Flat to Rent: Landlord from hell

If you are looking to rent a flat in London or the UK, heres all the vocabulary you need and a story
that you will probably find very interesting!
Last week a female prospective tenant went to view a flat in London and the guy who owned the flat
(who she would be sharing with) seemed nice and everything was going smoothly. Then as she left the
appointment, her future landlord gave her a list of house rules to look at before she made the final
decision to move in agreed to sign a contract.
As you can see from the rules below, she decided NOT to go for it. In fact, she posted the rules online
and the photos went viral on twitter with over 4,000 comments about the nightmares of renting a flat,
shared houses, landlords, tenants and flatmates.
Flat to Rent Vocabulary
Prospective tenant.someone who is thinking about renting a flat
Landlord.the owner of a flat that rents out the living space to other people
Sign a contractputting your signature/name on an official document to say that you agree with
the details of the document. Slang version putting pen to paper
Flatmates...people that live in the same flat as you. This does not definitely mean that they are
your friends!
Deposit.the money you pay in addition to the rent at the start of a renting contract. This is
sometimes the cost of up to 4 months rent to cover any damges that you may cause in the flat.
Vacate premises..to leave the flat
One month notice..If you plan on leaving, you have to tell the landlord about this one month
before your leaving date.
Deducted..money taken from you
15ph15 pounds per hour
Pets..dogs, cats, birds, rabbits etc. Animals that live with you in your house
Personal belongings.the things that are yours
Communal areas..place that all people use like bathroom, corridor, kitchen etc
Dishes in the sink...after you have eaten, these are the dirty plates, knives, forks, glasses etc
that you have used and have not cleaned/washed up
Toiletriesthings that you use in the bathroom e.g. toilet roll, soap etc

THE HOUSE RULES

1. No pork ever in the house or fridge
2. No visitors can stay over (unless discussed with me in advance and I will
decide). If I catch anyone sneeking in, your deposit will be lost and you will need
to vacate premises immediately)
3. Not more than 2 visits a month and visitors must be in your room and cannot
stay the night unless discussed with me beforehand.
4. No using other peoples things (shampoo, hand wash or anything I buy this
will be charged to you)
5. One month notice to leave
6. Alcohol must be kept in room
7. Showers can not last longer than 15 mins in morning and evenings between
6am and 10am also between 7pm and 11pm)
8. Cooking must be no longer than 30 mins as other people will or might need to
cook also after work and mornings, doors must be opened whilst cooking. (If
doors are not open then a charge will be added to your rent for new wallpaper)
9. There is no living room included, only room. So if you sit in the kitchen area
which is my personal living space you must eat then wash up and go back to
room.
10. If I feel at any point you are abusing anything at all including
a) Electricity
b) Water
c) Gas
Or cleaning products, this will be deducted and added to next months rent and
failing to pay will result in vacating premises immediately
11. Washing machine and dryer must be empty if not in use
12. If you do not clean after yourself, I will pay for a cleaner and she charges
15ph and I will get her in 2 hours a week and charge you at the end of the
month. Failing to pay will result in vacating premises immediately.
13. If you break anything or stain carpet, this will be charged to you, so please
respect house
14. No pets allowed in house ever
15. No smoking in rooms otherwise deposit will be lost and you will need to
vacate premises immediately
17. DO not leave personal belongings in communal areas. All belongings must be
kept in rooms otherwise it will get thrown out as I will take it as junk
18. Stealing will result in deposit will be lost and you will need to vacate premises
immediately and the police will get called.
19. Dont leave dishes in the sink otherwise a charge of 15 will be added to rent.
20. Noisy people and rude people will get one chance to calm down and then if
not deposit will be lost and you will need to vacate premises immediately
22. Never go into anyone elses room. This will be looked on as theft, deposit will
be lost and you will need to vacate premises immediately and police will get
called.
23. Every week 5 will need to go towards communal toiletries/toilet roll
24. NO food to be eaten in bedroom as if carpet or walls get dirty or messed up I
charge for my time to evaluate and fix the issue and I am not cheap, so best you
eat downstairs and sleep in room.
26. No parties, loud music or other excessive noise ever otherwise deposit will be
lost and you will need to vacate premises immediately
Hope you enjoy your read and your stay rules are here for a reason, so
everyone lives without problems. Please speak to me if you have any problems.