Mrs

I own a flat in a block of six in which the six leaseholders also own and manage the freehold. One of the flat has been bought by a hotel which is using it to accommodate its staff. It is a 2 bed flat and the hotel has turned the living room into another bedroom to fit in four staff. The lease prohibits "boarding and lodging" and states the dwelling must only be used for a private dwelling. On what grounds can we pursue the hotel?

[OHlandlord]

Does the lease or freehold/building rules define boarding or lodging? Is it defined in local laws? If the hotel is using it for permanent quarters for a set group of staff members, the lease clause may not cover it. (Boarding or lodging are usually tempoary quarters.) If the same staff member are living there all the time, this may fall more under subletting or subleasing (where a tenant rents part of his unit to others). If the hotel is rotating staff members in and out of the unit, it might hold up.

One way you may be able to enforce this is through the local government. Most cities or local governments have occupancy laws about how many people may live in a unit of a certain size. In the US, it is usually either done by square feet or by a ratio of 2 per bedroom plus 1. A 2 bedroom unit could hold no more than 5 people maximum, but could be limited to less based on the square footage. Some cities also have local ordinances to say what can be considered a bedroom. For instance, in my city a bedroom is a room of at least 64 sq. ft. with a closet, and may not be the kitchen, a bathroom, or the living room. A tenant here could convert a den, study, or dining room into a bedroom as long as it was of suffiient size and has a closet, and it met other regulations concerning egress, etc. I suggest you contact the local building inspector or code enforcement office to ask what regulations they have in your area. If the hotel is violating zoning laws or occupancy limits, they may be cited by the city and forced to stop.