Swear Room

My boyfriend and I moved in to a new one bedroom flat in October. I got an email off the agent yesterday saying the flat's being converted into a studio flat. What the fuck???

Doesn't that just mean somone's going to knock the bedroom wall down?
I'd check the tenancy agreement carefully, surely if you're paying for a one bedroom flat that's what you should get - I thought studios generally command lower rents?
Sorry, too much leering at Phil Spencer (yes, I know he's old and balding but I still would........! )

How long is you're fixed term for? If its 6 months then they can't do anything until then. Even then I would question the legality of it!

Yeah it's 6 months, I don't think they're planning to do anything until after then. I'm hoping there'll be something in the tenancy agreement to trip them up but I doubt it.

Yeah they're just planning to knock our bedroom wall down. But I like our bedroom wall, it means we don't sleep in our living room. I've asked about the rent, because if they think they can charge us £600 a month for a studio flat then they're having a laugh.

I'm so pissed off I don't want to live in a studio flat, but I don't want to have to find somewhere else to live and pay all the admin fees and move all our stuff again. And we're only a month in to our 12 month broadband contract (after spending three months trying to get a phone line put in). I don't even get it - why would you want to convert a flat that you've currently got tenants in into a flat that you're going to have to get new tenants for and make less rent on?

Exactly, it doesn't make sense. Once your 6 months is up your on a rolling tenacy anyway so I don't think they can do it then either! Besides I'm sure they'd need planning permission, building regs at the very least!

Have they had a structural engineer round to check that it's not a supporting wall?

Right, well apparently they're not going to convert it into a studio flat anymore (I assume the landlady realised she won't get as much money for it), so they're going to chuck in a load of new walls and doors and make my flat all ugly and cramped instead. Apparently it's because the council are concerned that, with the current design, we have no way to exit the bedroom in the event of a fire other than through the living room (...?). This baffles me a little, as the councils preferred change is that it's converted into a studio, and a wall's built at the top of the stairs (at the moment it's open from the stairs into our living room)...but we'd still have to exit through the living room. I'm sure it makes sense to someone. I need a drink. So I've been told they want to start building work on Monday and it'll take a week, and that it would be great if I could be a little darling and stay with family, but if need be they'll pay for alternative accommodation. I told them it's probably a little far to commute to Maidstone Hospital from Swansea or Liverpool, so they can find me somewhere within walking distance of work to stay. And that I'll take meter readings before I leave so they can reimburse me for the gas and electricity the builders used...I may have been a little cross...but it's not unreasonable really is it? Lol. I considered telling them they could pay my council tax for a week as well but I stopped myself.

I'm just hoping it is all done in a week as she says My boyfriend's back from his 6 weeks at sea on the 28th and I don't want him coming back to a hotel

Disturbance payment.
OH works on council contracts - when new kitchens/bathrooms are being fitted if the tenants need to be moved out they are given alternative accomodation with all of their removal costs paid and a 'disturbance payment' in addition to their not paying any rent whilst away. (I think it's about £300. Just how HM Gov throws away our public funds, but hey I'm not going there tonight)..
They're also given a minimum of 6 weeks notice. The notice you were given is downright ludicrous, it all seems strangely urgent....
I'd take your tenancy agreement to the CAB, they're very good on things like this, your Landlady is bang out of order and then some!

Thanks Loola That's all very useful.

I was going to get in touch with the CAB when they were going to knock down my bedroom wall, I just don't know if it's best to leave them get on with it quickly if it's going to have to be done eventually instead of dragging it out and interfering with plans we've got next month.

Ugh, I do not pay £600 a month to be stressed.

Sounds like a building regs issue. How long has the flat been there? Is it a converted house?

Sam,
If it's any help to you OH started life as an Architectural Technician and is very handy with planning rules and regs. He still does drawings and plans occasionally as a favour so if you explain what it is the landlord wants to do I can show OH and he can tell you if he thinks they need building regs etc

Additionally his Dad was a building inspector and at one point Steve designed things and his Dad would then come along and say 'You cant do that!' lol

For fucks sake! Air bubbles all in my valentines mani. Grrrr So not gonna blog about this mani as it looks terrible!

