Different attitudes towards reasonable room temperature at home

katejo

Pandilex wrote: »

I lived as a lodger in someone's house. The reason for them having a lodger was to help pay the mortgage as money was short. They kept the property unreasonably cold, and often warned me about things like having long showers, leaving the tap running while brushing teeth, and told me they almost never have the heating on because it's too expensive.

It was a bit ridiculous so I bought a fan heater. Probably cost them more than if they'd just put the heating on. But I was tired of being freezing cold all the time.

I'd suggest finding a compromise in case they do the same as I did.

Well I don't do that. My heating is regularly on as described in
my first query. I also don't ration hot water even though I am on a meter. I wouldn't allow a fan heater in case it got left on the room when the lodger was out (safety reasons).

katejo

Idiophreak wrote: »

...but the lodger is *already* paying for a service, which he'd argue the OP isn't providing.

If I was paying for a warm, dry house I'd be no more tolerant of having to wear a jumper inside because it's "just a bit cold" than I would be having to wear a mac inside because it's "just a bit wet".

In my view the house is warm and dry. It is NOT environmentally friendly to heat a house and walk round in summer weight clothes such as a t shirt. The lodger isn't paying for the service as the rent isn't high enough to cover excessive heating.

SRT81

Idiophreak wrote: »

...but the lodger is *already* paying for a service, which he'd argue the OP isn't providing.

If I was paying for a warm, dry house I'd be no more tolerant of having to wear a jumper inside because it's "just a bit cold" than I would be having to wear a mac inside because it's "just a bit wet".

He could argue that his service includes his personal level of warmth until he was blue in the face, the fact is he's not renting a whole house, he's paying for a room.

That doesn't give him the right to over-rule the owner of the house who also lives there.

"My house, my rules" might be a bit simplistic, but it should be the case. And if he doesn't like it then he's welcome to leave.

It's not the OP's fault that he won't or can't pay more than he is.

I've lodged before, and you have to respect the fact that your LL also lives there and it's their home.

lee111s

I have a lodger and have the opposite problem! I have the house at a nice temp, around 20-21, my lodger constantly has his window open! Isn't a problem when he has his door shut but when he leaves it open it soon cools the whole house down (his room is at the top of the staircase so cold air rushes downstairs). He unerstands now though to close it when he's not home and to also have the door shut when he does have it open

OP - it's your house so your rules. As long as it's not uncomfortably cold I'd advise him to wear a jumper or look elsewhere. You run YOUR house how you want.

Idiophreak

katejo wrote: »

In my view the house is warm and dry. It is NOT environmentally friendly to heat a house and walk round in summer weight clothes such as a t shirt. The lodger isn't paying for the service as the rent isn't high enough to cover excessive heating.

Was it made clear to the lodger when they signed up that the environment would be put ahead of their comfort and/or health?

To be honest, if I rented a room from someone, I'd assume that room would be warm. If you didn't explicitly advertise it as "one chilly, but environmentally friendly, room for rent", I can only view is as your own fault if the rent isn't high enough to cover heating the room to a comfortable temperature.

Miss_Marple_2

katejo wrote: »

Why not? In the current situation of high energy prices, your inclusive rent is unlikely to cover the cost of heating, particularly if you refuse to wear a jumper. I am not talking about wrapping up in 3 layers with gloves and a duvet wrapped round you. I just mean a thin pullover.
I first noticed that my lodger had put the thermostat up because I was baking hot.

Sorry - I was only offering an opinion of how I would feel as a lodger. I would expect to be warm if my rent included heating - I don't mean 25 degrees, and I wouldn't be in short sleeves in the winter, but I would expect a level of warmth that did not involve me having to wear a jumper - choosing a jumper is one thing, but being forced to wear one doesn't seem quite right to me - although neither does increasing the thermostat without asking, either. To me, that should involve a discussion & testing of temperatures until one that is found that suits both. If one can't be found that suits both, then he either fits in with you or he leaves.

If the rent is not high enough to cover heating, I would be increasing the rent- and explaining to the lodger why - maybe show him the difference in your bills so that he understands the impact. Maybe he hasnt owned his own home before & therefore really doesn't see the impact on cost that a higher temperature makes.

I think everyone living together needs to discuss & compromise on the temperature in communal areas.

In my own home, I do layer up - my heating is not on at all during the morning or most of the day. I have not had my heating on in the morning at all this winter - it comes on in the evening for 3 hours.

DRP

Idiophreak wrote: »

Was it made clear to the lodger when they signed up that the environment would be put ahead of their comfort and/or health?

To be honest, if I rented a room from someone, I'd assume that room would be warm. If you didn't explicitly advertise it as "one chilly, but environmentally friendly, room for rent", I can only view is as your own fault if the rent isn't high enough to cover heating the room to a comfortable temperature.

1. Never assume.
2. Define "warm"! It is (almost) totally subjective, hence the opinions on this thread.
3. The landlord is God in this instance

moneyistooshorttomention

The house temperature was one of the few things no lodger ever caused a problem about when I used to take them in...

I tend to keep a house fairly warm, as that's what I like personally.

Now I've got a different house, with a new boiler and wireless-controlled thermostat and those controls are digital (rather than a knob I had to spin to desired house temperature and that I knew wasn't very accurate) I can see that I like my house between 20 and 21 degrees Celsius. That accords with the official recommendations as to what temperature a house "should be" and so I leave it set at that.

In the course of modernising the central heating here I did quite a bit of reading as to what temperatures a house "should be" and they boiled down to "whatever feels comfortable between 18 and 21 degrees", with slightly different recommendations according to what the room was used for (eg kitchen, bathroom, bedroom etc).

Perhaps the way forward here is to print out several different sets of official recommendations as to what a house temperature should be and show them to the lodger and say "There you are, that's our official guidelines as to a house temperature and that's what I follow". That way, you have official proof that you aren't being mean with the heating, but he is expecting to inflict a higher temperature on you than is reasonable.

My other thought is "No lodger would be able to get at the house thermostat in my current house anyway", as I could just unscrew it from the wall and carry it round the house with me, as I required, because it is a wireless-controlled one and therefore doesn't need to be attached to one particular location.

Idiophreak

DRP wrote: »

1. Never assume.
2. Define "warm"! It is (almost) totally subjective, hence the opinions on this thread.
3. The landlord is God in this instance

1. Indeed.
2. Warm...as in not cold....as in comfortable in your home...
3. But cash is king. Once you accept cash for putting someone else up, they're a customer, not a guest.

SRT81

Idiophreak wrote: »

Was it made clear to the lodger when they signed up that the environment would be put ahead of their comfort and/or health?

To be honest, if I rented a room from someone, I'd assume that room would be warm. If you didn't explicitly advertise it as "one chilly, but environmentally friendly, room for rent", I can only view is as your own fault if the rent isn't high enough to cover heating the room to a comfortable temperature.

18–20º (which the OP said they keep the temperature at) is not chilly, by any stretch of the imagination and will not affect anyone's health. You're making out like the house is at 0º all day and night.

And it's not a case of the environment being put ahead of anything, the OP maintains a temperature in the house that they're comfortable with.

If you're a lodger I'm afraid you like that or you lump it.

Idiophreak wrote: »

2. Warm...as in not cold....as in comfortable in your home...
3. But cash is king. Once you accept cash for putting someone else up, they're a customer, not a guest.

2. The house isn't cold (see above). And it's not the lodger's home, it's the LL's home first, and a rental property second.
3. So you'd put what a lodger in your home wanted before your own needs?