Money Moral Dilemma: Should I increase my housemates' rent?

moneyistooshorttomention

Dafty Dafty - for that you owe me a drink m'dear. 'Tis a positive point of principle to me to "pay my way" (you just know its gotta be when you've had compliments on how fair-minded you are:)).

As for my take on this particular issue, I am somewhat surprised at OP taking on this responsibility (as that is something I wouldn't want myself) and, no, I don't think the other flatmates should be charged any more on the grounds of "responsibility" for this issue. I'd be more into thinking up ways to deal with it if flatmates tried to land me in the swanee by not paying their way...:cool: (a couple of my former lodgers tried to move out owing me money.....they didn't manage it ...).

Jabberwk

Do you just mean that the standing order is from your account to the landlord? This is the case with my flat share because the LA insists on it being one lump sum rather than three payments. The other tenants have standing orders set up to go to my account a few days before the rent is due so if anything goes wrong there's time to sort it out before the money leaves my account so I won't get stuck with overdraft charges or anything. We are all named tenants and all equally legally responsible for the rent. Assuming your case is similar, if you want to make sure you're not the only one taking responsibility, you could ask the other tenants to be responsible for the bills - gas, electric, water, TV licence etc, but ultimately a flat share does require a level of trust that one person won't leave others in the lurch, and you just have to keep an eye on it and make sure the money from the others is in your account before rent day. If it isn't, you need to not be afraid to be firm and be clear that the shortfall will be passed onto the landlord and you will all be held responsible, not just you. You can't expect others to pay extra rent because they *might* not be as trustworthy as you hope. If you're unhappy with being the responsible one, then ask someone else to do it, but I suspect you'd be pretty unhappy with paying extra if the situation was reversed.

jjlandlord

This discussion is pointless.

If the OP is the (only) tenant and his housemates are therefore his lodgers, then he always was responsible for the rent to his landlord, and his lodgers were always responsible to him.

However, the way the question is worded it clearly seems not to be the case.

Therefore, either they are all joint-tenants or are individual tenants.

In the former case the question does not really make sense. In the latter case OP has more or less agreed to be the landlord's agent and should charge him for it, but he cannot change the rents.

In any case, as said in my previous post, this looks like a dodgy house share, with a dodgy arrangement, which can only end in tears.

If there is an answer to give it is: Move as soon as possible.

BillJones

After the event, no.

Before the event, you could have had an auction with each person putting in the minimum discount that they would need to take on the responsibility, with the lowest bid winning.

marich

LOOK AT THE LEASE !
Words on a legal document are not for nothing .
1) You will probably find you do not have the right to effectively sub-let to your fellow tenants , which is what you propose .

2) The wording should make it clear as to whether you alone are responsible or whether you are all 'jointly' responsible . The latter means any one of you is liable for the debts of the others - this is the usual choice of landlords as there is more chance of them getting hold of arrears .

Aside from this :

3) I don't think your house-mates will see this risk thing in the same way you do . Imagine one of them telling you to pay more as you are a risk.. perhaps you would become tempted to become one !

4) What on earth made you put yourself in this position ? I don't think you are giving us the whole story .

This sounds like you have been bullied , begged or bribed into this position - walk away if you can , you should not be responsible on behalf of others .

secondhandrosie

Isn't there a simple solution?
Get insurance against problems and share the cost of that between them.

Sooler

Why is the OP charging the housemates? The OP is responsible for the rent. The housemates owe the OP nothing towards the rent. The OP has been duped, but good MSE move by the housemates. :money:

Brian_Steele

No. House shares are always a nightmare for that reason, but unless you can get your housemates' names on the lease, thus giving them shared responisbility, there is nothing you can do about it and effectively charging them a sub-lease fee is unreasonable.

Sharing a house always bears a risk that one person might move out and when they do, their responsibility for the rent ceases. It is then up to those remaining (not the departing person) to find a replacement or to bear a rent increase, but that's just a fact of life. Been there. Done that.

jonny7227

I recommend you try and find a way to share the responsibility but if you can' t (or won't) I suggest you try (or think) again.
Failing that....
Assuming your housemates always pay on time and are good friends with you you need to decide whether those friendships and the trust that goes with them are more valuable than covering what may in fact be be a small risk.
If your housemates have a habit of, or are likely to default then you have some difficult times ahead.

grumpycamel

No you can't charge your housemates more. But what about if each person one puts a months rent as deposit if they disappear without giving a months notice. That way you have a month to find a replacement tenant.