UK Landlord Forum / Life

Hi, I have a house that I have lawfully split into two flats. The upstairs flat is large with a loft conversion on the second floor and a kitchen/diner, bathroom, double bedroom and box room (but classed a study in the plans) on the first floor.

My thoughts were to rent the first floor as a separate entity and then either keep the loft for myself/kids as a base in London for a later date or perhaps rent it as a studio flat.

As the loft is electric only with its own separate boiler, I could put metro meters into both levels. I could  use a water meter to work out consumption to bill correctly and keep the council tax in my name and divide this equally amongst all residence. There is a shared internal stairways and separate entrances to both sections of the house so it could be easy to divide it off.

I would really appreciate some advice or if someone has done something similar. Am I allowed to legally do this? Can I get contracts drawn up for future tenants, what if I need to evict the tenants  or they claim benefits will this be an issues?

If I'm not allowed to split it, can I lock the loft room so that the future tenant can not use it? Just worried about subletting as well.

Thank-you in advance for your help and thoughts.

The first issue you'll need to address is how the property will sit relative to the HMO regulations. It sounds as if there is really only one property, split into two (and potentially three) dwellings. That's probably an HMO if more that two people occupy the flat.

But to answer the questions asked, you can rent the flat with or without the loft room. You'll need a tenancy agreement that's suitable, because of the shared element of the space (The NRLA will have one as will landlordlaw.co.uk). It will almost certainly be a tenancy, so you'll need to consider that when letting the space, and it won't affect benefits claims (the amount of housing support available depends on the circumstances of the claimant, not the property they spend it on).

You have really thought through your property plans and it is nice that you have legally split it into two flats.
About the loft, keeping it for yourself or renting it separately with separate utilities meters sounds like a good idea. It's also wise to keep council tax in your name and include it in the rent.

I think splitting it into two flats makes a lot of sense, especially with that spacious loft conversion. Renting out the first floor separately and keeping options open for the loft is a smart move either as your future London base or as a rental.

Handling utilities with separate meters and keeping council tax in your name sounds practical for managing everything smoothly. As for legal stuff like contracts and potential issues with evictions or benefits, it's always good to be cautious. Have you checked with local regulations to make sure you're all set?

If you decide not to rent out the loft, locking it off is a good idea to avoid any subletting headaches. And if you ever need advice on the legal side, chatting with a property expert could give you peace of mind.

You can definitely split the property if you follow local rules and get any necessary permissions. Just make sure your rental agreements are clear and maybe chat with a legal expert to handle utilities and council tax. Locking off the loft should be fine if you're renting out the first floor separately.