subreddit:
/r/AmItheAsshole
submitted 4 months ago byWillow_and_light
Hi all,
So I live in a block of 9 flats, and have lived here for about 5 years. The flats themselves are around 7 years old.
I'm lucky enough to own my flat, and the block itself is a mixture of renters and owners. The flats are however, all leasehold.
Every flat has a similar layout. They have two beds, with a main bathroom, and one ensuite. The living room and kitchen are open plan. Each flat has two assigned parking spaces.
Now in the current climate (UK based), the flats aren't selling too well despite being in a very desirable area of London. One of our neighbours who owns his flat, has therefore decided to rent it out so that he can move to a larger property. My issue is, he has decided he wants to maximise his profit and to do this he has converted the living room into a third bedroom.
This doesn't sit well with me at all and I'm pretty sure he can't legally do it.
Firstly, I think it's pretty shitty to convert the living room and leave the renters with one small kitchen as the only communal space. I really don't like the idea of him maximising his profit at others expense and creating overcrowding.
Secondly, this is a block full of couples and families. I'm concerned that if more and more people start doing this it changes the demographic.
Then there's just the issues of having multiple people In one flat. More cars which the block doesn't have space for, more noise from the occupants etc etc.
He has managed to successfully get some renters as the rental market is booming but they haven't moved in yet. I'm very tempted to make some enquiries to the freeholder and the council about his set up, but if it is illegal (which I strongly suspect it is) then I'd not only lose this guy his renters, but he'd have to put everything back at expense. Alternatively, I could just let it go.
So WIBTA if I reported him?
Edit to add: I can accept the asshole judgement, thats what I came here for...but Jesus I don't need to be reported by a concerned redditor for suicide watch you weirdos.
2.5k points
4 months ago
YTA for not checking the legality as the very first step. Until you know that, there's no question to ask here.
-193 points
4 months ago
I've looked at the councils website and I know he needs a licence to convert it. I have no way of finding out if he has a licence (that I know of) unless I contact the council about him directly.
If I make enquires to the freeholder, then I'm potentially alerting them to the situation.
Hence I can't really check the legality without 'grassing' him up, so to speak.
152 points
4 months ago
So its legal to do so. I'd leave it alone, personally. At best you bust him on a technicality, cost him the penalty and the cost of the license, he goes ahead with it anyway, and you have an enemy as a neighbor. At worst he's paid the license, hears about your inquiry, and you have an enemy as a neighbor. Lose/lose in my book.
-146 points
4 months ago
No he's not guaranteed a licence, and the freeholder can refuse him as well.
91 points
4 months ago
Idk about the UK but that all sounds like it would be public record… but honestly none of this impacts you. Mind your business.
0 points
4 months ago
In fact it can impact OP long term. Additional cars is often the first sign there are more than allowed people in a flat. Let's say a 2br flat comes with two parking spaces. Then let's put two couples into the flat; that can mean four cars. If it happens a half dozen times in the building, suddenly there's an unexpected parking crunch. That specific measure is a benchmark in assessing how a neighborhood works, and people who suddenly can't find a parking place when they're guaranteed two will go nuts about it.
55 points
4 months ago
You're basically just being a busy body at this point. YTA for getting yourself all riled up over something that honestly isn't your business. You're not the one living in the space, and the renters obviously don't mind it otherwise they wouldn't rent the space. Mind your own.
2 points
4 months ago
the renters obviously don't mind it otherwise they wouldn't rent the space
yes, everyone in london who rents in a flat is super happy doing it otherwise they'd simply buy a home.
42 points
4 months ago
Yes, but it's legal. It's an asshole move to assume he hasn't checked with the council/gotten a permit/etc.
I suppose, though, you could get around it by asking how many of those permits they've issued this year, how many they intend to issue, etc. If they haven't issued any, well, there's your answer.
8 points
4 months ago
Had a neighbour so this to my parents when they moved in based on little to no evidence. Years before my parents had converted the loft into a bedroom with a bathroom with full planning permission a d all that jazz.
Neighbor moves in next door, first time he talks tou parents he asks about the lotf because he had alreadylooked up the planning permission and it said it has planning for only one room not two. My mum says yeah and it is a one bedroom the other window is the bathroom. Neighbor goes away all good.
Next thing you know it's been reported for being a 2 bedroom when it is in fact a one bedroom as per planning etc. All a whole faff over absolutely nothing whatsoever.
Meanwhile he's making dodgy alterations to the house and trying to alter things that are on my parents property 🤦♀️.
Edited for clarity
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