Troubles with other tenants

claire16c

When I was at uni I lived with a couple of international students in halls and some of them were a nightmare at cleaning up. One guy used to put dirty pans back inside the cupboards! Another girl my friend lived with used to cook meat in the oven, on no tray, all the fat would drip everywhere and she wouldnt clean it up. She also used to keep chicken feet in the fridge (unwrapped).

I think the only thing you can do is talk to them about it. People like this who are very messy dont seem to take hints, it needs spelling out.

If their behaviour doesnt improve after this there are of course other actions you could take, which could lead to arguments but would get your point across so would depend how you feel about that.

For instance if the person who leaves food on the floor is the same person with the unwashed rice cooker, Id put the food on the floor into the cooker so they cant use it again before cleaning it up. Same with food in the sink. Depends what level you want to take it to.

So I would try talking to them first!

brocks22

Hi this what you should do, take the games station and sell it in order to replace the deposit you will most certainly not get back, and say you must have been burgled, as A} they will always keep the window closed from then on and B} the police will not do anything about it, win win for you, and finally if you dont use the kitchen you will not be accountable. Get a microwave and a george foreman problem solved.

dancingfairy

You really need to know exactly what kind of contract you've signed up for - you're too vague. Are you renting a room each with individual tenancy agreements or are you all jointly listed on one?
Whose name is the deposit in? How much is it and where?
What length of contract have you signed - per academic year? per term? per calender year?
Is there a break clause in there?
If you give the precise details you may get more specific and useful advice.
df

KateLiana27

Talk to them first. Do it tonight. Approach it from the "WE need to do something to sort out the house" angle rather than "YOU need to". Explain the points about invalid insurance and safety risks. Suggest everyone chips in for a weekly cleaner (not too bad split between five, and definitely worth the investment if it helps your studies) and tidies up after themselves in the meantime. Then set up a couple of hours that you can all get together and blitz the worst of it.

If they are hostile to this and flatly refuse, come back and then we can advise further. But a friendly chat and some leadership may be all it takes. Good luck.

Edited to add: it might be a good idea to try getting a bit of team spirit amongst you - something as simple as a pizza and DVD night in, to chat and hopefully bond with each other a bit. People are always more willing to pitch in and do their bit when there is a sense of community. The best student houseshares I lived in were when we were friendly (not necessarily best mates, but respected each other enough not to leave the place as a pigsty).

LittleMissInDebt

Poor you, can say from experience, culture and race don't matter I lived with some awful people at Uni. In my second year I literally used to dread going home and hang around in the library to avoid it. Not only were the poeple I lived with complete slobs (the food in the sink used to drive me mad too) but they played loud music constantly, worked out how to break in to my cupboard (I had put a lock on it in desparation) and use my crockery when all theirs was dirty, and they'd dump my stuff out of the freezer to make room for theirs... it was awful, but as someone else said, you need to find a way to ensure your studies don't suffer and you don't get too miserable. I'm just sorry I can't suggest a solution, not sure my avoidance one was that great

The_Palmist

I am only reading your side of the story, your fellow house mates might think the same about you. In any case someone needs to take some responsibility. I would say call a house meeting and draw up a cleaning rota, threaten them that if they don't maintain the house, they might not get the deposit back. This should do the trick. To be enforcer you will have to be nasty and forget ever being friends with any of them.

If this doesn't work, move somewhere else, losing your deposit will be a very small price to pay to keep your sanity. Next time, chose your mates wisely and may be pair up with mature students and smaller groups. If you can afford to live alone, go solo. Keep in mind the utmost goal is to do well with your degree and not to save money here and there. If spending more means you performing better then so be it.

The_Palmist

LittleMissInDebt wrote: »

Poor you, can say from experience, culture and race don't matter I lived with some awful people at Uni. In my second year I literally used to dread going home and hang around in the library to avoid it. Not only were the poeple I lived with complete slobs (the food in the sink used to drive me mad too) but they played loud music constantly, worked out how to break in to my cupboard (I had put a lock on it in desparation) and use my crockery when all theirs was dirty, and they'd dump my stuff out of the freezer to make room for theirs... it was awful, but as someone else said, you need to find a way to ensure your studies don't suffer and you don't get too miserable. I'm just sorry I can't suggest a solution, not sure my avoidance one was that great

ditto and well said

G_M

Originally Posted by kk20
Are they on your tenancy agreement? If so, good luck getting your deposit back when you leave (if they leave/destroy the place).

kiss_me_now9 wrote: »

I'm not entirely sure... I think they are BUT I don't know if they paid a deposit. I do know that they paid the entire years rent up front - which is why if anyone's going, it's going to be me!

You really must know what kind of tenancy you have! What did you sign? Was it just in your name, or were the other tenants' names on it? Was it for the whole house or for a room in the house? What deposit did you pay? Is it registered in a scheme?

orangeslimes

You should try and talk to them before involving the Letting Agency... maybe make the effort to try and get to know them a bit too, go out for a drink or something - it makes things easier if you can be friends or at least friendly.

kiss_me_now9

G_M wrote: »

You really must know what kind of tenancy you have! What did you sign? Was it just in your name, or were the other tenants' names on it? Was it for the whole house or for a room in the house? What deposit did you pay? Is it registered in a scheme?

Argh, errrmm well it has all five of our names on it BUT I'm the only one who has a deposit amount next to my name. It's for the room I'm in, I paid £400 deposit (yes, it's in a Government scheme).

Just been offered a room in halls :j I'm going to see it on Monday; hopefully I'll be able to talk to the other flatmates there and check that there's no crazy !!!!!es lurking in the corridor (had enough of them last year!) and if all seems well I'll sign to move back in.

However now I have the problem of - Halls office will only hold the room for me for a limited time if I want it, but I'm off to Manchester Monday evening for a funeral and by the time I get back the time will have run out. If I wasn't going (unfortunately I can't not go!) then it'd be fine as I could see it Monday morning, decide throughout Monday and then sort everything else out Tuesday but that's just not going to happen. So where do I go from here?

I know I need to inform the landlady (and the letting agency) and find someone else for my room. My Mum suggested asking the other housemates if they knew any one, but I don't want to jump the gun and get stuck in a worse situation than I am now. :S