Lodger advice please

clairet707

Im the lodger not the lodgee

Right Ill try and make this short but cant promise it..

7th August I came up here to look for somewhere to live, I had just been offered a new job 80 miles from home and really didnt want to commute from near Gatwick to near Stansted everyday..

Mr707 was still working near Gatwick but started the job hunt up here...

I was looking for somewhere all week (though probably wouldnt be there most weekends), quiet, cheap (as paying two lots of rent would cripple us) local to work so I could cycle to save money.:money:

I looked at 5, found one I really liked, spent over an hour talking to mr landlord.. he was fine with our situation (and sympathetic), offered to let mr707 stay overnight if necessary for interviews etc and occasionally at weekends.

Spoke to letting agent the next morning and said Id take it, but could I knock down the rent by £25 a month as others in the area had been a bit cheaper.. Agent got back to me at the end of the day (after much poking from me) and said LL agreed to price drop if I could guarantee 6 months (Id said it would probably be for 3 - 6 months as it depended on when Mr707 could get a job)

Roll on to last night, mr707 has an interview tomorrow in Cambridge, on my way past the living room I asked mr and mrs landlords if mr707 could stay over tomorrow night, going back saturday as otherwise I wouldnt see him this weekend (he will be out all day sunday from early oclock to about 5pm)

Mr LL was fine, said no worries, Mrs LL was a bit snooty, very slow in replying and said 'I suppose so, though it had better not be a regular thing... My son is coming over this weekend as well' :mad:

Now in my 'terms and conditions' letter I got from the letting agent it does say no overnight guests but as mrLL oked it I thought it overwrote those..

Also it says 1 months notice by either party

A few other things are slowly getting to me about the house (the water tank which is next to my room is very very very noisy all night - they have a pressurised always on water system), mrs LL gets up at 5am to get to work and wakes me up (her bathroom is below my bed and their bathroom fan is very loud) - fair enough I could solve those with earplugs etc, but I feel like I cant do anything as its not my house, the LL have made me feel welcome but its almost as if I spend all my time in my room as it feels odd

If mr707 got this job, he is hoping to start just after christmas.. Would I be ok leaving then as I didnt sign anything that said 6 months or should I stick it out for the 6

Its tough for us as we have only been married 2 months and this isnt the best start to married life but my new job is working out really well and is somewhere Ive always wanted to work, mr 707 is getting itchy feet in his job so was thinking of moving anyway but this living with LL is getting me down,


not sure what advice Im after really, maybe just about the 6 months issue

Sorry this turned into an epic after all, well done if you have got this far:T

poppysarah

Dunno - is it in writing about the guaranteeing you'll stay 6 months?

I'd leave. Tell them you're being disturbed badly by the noise etc and find somewhere else (perhaps before you tell them?)

clairet707

poppysarah wrote: »

Dunno - is it in writing about the guaranteeing you'll stay 6 months?

I'd leave. Tell them you're being disturbed badly by the noise etc and find somewhere else (perhaps before you tell them?)

Nope the only clause about notice says (and I quote)

"Notice - as agreed there will be a notice period of one month in writing by either party - or as agreed and expressed by the owner and as amended accordingly and signed by both parties"

At the end of the T&C is a comment saying "NB Owner to delete or add clauses as appropriate" but nothing has been altered and signed..

I would leave but I havent got the time / energy or patience looking for somewhere new when I could be moving by Christmas anyway tbh

I just want somewhere shiny, clean, warm and with Mr707 :happyhear that feels like home (our last place certainly hasnt..)

Oh and thanks for replying (and reading the epic!!)

poppysarah

You should perhaps mention the noise thing anyway if you think it'll not make things uncomfrtable

Andy_Hamilton

I would say better the devil you know...
It sounds like the LL can not afford their mortgage and have you there under duresss, it could just be Mrs LL is mental (as most women are from time to time).

Get your hubby set up in a new home then put you 1 months notice in, be prepared to thrown out the next day (like I say some women are mental). If you do get thrown out they can't keep your money which saves 1 months rent.

If it ain't written down then your laughing

lostinrates

I agree with Andy above, I think in many repsects the devil you know in the short term is not so bad.

Lodging is always going to be a conmprimise, more so when so recently married and in love! (My DH lodgings 4 nights a week too, we've been married three and half years though so while hard a lkittle easier than your situation). Your frustrations are inevitably going to be heightened when contrasted with the idea of new married life we aspire too.

Similarly I don't think most couples aspire to having a lodger, so they will, however resolved to have a lodger and I'm sure not directed at you personally, feel life is not quite to plan.

I'm sure longer term things will be great, in the mean time stay calm and easy going: its not forever!

Once your DH is settled in the new job make your other arrangements. Lodgers are not irreplacable, and giving them notice is fair.