two lodgers want to use there deposit as rent

lindalou1

Hi basieman, I have no contract signed with them! Have learned the hard way. Their new landlord is a letting agency so they have to pay deposit to them before moving in.

Will have to have a chat with them tonight, I am only asking for half of rent as a compromise but they still aint going for it!!

Thanks

Rimo2021

I wouldn't trust them. I suspect if you use the deposit money as the rent you will find that they leave a the end of the month with promises to pay their share of the bills as soon as they can afford... but they won't and you won't have the power to do anything about it.

At the moment the power is still in your hands - I think you should insist you want the rent but at the very least I would calculate what the bills they will owe will come to and stand firm that you need at least this amount without delay.

Dr.Shoe_2

It all depends on what the bills are for. Do they pay contributions to gas and leccy or are these included in the price? What are the terms, B&B (you don't actually have to provide breakfast) or monthly?

If gas and Leccy are inclusive then you should have barred the phone from outgoing calls etc. I assume you got on quite well with them before this?

I would have a chat and express my fears about them leaving bills and damage and see what they say.

BitterAndTwisted

lindalou1 wrote: »

If I asked them to pay rent or leave would i have rights to do that??
And am I within my rights to leave their belongings outside the house and change the lock!!
I know thats a bit extreme but when there is one of me and two of them in MY home and they are now being shifty and do not trust them at all, and it is very tense!!

As these two are lodgers and not tenants they only have the right to live in your home as long as you agree that they can, so yes, you can ask them to leave at any time of your choosing. Most reasonable people would give and expect to receive notice, rather than being expected to pack their bags and leave immediately but I believe your two lodgers are not being reasonable at the moment. As already advised once these two leave you are in a very vulnerable position and risk not receiving a single penny towards any bills after they leave.

If you wanted to be awkward you could ask them to leave this evening but I would only do that if you have some friendly, male family-members or friends there with you when you tell them. Or you could give them a deadline like this Friday at the latest and if they won't have got the keys to their new place by then you have the leverage to extract from them what you believe you should have. You risk a fair amount of fall-out by doing this however. Or you could pack their bags for them, leave them on the doorstep and change the locks. You would risk the police being called and your windows broken and lots of other nasty things I'm too innocent to think of right now but they might. If the police are called they won't be interested as eviction is a civil matter and not a criminal one.

Running_Horse

I also used to charge enough to cover bills. Makes life simpler for both sides.

Fire_Fox

lindalou1 wrote: »

If i asked them to pay rent or leave would i have rights to do that??
And am I within my rights to leave their belongings outside the house and change the lock!!
I know thats a bit extreme but when there is one of me and two of them in MY home and they are now being shifty and do not trust them at all, and it is very tense!!

Are you likely to be satisfied with the condition of the rooms? If so read your meters, sit down and calculate exactly what they will owe you for the bills. Then work out how much you need to hand them as you tell them to sling their hooks. Recommend having someone else present; call the police if they are threatening or refuse to leave at the end of the day it's your house. I don't think you should handle their belongings at all, so don't put their stuff outside.

G_M

If you wanted to be awkward you could ask them to leave this evening but I would only do that if you have some friendly, male family-members or friends there with you when you tell them.

Correct. Legally as lodgers they have no rights. The fact that there is no contract (eg saying they are entitled to notice) means you can ask them to leave whenever.

They are in arrears with their rent. Ask them to pay it, or leave, but as B&T says, have friends around as they might turn nasty. also have a new lock barrel handy - takes 3 minutes to change if you know what you're doing.

If they DO turn nasty, call the police yourself. They will not be interested in the eviction itself, either from your or the lodgers point of view. But they WILL be interested in any violence or threats of violence.

Smashing

lindalou1 wrote: »

Will have to have a chat with them tonight, I am only asking for half of rent as a compromise but they still aint going for it!!

Thanks

YOU are the landlord, YOU decide whether or not is acceptable, not them. If they won't agree then simply tell them to sling their hook.

lindalou1

oh boy! I think I will take this as a lesson learned!! Having a chat later and will be asking for part of the rent to cover utilities, cant beilieve how unreasonable they are being! We did all get along well, so I thought but I guess when money is involved things change.

BitterAndTwisted

Yes, things do change when people are asked to pay their way and they've over-committed themselves elsewhere. That's their problem, not yours. I think it's entirely fair for them to not pay the last month's rent but not fair to leave you without any funds as security against future bills. People have been known to make very, very long international calls in the last few days before they leave as I found to my cost.