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Tenant of a private landlord

Find information about use of the property and of the communal areas of your building if you are a tenant of a private landlord.

As a tenant in a Westminster City Council leasehold property, you will sign a tenancy with your landlord.

For any day to day issues such as repairs and rent; you should contact your landlord in the first instance as per the terms of your agreement with them.

However, you will still need to comply with the conditions of the lease that your landlord has signed with us as the freeholder. Below are the conditions you are required to meet.

Access

Members of our staff or our contractors have the right to enter the property to carry out inspections and repairs and maintenance works to the property and any communal services that run through it. 

We must give you at least 48 hours’ notice, unless there is an emergency.

Nuisance

You must not cause a nuisance to other residents or cause damage to Westminster City Council property.  This applies to everyone living in your home and any visitors.

You must not:

  • use the property for illegal purposes
  • harass neighbours or any of their visitors
  • obstruct or leave any items in communal areas,  any refuse should be placed in a designated area 

For more information, please see our ASB pages. If you are found to be causing a nuisance or harassment, we can take legal action against you.

Use of property

The property can only be used for residential purposes. You may not:

  • use the property for illegal or immoral purposes
  • hold any sale by auction in the property
  • run a business from the property
  • further sub-let the property, which includes short-letting

You must make good any damage to the building or estate caused by you, your visitors or your workmen.

Alterations

  • you must not make any alterations to the structure of the property without obtaining Westminster City Council written approval 
  • you must ask for permission from your landlord before you consider any alterations and your landlord would need to submit an alterations application to us, find more information on home improvements.

Communal areas

  • you have the right to use communal areas of the building and the estate 
  • you must not cause an obstruction by depositing items such as furniture in the communal parts of the building.
  • you must make sure that any vehicles you park on the estate do not cause a nuisance and/or obstruction and where appropriate, you must display a parking permit.

For further information about renting, read the government’s guidelines.

Published: 15 January 2021

Last updated: 8 September 2023