Urgent swift eviction of lodger?

BitterAndTwisted

This is a situation you have made for yourself, so you need to resolve it yourself! If you need the police to attend you tell them that you "fear a breach of the peace" once flat-mate returns.

You've got a "tough mate" there with you allegedly, so what do you have to fear?

earthbound_misfit

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

The way I see it, most of the issues you are suffering have been brought about by yourself. This other person could see the situation as them not being under your feet 24/7 as a fair compensation for you having the place mostly to yourself and not having to share all of the cleaning with you.

I don't expect him to do half of things like cleaning the bathroom - just once in a while (he never has). However, the extra mess he creates should be cleaned up by him. Just as I clean up after the rabbit, or craft projects, or whatever is MY mess.
I fail to see how I have brought it upon myself to have to deal with his mess, him leaving the flat insecure etc. As mentioned in the OP, I even dealt with him kindly when he threatened to kill my pet and taunted me, as I knew he was drunk/emotional.

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

You sound a tiny bit obsessive about it all, and I don't really blame them for not being happy sharing with you. You sound a bit of a PITA to be frank.

I don't think it's obsessive to not want moudly (as in, unidentifiable) food in the fridge. Or to want him to empty the bin instead of leaving rubbish on the floor. The stuff like every nook and cranny in the kitchen being full of extra (rapidly moulding) food, and jars that end up stuck to the worktop in a sticky mess (again him) attracting flies, I have tried to ignore.

BitterAndTwisted

Yeah, yeah repeating all the stuff you've said before is a really good way of reinforcing your point, so I'll do the same: you made this situation by acting unreasonably, intruding in his room, waking him up and them berating him for some transgression you thought was important.

If you'd behaved like a semi-competent adult it wouldn't have come to this. You've brought this situation upon yourself, so you're going to have to deal with the consequences.

earthbound_misfit

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

You've got a "tough mate" there with you allegedly, so what do you have to fear?

Suffice it to say I am equally his carer as much as he is mine. Although he can physically protect me, he is not the most reliable person on the planet due to his own severe trauma symptoms.

princeofpounds

1) I have lived at this adress for almost 3 years, was abroad for 4 months and let each room on a lodger's agreement whilst I was gone.

This is where you need to be a little careful. He may or may not be a tenant rather than a lodger.

If you let the place out and were not resident then he was not a lodger. He could be a tenant with serious protections. What matters is what the circumstances were at the time of letting and NOT what you called your agreement.

However, if there are any court issues he would need to demonstrate the fact that you weren't resident (simply being away for a while does not count).

Were you inhabiting the house when he entered? Did you ever move your stuff out, register for bills at another address etc?

The fact that there was no spare room left when you were away is probably the weakest point in your position.

Unfortunately I don't know what the procedure is when a landlord moves in with a tenant subsequent to the tenancy being established.

But as bitterandtwisted points out. This is the crucial distinction between being able to chuck somone out as soon as they threaten you to having to pursue possession through the courts.

3) "This is a common response by the police" - and should it be? Any relevant legislation?

Yes, it should be. It is not a police issue until there is a strong possibility or actual event of a crime (breach of the peace, harrassment, assault, illegal eviction of a tenant etc.).

4) I cannot actually go to a police station as cannot go out when mental health is this bad, as well as fears for home safety etc. Will calling them count? What do I actually need to say?

Plod are not well-trained in housing law unfortunately (they have even been known to assist criminal evictions!) and it may take some convincing. You will need to convince them that the situation could be violent basically. You might want to refer to his earlier threats, which you reported, and also use phrases like 'I seriously fear a breach of the peace'. You can speak to them on the phone - you might want to go via your neighbourhood team rather than a central number.

You and any friends you have are entitled to use reasonable force to remove a lodger (not a tenant), although reasonable force isn't much unfortunately. Even bailiffs will rarely do more than bear-hug someone and shuffle them out. Often it's best to lock people out when they step out voluntarily.

vuvuzela

earthbound_misfit wrote: »

I don't expect him to do half of things like cleaning the bathroom - just once in a while (he never has). However, the extra mess he creates should be cleaned up by him. Just as I clean up after the rabbit, or craft projects, or whatever is MY mess.
I fail to see how I have brought it upon myself to have to deal with his mess, him leaving the flat insecure etc. As mentioned in the OP, I even dealt with him kindly when he threatened to kill my pet and taunted me, as I knew he was drunk/emotional.


