Moat Homes Limited (202532562)

Background

1. The landlord gave permission to the resident to sublet his property from 2021 to 2023, because he was unable to sell it due to ongoing building safety works at the time. The works were completed in late 2023 and a EWS1 form was issued to demonstrate that the building was safe. As such, the resident put his property up for sale and gave notice to his tenant. In early 2024, the resident told the landlord that he was concerned the property had not sold and asked if he could sublet the property again, as not doing so would put him into financial hardship. The landlord gave him permission to do so until September 2024.
2. In January 2025 a buyer was found. However, their mortgage lender did not accept the EWS1 form. This caused a delay in the sale of the property while a new EWS1 was completed. The resident raised concerns that as the landlord did not allow him to sublet the property after September 2024, it caused him financial hardship. He felt it should have taken government advice to relax its “blanket approach” to subletting.

What the complaint is about

3. The complaint is about the landlord’s response to the resident’s concerns that it did not allow him to sublet his property.

Our decision (determination)

4. There was no maladministration in the landlord’s response to the resident’s concerns that it did not allow him to sublet his property.

Reasons

5. The resident’s lease does not allow him to sublet unless the landlord agrees. The landlord’s subletting policy says that it will only grant shared owners permission to sublet their property in exceptional circumstances. It explains that the maximum period it will allow a sublet is 12 months and it will not grant an extension beyond that. It also explains that the managing agent of the property needs to approve the sublet.
6. In December 2023, the then Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities wrote a public letter to landlords addressing some of the issues shared owners faced selling their properties in relation to building safety issues. They encouraged landlords to tailor the terms of their subletting offer to the individual needs of shared owners.
7. That the landlord considered the resident’s specific circumstances in early 2024, and agreed to a further 6 months’ sublet, was reasonable and demonstrated that it used its discretion to do so. At this time, the landlord also explained to the resident that it would not be able to agree to another sublet past the licence expiration date.
8. The resident’s tenant moved out of the property around September 2024 and a buyer for it was found in January 2025. The available evidence does not show that the resident raised any concerns to the landlord that the property being vacant during that period was causing him financial hardship, or that he requested further permission to sublet the property.
9. Taking into consideration the landlord’s earlier position, it is acknowledged that the resident may have considered that it would not agree to another sublet after September 2024. However, given that there is no evidence that he asked the landlord whether he could do so at that point, the landlord did not have an opportunity to provide a response. Therefore, it would not be reasonable or fair to assess the landlord’s position on the resident’s subletting the property again at this time, when it was not aware of his concerns.
10. The evidence available shows that the resident asked the landlord whether his buyer could sublet the property while they waited for the new EWS1 form in mid-2025. The landlord agreed, which was reasonable in the circumstances.
11. It is acknowledged that, once it was identified that the buyer’s mortgage lender did not accept the EWS1, it was the responsibility of the managing agent of the resident’s property to provide a new one. It is noted that the new EWS1 form was not issued until August 2025. The evidence shows while this was outside of the landlord’s control. It chased the managing agent for updates during that period, which was reasonable.