Resident LL, Rent a Room scheme & Tenant from Hell

vix2000

My daughter has rented her spare room whilst at university. As a resident LL she gave her lodger a licence with the usual terms. She took on this particular lodger who was supposed to be a student but shortly after moving in declared they were now on dss. She went through the rigmarole of waiting for the claim etc, to find that, because they had claimed housing benefit she has now lost her student exemption for council tax and is now having to pay it. (I put this as a warning to other LL's). They also refuse to help with the cleaning/washing up, she has tried rotas, friendly requests, but they will not do anything, so she has had to employ a cleaner at her own expense as she does not have time to do it all as he is in all the time as unemployed, and making a mess.

The main problem she has is that she has a no smoking rule inside the house. Since moving in the lodger has flouted this by continually smoking dope in their room which can be smelt all over the house. She has continually asked them not to do this but they ignore her.

The second problem is that she is continually having to chase them for the rent, and never gets it.

Just over a week ago she gave them a months notice in writing. At present they owe about £130 rent and she is holding a £200 deposit. They have now made comments about taking my daughter to court and wrongful eviction etc etc. If they pay no rent for the next 3 weeks even with the £200 deposit she will be out of pocket. There is also evidence that their previous LL had to evict them. The license says that either party can terminate the agreement with 4 weeks notice.

Is this all hot air from the tenant or can they indeed take my daughter to court for anything? Thanks.

Annisele

It's hot air. Anybody can *try* to take your daughter to court. I could try it (if I knew who she was) but the court wouldn't award me anything. I can't see a court awarding the lodger anything either.

PasturesNew

If she lives there, then they're a lodger and don't have those rights re eviction. She didn't have to give them a month's notice. They're arrogant tw4ts and she could simply ask them to leave immediately.

She needs to point out to them that they're a lodger, not a tenant; that they've brought this on themselves by being asses and that the sooner they move out the better.

theartfullodger

In Scotland you need a court order to evict a lodger

silvercar

because they had claimed housing benefit she has now lost her student exemption for council tax and is now having to pay it.

I think you'll find a student is an exempt person and can't be cahsed. Of course the non-student can be chased. Being a student does not prevent you claiming HB depending on circumstances eg a married student with a child could claim HB.

vix2000

From the evidence of previous eviction I think they have done this before. I think he is trying it on and as this is the first time she has had to ask anyone to leave is a bit un-nerved by it. I personally don't think she'll get get any rent for the next 3 weeks though, although they are getting it from housing benefit !!!

She isn't in Scotland btw.

BitterAndTwisted

Your daughter is being very generous in giving this jerk so much notice. I'd have given him 48 hours and then his stuff would have been on the pavement.

I think your daughter should give up hope of receiving another penny and write it off to experience. She should just concentrate of getting rid of him asap and keeping anything valuable under lock and key. Preferably off the premises.

G_M

Get the lodger out. Now.

Forget the months notice, this is a lodger, with no tenency rights or protection. This is your daughter's home. Not a property she is renting out as a business.

The lodger is
a) in rent arrears
b) breaking 'house rues' by smoking
c) commiting a criminal offence (dope)
d) breaking house rules by not cleaning
e) costing unexpected money (council tax, cleaner)
f) etc etc

in other words, taking the p*ss.

Your daughter is probobly intimidated a) by the lodger and b) by uncertainty about the law and lodger's rights (none - the court threat is hot air), so she needs support
If you, or one or more other (preferably male - forgive the sexism) friends/relatives can go and stay a night or two then
1) go round and give support
2) tell the lodger she must leave tomorrow (yes, tomorrow)
3) stay the night so your daughter is not alone with a clearly untrustworthy lodger overnight
4) ensure the lodger moves out the next day.

If there is any refusal, or threat etc, do not hesitate to go to or call the local police and ask them to attend. Explain you are lawfully evicting an unwanted lodger who is making threats and there is a disturbance of the peace. You would like them to attend to ensure no further disturbance.

Have to hand clear documentary evidence that your daughter is the lawful owner? tenant? of the property and lives there (utility bill in her name, Title deeds, tenancy agreement in her name whatever) so that if the lodger tries to claim she has tenancy rights you can show this is not true. Do not hesitate to use the cannabis as a further means to ensure the lodger leaves.

Do not let this situation continue as
a) your daughter will lose more money in lost rent etc
b) more seriously, living with someone like this is very stressful
c) a disgruntled lodger may take it out on the property.

Act now.

edit: as soon as lodger is out, change the locks.

There's a couple of similar stories here.

and here.

may_fair

vix2000 wrote: »

Is this all hot air from the tenant or can they indeed take my daughter to court for anything? Thanks.

Assuming this is in England/Wales, the legal status of the lodger is that of an excluded occupier. This means he has very limited rights of tenure and can be evicted without a court order. Whilst the LL can't use physical force to evict, he can give reasonable notice (written or verbal*) and if the occupier doesn't go, he can change the locks and refuse re-entry to the occupier.

* 'Reasonable' notice would normally be according to frequency of rent - e.g. if rent payable monthly, then a month's notice is reasonable. And if there's a written contract with notice provisions, it should be abided by, except if the lodger has behaved unreasonably, e.g. taking drugs. In which case, 24 hours notice is 'reasonable'.

G_M

I would go further than may_fair in what I believe the courts would describe as 'reasonable'.

Where illegal, violent or threatening behavior is concerned in a domestic setting (your own home), immediate eviction would likely be describes as reasonable. However in my post above I recommended next day (preferably with a friend staying during that period) and I stand by that.

I also believe that whilst violence cannot be used, 'reasonable force' can, though this is a very difficult thing to define, and even harder to manage in a real-time setting; hence my suggestion to ask the local police to attend in order to avoid a breach of the peace.

tbs624

vix2000 wrote: »

From the evidence of previous eviction I think they have done this before. I think he is trying it on and as this is the first time she has had to ask anyone to leave is a bit un-nerved by it. I personally don't think she'll get get any rent for the next 3 weeks though, although they are getting it from housing benefit !!!

As G_M says. Good post:)

If your daughter wants confirmation of what "excluded occupier" status is tell her to have a look at Shelter's excellent webpages. (They give support to Ts/lodgers rather than LLs but the info is open to all.) Your daughter should not worry about the threat from a dope smoking lodger to commence court action, but she should ensure that she has a reliable witness present on leaving day so as to circumvent any claim that threats or physical violence were involved on her part.

Once she has "removed" this lodger she may wish to write to the LHA office and let them know that the lodger has not been paying their rent. It won't help your daughter get the arrears paid (as the contract is of course between lodger and LL) but it will be noted on his HB/LHA records.

Your daughter can of course pursue the lodger via the small claims court for the outstanding rent: even if she doesn't get an enforcement of the judgement ( often v difficult when L/T is in receipt of benefit and has little money, a CCJ will affect their credit rating. She may decde to cuter her losses and put it all down to experience

Your daughter will no doubt learn from this and tighten up her vetting procedures. Get refs from current LL *and* previous one: current one may be aching to get rid themselves and so be more "generous" with what they say. Also look at using a third party credit referencing service - costs around 15-20 quid for a basic one and cost can be passed on to potential lodger.