Lodger didn't move in on date agreed - tricky Q - can anyone help?

Cissi

darlyd wrote: »

Why can't you just write him a cheque for the full amount he has given you, along with a letter (send recorded) to say basicly no Thank You ? Not fair keeping his money, Could be genuine, Or maybe not. I wouldn't take that risk, I would move on. You said yourself you have had lot's of interest.

But OP has already lost at least 6 weeks' rent, probably 8 weeks by the time another lodger is found - personally I think it would be fair to use some of the deposit paid towards the rent from the date the lodger had agreed to move in.

Darlyd

Cissi wrote: »

But OP has already lost at least 6 weeks' rent, probably 8 weeks by the time another lodger is found - personally I think it would be fair to use some of the deposit paid towards the rent from the date the lodger had agreed to move in.

That would be unfair. Lodger may take it to small claims court as theft. OP may lose without any proof of a signed legal document ?

DVardysShadow

darlyd wrote: »

That would be unfair. Lodger may take it to small claims court as theft. OP may lose without any proof of a signed legal document ?

[non]lodger would have to produce his reciept to prove he had paid something. At this point, he would also produce the evidence for the OP's counter-claim

dibblersan

or maybe just an email in which the op admits that he paid the deposit. emails can be used as evidence, it's just harder as they need to be complete with untampered headers and the court can say no.

bundly

The non lodger knows he's the one in the wrong, he admits so in his emails. His tone in the emails is, "I am sorry about this but I won't be moving in till 16th and I cannot give you the full deposit cos I am broke."

I don't fear going to court; in fact I eould welcome it, as then a judge can settle the matter. In fact if my non-lodger is unhappy about my keeping the deposit, I'll suggest to him that he sue me. I imagine the most likely outcome would be that he'll think it through, maybe contact the CAB, weigh it up, conclude that he'd probably lose the court case, and ultimately not bother.

I have just checked online, and the court costs involved are small. I'd be willing to risk having to pay them should I lose. The non lodger would have to pay the court costs upfront, tacle all the paperwork, AND take a day's leave from work to attend (whereas I won't, as I am self employed) so his 'investment' is greater from the outset, which might put him off, especially since he knows he is in the wrong and has admitted so in emails that he knows I can show the judge.

A further online check reveals that I qualify for legal aid on the grounds of low income. (The non lodgers annual income is three times mine, by the way.)

bundly

darlyd wrote: »

I would move on. You said yourself you have had lot's of interest.

Not lots. Only 7 calls in 6 weeks, and my newspaper advert expired last week (I paid for six weeks becase there was a special deal -- 6 weeks for the price of 4... £60. The non lodger was the first person to call, and he viewed and took the room the same day.)

I didn't keep the phone numbers of the first six. I only have the number of the most recent, the one who viewed on Tuesday. He'd rung last week, has viewed a few and is due to view four more today.

At the mo there are far more rooms to let locally than people to fill them, so even if I had noted the phone numbers of the other 6, it is highly unlikely that any would still be looking after 6, 5, 4, 3 or even 2 weeks.

If I want to start again it costs £15pw to advertise. If the 6 weeks for the price of 4 is still going, I'll pay another £60. And that cost is directly attributable to the non-lodger, as obviously I would not be having to pay it if he'd kept his side of the agreement.

He still has not responded to my email sent on Monday.

Forum members seem to be polarised into two camps -- those who faviur refunding him and those who don't.

calisto

bundly wrote: »

World English Dictionary

welsh or welch

1. to fail to pay a gambling debt
2. to fail to fulfil an obligation

[C19: of unknown origin]

That is my only reply. Other than this, I don't feed trolls.

I find your reply suitably both niggardly and succinct. :beer:

calisto

I don't see the problem - he has messed you around and you have been more than reasonable.... just keep the money and find someone more reliable.

Do you really think he will launch a court case against you?

You need to watch Judge Judy on CBS Reality - she hates scumbags like this guy.

Seanymph

I had this with a flat.

I took a deposit and on the day someone was due to move in they 'changed their mind'. They demanded their full deposit back 'as they had never moved in'.

I refunded about half in the end.

You cannot charge him for any time prior to 1st may - you agreed to keep this empty for him. Legally you have no recourse over this period.

However from 1st May you had the room available for occupation - so therefore rent starts there. It ends when it is no longer available for him.

In my case I charged her for re-advertising the flat, and for two weeks rent which is how long it took me to find a new tenant. I sent her back the balance from the deposit with a nice letter. Got a snotty one back. And sent her an absolute 'bite me' response giving her the name and address of my solicitor 'because I intend to spend no more of my time on you'. She never replied.

You cannot charge him anything from before 1st May.

You can charge him from his deposit from 1st May until you get a new tenant OR until your notice to quit expires if you are saying the room is available.

You cannot say the room is not available, have a tenant in it, and refuse to return any deposit balance left from the £75 a week.

It cannot be an arbitary figure you return - you must be able to justify it.

Judith_W

Considering the sums involved, I would say charge the daily rate for 2 weeks is a clear way of justifying the keeping the majority of the deposit. This way, if for some crazy reason he decided to take you to court, you will be seen as non-greedy.

I would suggest next time, if they want to move in from a lengthy future date request 1/4 or 1/2 of the weekly rate to keep the room open and if they are not happy with this, keep looking. Or take a deposit and make them agree that this will be kept if they choose not to proceed based on the weekly charge plus advertising costs.