Sam wrote:Thanks Loola That's all very useful.

I was going to get in touch with the CAB when they were going to knock down my bedroom wall, I just don't know if it's best to leave them get on with it quickly if it's going to have to be done eventually instead of dragging it out and interfering with plans we've got next month.

Ugh, I do not pay £600 a month to be stressed.

Sam, I've worked in construction (me and all the lads!!) and I'd be bloody surprised if all was done and dusted within a month, let alone a week. The urgency is unnerving, it certainly isn't the normal way to go about this type of work.
My suspicion would be that the Landlady's under the kosh from the council for not having the correct fire escape route - but, they would only have discovered this by seeing the current layout when submitting a planning application for conversion (am I right Jane?). Which asks the question why do they want to make changes to the flat with a happy paying tenant in situ - could it be that the six month contract's coming to an end and someone else is lined up for the flat and wants the changes made before taking it on?
Does this sound at all possible? I hope not, but I just can't make any sense of it all.

The flat's a fairly new conversion, they were only done last year, so I don't think it's that she's wanting to make any changes, they're just still dealing with all the teething issues (npower are still convinced I don't have a gas supply, but there we go). The agent is adamant that the work won't take any longer than a week, and they landlord's going to be paying £70 a night for me to stay at the hotel, so no one's going to be happy if it takes longer lol.

They're going ahead with starting on Monday. At the end of the day, we're on good terms at the moment, and it gets it out of the way. I have contacted the council asking for information about the regulations the property's failing to meet, and I've sent an email off the the CAB about whether I have any rights to compensation and stuff.

Thanks for your help everyone

Shoppingaddict, air bubbles are the devil

That's reassuring Sam, I agree that it's a bonus if you can all stay on good terms, it make life so much easier!
You're a star tenant!

Does the hotel have a pool?!!It could make for a nice little break!!

No pool sadly, but I've got my fingers crossed for a full English!

Sam wrote:No pool sadly, but I've got my fingers crossed for a full English!

Can't beat a bit of sausage in the morning

Piece of advice for you, don't paint your nails when you have a cold because you WILL need to blow your nose and it won't end well........

On another note, how's the hotel Sam?

Oh dear, polish just on the tissue or on your face...?

The hotel's rather fabulous actually. I have a four poster bed, so I'm pretty happy. Doesn't take a lot lol.

Sam wrote:Oh dear, polish just on the tissue or on your face...?

The hotel's rather fabulous actually. I have a four poster bed, so I'm pretty happy. Doesn't take a lot lol.

Wow!!! What about the brekkie?!!

Included Naturally I've gone for the full english every morning. I considered just going for scrambled eggs on toast yesterday, after being so full on Monday morning that the walk to work was really quite a struggle, but nah...it's all about the bacon and sausages.

Just broken two of my nails and feel shit.

I bent my thumb nail right back and it's snapped really low. My nails are in such a state right now I just don't know what to do.

Oh no, I hope it's not sore! They'll grow back soon

Sam wrote:Oh no, I hope it's not sore! They'll grow back soon

Thanks Sam. It is a bit sore and it looks pretty awful. I tried to fix it with glue last night but it's snapped again today.

Is the work on your flat finished now or are you still in the plush hotel?

I'm back in the flat. I had the misfortune of meeting the builders when I came to drop my bags back. Not the brightest...I watched one of them struggle for literally two minutes working out which way to put the batteries in something. They're coming back tomorrow to paint over all the dirty marks they left over all the walls and doors, and trimming the doors down so they actually close, so god knows what disaster I'm going to come home too lol.

Sam wrote:I'm back in the flat. I had the misfortune of meeting the builders when I came to drop my bags back. Not the brightest...I watched one of them struggle for literally two minutes working out which way to put the batteries in something. They're coming back tomorrow to paint over all the dirty marks they left over all the walls and doors, and trimming the doors down so they actually close, so god knows what disaster I'm going to come home too lol.

How does the new wall look otherwise?!