Tenants report a growing number of property advertisements banning working from home, and pressure group Generation Rent is now calling on the government to stop it.
In one example reported in the press, a prospective tenant shared an example of a £1,300 a month room (complete with desk) advertised as “no working from home allowed”.
And reportedly, hundreds of listings on flatsharing website SpareRoom say that tenants are not allowed to work from home.
Is banning WFH legal?
Landlords can stop tenants from running a business or working from home under certain circumstances: if it conflicts with the terms of their mortgage (for example, because it says that the property is for residential use only), if it would cause a nuisance to neighbours, or if it would cause extra wear and tear to the property. Running a business from the property is routinely prohibited in tenancy agreements.
Doing a regular desk job remotely is unlikely to cause any of these issues. But Shelter’s legal team said that bans are likely to be legal if the landlord has reasons for imposing the condition and reflects it in the rent. And according to Ben Twomey, chief executive of Generation Rent, “there is little stopping landlords from imposing draconian conditions on their tenants, because they can threaten a Section 21 eviction if you don’t comply.”
Are landlords imposing “draconian conditions”?
WFH bans have been blamed on unreasonable landlords, but many of the adverts in question appear to have been created by people looking for lodgers. Lodger landlords have significantly more rights as they are inviting tenants into their own homes, and may well find that a tenant who spends most of the day out at work meshes better with their own lifestyle.
Others have been posted by groups of house sharers or lead tenants looking for new flatmates, so compatibility of lifestyles is key to avoiding conflict. Tenants may not want home workers taking over shared spaces during the day or driving up shared utility bills.
Meanwhile, landlords letting non-HMO properties don’t appear to be cracking down on remote workers despite the media frenzy. Rather than unreasonable landlords, it looks like the conversation around WFH in rented homes is being driven by tenants navigating the rise of remote work.
Other tenant headlines
Police guidance about tenants and drugs – Landlord Today
Are renters a new electoral coalition? – BBC
The benefits of investing in property with a sitting tenant – Property Reporter
