WILL REQUIRE ACCESS TO THE CABIN – but your privacy is ensured.”
The cabin is advertised as having being insulated and heated, with a wetroom, sink, microwave, kettle, blender and fridge, as well as fast internet.
After the ad was shared on social media, internet sleuths tracked down the address and discovered the “recently built cabin” does not have any planning permissions.
Brighton and Hove City Council said its planning enforcement team had received reports and was investigating.
A spokesperson for Acorn, a union which represents private tenants, said: “Putting a glorified shed up for rent for such a high monthly fee is a perfect example of the unsustainable and dangerous situation renters in Brighton and Hove face.
“With little action from Brighton and Hove Council administrations over the years, a ‘wild west’ situation has been allowed to fester, with landlords, comfortable in the knowledge that they won’t be held to account by the authorities, able to exploit vulnerable renters to shocking extremes.
“The fact that the landlord in question also expects to have access to the ‘cabin’ only makes it all the more shocking.
“Acorn is encouraged by the recent movement by the council on plans to implement landlord licensing in the city, but we will keep pushing until this and other policies are finally enacted upon by the authorities.
“Until then, renters will continue to be exploited by unscrupulous landlords.”
A spokesperson for Brighton and Hove City Council said: “Anyone with concerns about possible inappropriate renting out of cabins / annexes or similar as separate units of living accommodation should report their concerns to us.
“Our planning enforcement team investigates all such allegations.”
Dr Mutch was approached for comment and said some of the details in the ad were wrong, but insisted none of her lengthy responses should be published.
The shed….is insulted: what ever next
**insulated
Actually, Bunter23 is referring to a typo of mine – I originally wrote the cabin was insulted, and spellcheck didn’t pick it up. I’ve since corrected it.
For anyone who wants to know more about this shed for rent at a grand a month: it’s on Spareroom. And look aghast at what’s on offer. It doesn’t look insulated to me. Behold the state of the plumbing in the ‘wet room’. Feel the luxury of the cooking area. Wonder whether there is actually a bedroom.
https://m.spareroom.co.uk/flatshare/flatshare_detail.pl?flatshare_id=8769985&mode=details&flatshare_type=offered&search_id=&search_results=&city_id=2&featured=&alert_id=&alert_type=&
Listing now removed from that site hm, let’s find her listing on other accommodation sites!
I reported it to spare room and they removed it. If it’s listed anywhere else please consider reporting it to the website as well.
Acorn’s lack of understanding of housing law and what the proposed council licences will cover is worrying. This “cabin” is advertised as a lodger. It isn’t something that the council’s licencing scheme will cover as that doesn’t deal with accommodation for lodgers.
Licensing will improve conditions for renters – numerous schemes have shown that. But it will also increase prices and will probably reduce availability as landlords quit. These factors are more likely to encourage (force) people into lodging with a landlord – and into other areas which are unregulated and cheaper. Offering tenants far less legal protection. With rising prices and fewer places to legitimately rent but still the demand for homes at a reasonable price, there is likely to be more tenants forced into a “wild west” of renting and a shadow market. Experience worldwide has shown this.
You sound like a private landlord and therefore are bound to oppose anything that improves the dreadful position of most private tenants. You have a money interest.
I very much care about tenants. I also know landlords who do too – after all why not care about your customers? Most businesses do
I have also been helped by Brighton Council’s housing team when I had problems with my landlord. They were very useful and the problems were resolved. This was before licensing and the council had to do it as a statutory duty. Now, councils across the country say they can’t help without licences in place. This is not true – they have to help by law. Yes, councils are trying to get extra money and they don’t have enough – but still they are trying to use licences, or lack of, as an excuse. And as we see in this case councils have many other enforcement powers that they can (and must) use.
As for attacking me – I presume you are trying to defend Acorn and their lack of knowledge. You haven’t dealt with any of the points raised, just attacked the person. My post was all around trying to improve the dreadful position of tenants and stating that more rules won’t necessarily fix that and indeed are likely to make it worse
It’s all around unintended consequences and the need to look and learn from other areas when they’ve tried similar. Look at the SNP in Scotland. They’ve tried limiting rent increases and have rent freezes and rent caps. What part of the UK has the highest rising rents? Scotland. So often you can try to do one thing and get the opposite. That’s my fear with Acorn – they seem to like to shout but don’t understand the details or the need to work with tenants, councils and landlords to make things better. Our new council is paying Acorn lots of attention and that may lead to bad outcomes (as the greens before them were led astray by some cycling pressure groups leading to decisions later reversed, money badly spent and things left unfixed)
In case you haven’t noticed there is a huge power imbalance between private landlords and tenants, that generally landlords exploit and that is why the majority of sub- standard housing is in the private rental sector. This weird idea you have that landlords will be driven out of the sector and sell up is based on the ridiculous notion that they are strapped for cash!. How anyone can become a landlord if so impoverished is beyond me. Perhaps they should get jobs instead of holding others to ransom for the basic human need for shelter. If they really “can’t afford” to make their accommodation to a decent standard it would be sensible to make a killing and indeed sell up, these properties would be bought up, probably by first time buyers (or even better councils!) . The overall pool of housing stays the same. Any decant landlord can get their property, or rather properties up to standard. As for rent increases the primary solutions are rent controls, building social housing and no second homes until everyone has a first. Their are enough bedrooms in the country to house all and hence the problem has to be addressed as a problem of wealth distribution and a tax system that reflects this fact is essential.
