Housemate threatened me to leave

top_drawer_2

krlyr wrote: »

The landlord cannot tell a tenant to stop being a bully. They could evict them, if they feel they're too much hassle or that they may lose their other paying tenants, but that would be totally up to the landlord's discretion.

You've said yourself that the law does not cater to these situations - so the landlord is not obliged to do anything. You may believe a landlord has a moral obligation, but that does not make it a legal obligation.

I've lived in several shared houses and never would I expect the landlord to deal with minor issues like this. IME you either suck it up and ignore it, deal with it by talking like adults, or find yourself somewhere else to live.

I don't recall the OP requesting legal advice ONLY.

System

duchy wrote: »

I think what baffles me is why the OP would want to use a kitchen with a festering bowl of washing up in it for a whole week just to make a point........ I do agree that if it has got to this point the OP should be considering moving on -as someone else said these situations never get better -it's usually an uneasy peace at best and who wants to live in that kind of enviroment ?

You'd be surpised what goes through your head. I did the same to a housemate before.

I kept cleaning up after a her, but that didn't help. Only when i stopped cleaning her stuff and we decided everyone should do their own stuff did she actually start cleaning. Once she realised we weren't going to do it for her, and she needed them clean to use them-she had to clean them herself and the status quo was restored (moved out shortly after nd i will be damed if i ever share a house again-hence currently living in a crappy bedsit-its crap but its my own space!).

BitterAndTwisted

"The law hasn't caught up"? Utter twaddle! I think the law is perfectly fine as it is. I would be absolutely furious if any landlord thought they had the right to interfere with the way I chose to live in their property whether I was in disagreement with a co-tenant or not. Landlords are not our mothers!

Honestly, if we feel that we need recourse to someone in authority to sort our petty personal problems out for us, we should probably be still living at home with our Mums and Dads. Or sheltered accommodation.

People living in the adult world need to sort their issues out in an adult way, even when dealing with outrageously petty twerps. It's good life-experience for dealing with future employers, colleagues and probably neighbours, too.

krlyr

top_drawer wrote: »

I don't recall the OP requesting legal advice ONLY.

But saying the landlord is responsible to deal with household squabbles is opinion, not fact. You feel they should step in - many (myself included) think it's none of their business - and the law agrees that tenants have the right to live in the house without being disturbed. OP may approve of the landlord stepping in, but I doubt the other tenant would be too happy being given rules on how he can live in a house he pays rent for.

top_drawer_2

krlyr wrote: »

But saying the landlord is responsible to deal with household squabbles is opinion, not fact. You feel they should step in - many (myself included) think it's none of their business - and the law agrees that tenants have the right to live in the house without being disturbed. OP may approve of the landlord stepping in, but I doubt the other tenant would be too happy being given rules on how he can live in a house he pays rent for.

The law agrees in a particular context which does not allow for the issues which arise in shared housing. Quiet enjoyment would apply to the OP I would imagine too - she isn't getting it, as a result of someone else's bad behavior.

He may not be happy about being given rules as to how he behaves at home but that's life / what you have to put up with when you rent, particularly in shared.

Either way, I wonder how the OP is as she hasn't been back yet.

krlyr

top_drawer wrote: »

The law agrees in a particular context which does not allow for the issues which arise in shared housing. Quiet enjoyment would apply to the OP I would imagine too - she isn't getting it, as a result of someone else's bad behavior.

He may not be happy about being given rules as to how he behaves at home but that's life / what you have to put up with when you rent, particularly in shared.

Either way, I wonder how the OP is as she hasn't been back yet.

Quiet Enjoyment – What does it mean?
Under Common Law all landlords are under an implied obligation to allow their tenants “quiet enjoyment” of the premises let to them meaning that a landlord must ensure that no one, be it the landlord himself or an employee or his agent shall interfere with his tenant’s right to possession of and to the lawful use and enjoyment of the premises. “Enjoyment” in this context means to have the use and benefit of a right rather than to derive pleasure from it. If this right is substantially interfered with a tenant may claim damages or possibly an injunction to stop the interference.
http://www.foxwilliams.com/news/704/

The right to quiet enjoyment simply means the landlord will not interfere with the tenants use of the property, not that the tenant has a right to have joyful, bubbly, selfless housemates.
The landlord giving the other tenant houserules would most likely be breaking his right to quiet enjoyment.

Kynthia

I can just imagine how happy a landlord would be to receive a communication from a tenant saying "One of the other tenants is being mean to me, left washing up for a week and put my wet towl in the cupboard. Can you make him stop?". For a start they would think it's petty and wouldnt think much of that tenant. Then they would respond that they couldn't do anything without interfering in their tenants 'quiet enjoyment' of their home. If it was setious and there was evidence then they may evict someone but otherwise keep the landlord out of it.

aileth

Sounds incredibly childish tbh. Why put the towel in the food cupboard instead of saying to the OP, "Can you please take care of your towel next time?"

Jennifer_Jane

aileth wrote: »

Sounds incredibly childish tbh. Why put the towel in the food cupboard instead of saying to the OP, "Can you please take care of your towel next time?"

That's what I was wondering!

rozmister

I live in a flat share now with my best friend and works only because I do more than half the cleaning. I don't mind this now because she supports and helps me in other ways and ultimately we are a team.

Before when I lived in house shares there were always arguments about cleaning and everybody believes it isn't them. It's frustrating but if I was you the first thing I'd do is nip this note leaving in the bud - it always degenerates into passive aggressive chaos and a note always gets everyone's backs up. You said you want to speak to him face to face and I think you're right to try and do it that way.

As for telling the landlord - I'm yet to meet a landlord who would care about this kind of thing. Possibly they exist somewhere but they're not the norm and by trying to involve the landlord you could actually inflame the situation.

Finally I'd speak to him nicely and explain the problems and that you want to live happily together. Stay calm, don't be aggressive and accusing even if he is and then, even if you can't fix it, at least you've got the moral high ground and he'll feel like an !!!.