I don't think it's obsessive to not want moudly (as in, unidentifiable) food in the fridge. Or to want him to empty the bin instead of leaving rubbish on the floor. The stuff like every nook and cranny in the kitchen being full of extra (rapidly moulding) food, and jars that end up stuck to the worktop in a sticky mess (again him) attracting flies, I have tried to ignore.

I'd suggest you go back and read post #4 again and follow the instructions.

jacques_chirac

I can see BitterAndTwisted's point. When someone is depressed they can become very obsessive and things can easily become out of proportion - what to most would be 'a bit annoying, but he'll be gone by the end of the month so nothing to fuss about' becomes 'this is horrific, he is wrecking my house, I am a prisoner in my own home'. That is not your fault, you are unwell, but it is not your lodger's fault either.

Deriding your illness is not nice at all and never acceptable, but I can understand him being very unhappy at you going into his room. Equally threats of violence are completely out of order, but I'm guessing he was so sick of you moaning at him, he just snapped.

I would suggest you asking if you can sit down and have a chat about the situation - just the two of you, and when neither party has had alcohol. Keep it calm and rational - something neither of you are being at the moment.

earthbound_misfit

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

Yeah, yeah repeating all the stuff you've said before is a really good way of reinforcing your point, so I'll do the same: you made this situation by acting unreasonably, intruding in his room, waking him up and them berating him for some transgression you thought was important.

If you'd behaved like a semi-competent adult it wouldn't have come to this. You've brought this situation upon yourself, so you're going to have to deal with the consequences.

What about me waking up to find the place filthy and doors unlocked? He already acted unreasonably! I have tried and tried to sort this out reasonably previously. It is not me knocking on his door that created this situation, but his filth and ignoring repeated requests re. security etc. I was already frightened of him, already hid in my room when he was around.
Do you enjoy picking on people who are struggling? Do you relly think it's fair that I say nothing when he repeatedly expects me to be his cleaner, and leaves the house insecure, as well as filling every nook and cranny with his hoarded junk? It has tipped me over the edge. Today was the final straw.
If I hadn't knocked on his door to speak to him, I'd simply be writing a post saying I need this guy OUT and am terrified to tell him in case he harms me, kills the rabbit, or vandalises my property!

earthbound_misfit

I'd like to add that I've houseshared for many years (usually HMO's) and have only once come across someone as messy/inconsiderate as this guy.

JQ.

earthbound_misfit wrote: »

I have lived at this address for almost 3 years, was abroad for 4 months and let each room on a lodger's agreement whilst I was gone. Then returned and shared with him, by then his agreement had run out so a verbal agreement along the same terms/rent was made. I had permission to sublet from the landlord. (Editied original post as thought this was irrelevant!) Not sure what is wrong with 4 month contract? As this was the time I needed someone for and the time he was willing to commit to. This was my only UK address at the time and I had intent to return here (was on holiday!) and also I paid the council tax.

Hopefully someone more knowledgeable than me about residential tenancies can provide some advice as I suspect I'm about to give you a bit of a scare :

As far as I'm aware, if you let a 2 bed flat that you don't live in to 2 people, then they cannot be lodgers. The fact that they signed a "Lodgers Agreement" is irrelevant. The fact that they had exclusive occupation of the property means no matter what they signed their occupation was on the basis of an Assured Shorthold Tenancy with all the protection that offers - which is significant, ie you would need to go to court to evict a tenant who did not want to leave.

An AST runs for a minimum of 6 months and continues until you serve notice. It could be possible that the AST continues to run and you are actually a lodger in the flat yourself, ie your housemate could get you removed very quickly. Obviously, they would have to have a pretty detailed knowledge of Landlord and Tenant Law to realise this themselves, but it's not unheard of.

As such you might wish to tread carefully if you plan to go in all guns blazing, however, only you can judge whether you think your housemate is an expert on L&T Law or whether they'll seek legal advice.