Flatmate not paying rent is putting me into debt :(

competitionscafe

My flatmate is refusing/failing to pay the rent (no reason giving) and as I have paid the full rent to the landlord to avoid getting evicted I am now £600 worse off (2 months rent not paid by flatmate). I am now being charged £35 per day by the bank for exceeding my overdraft limit and am also short of the money needed for Christmas shopping etc. Was also wanting to pay for train tickets etc for Christmas but now don't have the money to do this either. Only option I can think of is to change the locks and lock her out but this won't get me the rent money and is probably illegal....any other options?

sheryldoc

Hav you confronted her?.. Speak to the landlord aswell and explain you want her removed if the agreement was with them.

Im soz I dnt kno the legalities involved with flatsharing.. but id DEMAND a reason from her.

My own personal ways of dealin with it prob isnt very constriuctive so ill not bother mentioning them lol..x

sheryldoc

http://scotland.shelter.org.uk/advice/advice-3499.cfm <mite be a help..x

angchris

who`s name is on the tenancy agreement? id give her 2 weeks to come up with the rent money or to pack her things and leave, not only are you "keeping" her you are getting more and more in debt and nobody should have to put up with that! if its your name on the agreement you are responsible for getting the money to the landlord, personally i`d get her gone asap because if she can do it once she could do it again. get a new flatmate in that you can rely on! if its her name on the agreement i would be tempted to move out and find somewhere else. she is blantantly taking the pi$$ out of you by not even offering an explanation or a date when she can get some money to you. have a chat with the landlord and see what they suggest. i hope you get it sorted soon, best of luck and keep us posted with progress reports...angchris

dollarjon

7 years ago i was in the same predicament, my flat mate owed me 3 months rent, refused to pay i had to give him an ultimatum pay or leave.

i ended up changing the locks and putting their stuff out side the front door never seen them since!

Mrs_pbradley936

By being kind and helping out you are enabling this irresponsibility to continue. So not only are you in debt and worried but the other person is not leaning any lessons from it. As far as they are concerned you are some sort of fairy god mother. You need to get yourself out of debt and more importantly not get yourself into any more courtesy of your flatmate. They should be the one fretting about being overdrawn or being evicted for non payment of rent.

So are you the only person named on the tenancy? If so and you are only renting a room to this person their status is that of lodger rather than tenant. That means you can ask them to leave without too much of a problem and get someone else in. If they are on the agreement then a different set of rules apply.

lauren_1

Speak to your landlord quickly, they have probably had this a hundred times and can sort it out quickly for you, If your name is on the tenancy just give her an ultimatum, in the mean time it cant hurt to advertise her room until she comes up with the money

LewisC_2

If her name is on the agreement, she pays or is kicked out by the landlord. If your name is on the agreement, she pays or is kicked out by you. Pretty simple

funky-footprints

got to agrew with some of above posters, if there is a tenancy agreement with both your names on then you are not responsible for them. Speak to your landlord, if they dont pay up then i guess you had best start hunting for a new flat mate, or alternatively start hunting for a new flat and leave them to sort thier head out !

r.mac_2

hi competitionscafe,

sorry to hear about this! I would look at your tenancy agreement as suggested!

also speak to your landlord and see what they can do to help.

hope things get better - keep posting for support and we'll keep thinking of ideas

Horasio

Tell them to leave or pay up, including interest accrued due to you being put into debt.

How you get them out is another matter. Do you know any burly mates?