I don’t think all landlords are evil. I’ve had some good ones as well as one bad one. Even that bad one was incompetent and didn’t know their responsibilities rather than being bad. Or perhaps I am being too charitable?
As for my “weird idea” that landlords are selling up – it’s not so weird. The Office of National Statistics says it. So too does the Bank of England, the government and many groups who support tenants. Private landlords are there to make money in the main. If they can’t, or can get better returns elsewhere, then they sell up. And as you can get over 6% by leaving your money safe in a bank, then why gamble on property?
There are many types of landlords. Accidental ones are the most common – inheritance, moving for a job etc. My neighbours are like that – love Brighton and want to come back but had to move for an NHS job. They rent out while working away. Are they evil? Think not.
There are also some “professional” landlords who have gone on get-rich-quick courses who borrow heavily and buy multiple times. They leverage and do financial things I don’t understand. But somehow they can borrow huge amounts. They are the most vulnerable now as interest rates rise, and repossessions of buy to lets are already in the many thousands a year and set to increase. The tenants will suffer the most – the landlords (and the get rich course providers who taught them how to do this) will still have their own homes as they have been taught to buy through a business and so protect themselves.
So not all landlords are the same. Just as all tenants aren’t. You need to understand your “enemy”
If a landlord can’t afford to make a rented home safe and decent then the council will do it for them. And charge them back. If the landlord can’t pay this becomes a debt on the home (landlord). So in whatever circumstances the tenant should have a safe and decent place to rent and the council housing team should be able to ensure this
As for enough bedrooms for everyone. Possibly. There certainly aren’t enough homes. Our building rate and homes per capita are way below virtually every other European country. Governments for decades, and NIMBY-focussed planning rules, have prevented many homes from being built. Maybe you could force all parents out of larger homes as their children move out as you suggest. Or retired people being made to move to homes with fewer bedrooms. But both of these would make family visits hard. And people grow to like their homes. My view is that this is unfair when you come to it – a bedroom tax for owner-occupiers in effect. Much better to build more, especially social housing
The key problem is the government is doing this the wrong way around. More social and affordable housing should come first. Then reduce private renting. Trying to reduce private renting (which is Tory policy with their tax increases) just makes the more vulnerable poorer. Richer renters are OK – if they can get an expensive mortgage…
It’s the planning department that will be checking, not the housing team. It seems it may not have planning permission.
Tenants and lodgers are two completely different types of tenure.
However with the more lightly regulated lodger tenure that doesn’t mean that lodger accommodation no matter how formulated should be permitted without suitable planning permission.
This is clearly a case of lodger accommodation that has not met planning constraints.
The lodger will need to take a room in the associated property and the shed converted back to a full status SHED.
Rent controls
End buy to let.
Tax landlords.
So in your Utopia who will house the 11.9 million tenants that currently use the PRS for their accommodation needs!?
Ending BTL would require 60% of letting properties to be sold as they currently are mortgaged via BTL mortgaged.
Taxing LL….hmm!…I think you’ll find LL are overtaxed especially those mortgaged sole trader LL.
They are taxed on turnover; the only business in the UK that is.
LL are selling up because of all these things.
If LL sped up their exodus there would be instant mass tenant homelessness.
As it is there is a slow exodus of LL.
This isn’t really being noticed that much.
But in a few years time there will be a million fewer letting properties as LL will have sold up.
How will that assist desperate tenants!?
The idea that rent controls will keep rents cheaper is for the birds.
You clearly DONT know how LL and tenants will game the system.
Market rents will still be paid but part of it will be paid in unrecorded brown envelopes.
Those tenants who refuse to pass over brown envelopes will find themselves homeless!!!
Of course with rent controls any lender will only be able to officially lend on the basis of a controlled rent.
That would mean property proces for all would reduce.
I’m not sure how many homeowners understand that rent controls would directly affect the value of their home.
The property market for letting properties and owner occupied property are different but the same.
They impact on eachother.
Build more council housing stock, need about a million with affordable rent. Homelessness sorted. Everyone should have a roof over their head
Fully support building more houses. It’s something the Tories simply failed to do, and now our current council and incoming government will have to deal with.
What a joke of an offering. I’d be embarrassed to ask for that. Embarrassed to tell anyone that I’d been attempting to rent that. No way is that even worth the asking price.
I’m astonished it’s even legal. It’s a flipping shed and she wants constant access.
It seems dreadful, but no-one has to rent from her if they can find a better deal elsewhere. The alleged lack of planning permission is a separate issue and should be investigated.
Planning permission and building regulations as it’s intended use is a habitable space.
Extremely dangerous place to live, no fire protection at all
It would not pass a fire brigade safety check & should not be rented out for living in!
Absolutely Barry,
but Bless this hard working Lady who wanted to put a Pork Chop and a few Guineas on the table – she clearly shows initiative.
No doubt some young buck will enjoy the home comforts and the ensuite workshop!