Urgent swift eviction of lodger?

JQ.

heartshapedbox wrote: »

What about rent misfit...surely you can kick him out for that alone!

Not if he's a tenant she can't. She'd need to go to court to get him evicted.

earthbound_misfit

neverdespairgirl wrote: »

Because of your own mental health difficulties, OP, you might not realise that other people also have sensitivites.

This is why I spent a large part of my birthday making tea for/chatting to an agressive, abusive drunk... (aka lodger)

neverdespairgirl wrote: »

I'd be very angry myself if someone woke me up to rant at me about something non-urgent. You could have waited until he got up.

No, I woke him to give notice, as he has repeatedly left filth and left the flat unsecured. I should point out that this wasn't early in the morning, was around 11 or 12.

JQ.

heartshapedbox wrote: »

Ok so she can't evict him?

If he's a tenant, she'd need to serve the appropriate notices and go to court if he refuses, which can take months.

RAS

If it turns out that he is a tenant (as info was missing from initial post) she has to give two months notice timed to end at the end of a rental period and can only then start legal proceedings to remove him.

She probably need advice from someone like Shelter as to his actual legal status.

Mr_Pitiful

JQ. wrote: »

Nope, "They" had exclusive occupation as tenants of yours. Neither were lodgers, they were joint tenants. One of the tenants moved out, but the other remains in occupation uder the original AST. You are now either also a joint tenant, having replaced the vacating one or you're a lodger.

Unless they signed one agreement, they wouldn't be joint tenants. The argument would be that they had exclusive possession of their rooms, and if the landlord was not occupying the property when the agreement began, they will have been tenants and not be considered to be excluded occupiers.

heartshapedbox

But if misfit is sub letting to them then the landlord will have had nothing to do with this?

princeofpounds

OP, please confirm if you were resident or not when they moved in? I.e. did you leave before giving them possession of the house

Even if he is a tenant, it does not mean that he knows he is one, and that he has any clue as to his rights. So you might be able to get him out anyway without going to court. But you won't be able to force him out. So using a 'gentle stick' would probably be the best initial approach. Ask him to leave, with a normal, not emergency, deadline.

You might even want to resort to a carrot like letting him have his full deposit back immediately on exit, and/or a cash payment to move quickly. (If he realises he is a tenant and you have not protected the deposit he can potentially sue you for non-protection)

earthbound_misfit

jacques_chirac wrote: »

This friend you talk about misfit, is it the one you asked about in your other thread? If so, do you think he is helping the situation, or is he feeding your irrational feelings?

If you mean irrational feelings re. mess, nah, as he's pretty messy too, but actually makes an effort to clean up, and to help me out with things after I have been helping him through his dissociated times. He doesn't exactly have delusions/hallucinations, simply regresses briefly and believes he is a child - a bit like flashbacks I guess, and at the extreme end of the 'trauma' spectrum. It's very clear cut between mind states, when he is his 'normal' self (majority of time) he is, well, normal. Also am well on the way to getting him ongoing psych help so many pressures there have lifted.

jacques_chirac wrote: »

Are you aware that you may be eligible for a discretionary housing payment, if you are unable to share for health reasons?

Yes, was hoping to have something a little more concrete/stable though, especially as this council have taken some of the most savage cuts compared to other areas. I'm going to go on the council waiting list though, even considering a 2 bed and paying 'bedroom tax' as would be significantly less, and very short wait for 2 beds as everyone is trying to downsize. (Would rather not though as prefer not to under occupy scarce council housing).

earthbound_misfit

princeofpounds wrote: »

OP, please confirm if you were resident or not when they moved in? I.e. did you leave before giving them possession of the house

The lodger who left when I returned moved in before I left. The current one moved in officially the day I left. It was originally going to be the first lodger staying on with me on my return, however he left (long-awaited job offer elsewhere) and the current one asked if he could stay on until he'd found a place with his partner. (Estimated a couple of months).
Dates:
15/01/13 - Lodger 1 moves in.
17/01/13 - I go abroad, lodger 2 (the one in question) moves in on lodger's agreement for a stated time of 4 months from this date.
17/05/13 - I return, informal agreement is made to continue as was until he moves in with partner.

princeofpounds wrote: »

You might even want to resort to a carrot like letting him have his full deposit back immediately on exit, and/or a cash payment to move quickly. (If he realises he is a tenant and you have not protected the deposit he can potentially sue you for non-protection)

I stated when asking him to be out by the end of the week that I was happy to return any excess rent. I did not charge a deposit as he is on benefits and due to the complication of deposit protection (other lodger paid 2 months ahead of himself).

BitterAndTwisted

It's just as well that you didn't accept and protect a deposit or you'd be in really, incontrovirtibly hot water!

Tenant's deposits absolutely need to be protected: lodger's do not.