How to make rented homes fit for working in during the COVID-19 lockdown
It will be almost one year this March 2021 starting from March 2020 since the first lockdown was initiated as a result of COVID-19 disaster and adversity. During this time, some people including renters are working from home as part of the lockdown requirements and request by their employers. What seems to be a temporary situation of a couple of months has become a medium-term solution to new normal working habits.
In these circumstances, homes whether rented or not where tenants are working from (because of the coronavirus and lockdown restrictions) could be adapted for work. It is much easier to adapt a home for work if you are the owner of this home than if you are a tenant as you may need a permission from your landlord/lady to do certain things. This is why we are holding this week’s activity with landlords/ladies and tenants to explore ways of doing it without upsetting any of the parties who may be involved in this adaptation.
The purpose of this week’s e-work
We will be e-working with landlords/ladies and tenants on how to make homes adaptable for work. This e-work with them will be carry out with the assumption that many of rented properties are not designed for such purpose. Some types of work may not be suitable to be carried out within a rented property.
Under the special circumstances of COVID-19 crisis, landlords/ladies can re-organise their properties to make them fit for work. They can make their property fit for home-working by tenants who pay them rent but who do not have any other alternative means except to work from home (because of the COVID-19 and national lockdown restrictions).
What we will be dealing with this week
As part of this week’s e-work, we will be looking at the following:
√ What are the types of work that may be suitable or unsuitable to be carried out in a rented property?
√ What are the minor alterations or changes that landlords/ladies can do inside their property in order to make it fit for home-working purpose? This is bearing in mind that any major alterations of the property or change of use of the property would be subject to a planning permission from the local authority.
√ Where does the law sit on this matter?
√ How to create space for home-working tenants without touching fixtures and fittings, and without affecting the use of property which is primarily a residential home not a home for work?
√ Under which circumstances tenants can work from their rented home without affecting the integrity of their tenancy and the feature of the property primarily designed as a property-to-live in not to work in?
√ How to manage tenancy relationships between landlords/ladies and tenants when tenants are working from their rented home because of the current health crisis
√ How to reduce conflicts or tensions in a landlord/lady resident property setting when a tenant is working from their room or bedsit or studio flat
√ Should the rent be increased or decreased or stayed the same because the tenant is working from their rented home because of the COVID-19 and lockdown restrictions?
The above are the questions and issues we will try to explore answers with landlords/ladies and renters this week.
Additionally, we shall provide any relevant resources (both online and print) to complete the e-working session of the week.
Need to find out what to do when tenants are working from their rented home, please e-work with Home Relief.
If you are looking for an affordable location and home, Home Relief is the people dealing with affordable homes you could consider in your property searches and enquiries.
