house guest over staying welcome

chead82

In April we allowed my partner's sister to come and live with us for a couple of months whilst she found her own place. She does pay us a small amount of rent for the room and her share of the bills but we have nothing in writing.

Sisters being sisters though they have started to get on each others nerves and the tension in the house has become unbearable due mainly to her attitude that it is not her house so she shouldn't have to pull her weight. This has lend myself and my partner to tell her to hurry up and find a place of her own.

Now however she is threatening to take legal action because she perceives it as being kicked out.

Where do myself and my partner stand legally? and what would be the best course of action moving forwards?

Thanks

Chis

jjlandlord

She was a lodger (as she was paying rent) and thus can be kicked out. Don't worry about it.

sonastin

Legally, she is a lodger in your home and you can kick her out whenever you like; there ain't a lot of legal action she can take to stop you.

Of course, that doesn't help build bridges and mend the relationship but only you and the ladies in question know how that can be achieved.

hazyjo

Nice sister.

Can't you just change the locks and dump her stuff at her mum's or something?

If there's no formal agreement, I'm sure she doesn't have a leg to stand on. Even if she did, she'd be a lodger, not a tenant - entitles her to naff all, to the best of my knowledge. Squatter's rights, maybe... but not sure how that works when you're still living there!

Jx

crazyguy

A pack of black bin liners, fill them up when shes out and dump on them on the doorstep prior to her return !

crazyguy

I had the same problem once, granted it was not the eactly the same but an unwelcome mouse and every time I asked him to leave he would run away so in the end decided to get a cat, that see him off once and for all !

Errata

I don't think sisters can be lodgers, they live as part of the family and pay board - which covers whatever it covers.

DVardysShadow

chead82 wrote: »

... Now however she is threatening to take legal action because she perceives it as being kicked out.

Get a roll of black bin liners to hand. Raise the matter again. If she mentions legal action, hand her the bin liners.

BitterAndTwisted

She's living in cloud-cuckoo land has no legal rights whatsoever. She is a lodger and no more and is only entitled to continue living there as long as you say she can. I think you need to have a firm and frank discussion with her and give her a deadline to find somewhere else. Meanwhile draw up a house-work rota and demand that she pulls her weight.

ab7167

Google 'excluded occupier'. She has very few rights and you can ask her to leave at any time with minimal notice. Maybe print out the relevant webpage, the Shelter one is quite good, and let her read it so she understands how few rights she has. Maybe she'll start to behave then...

I'm guessing 24 or 48 hours notice would be considered reasonable under the circumstances.

Riq

Suggest a threesome. Doesn't sound like things can get much worse.