Lodger Problems - notice provided but would like to evict sooner than 4 weeks

Honeylife

I am a Live in Landlady of some several years and I really feel for you.

Try this site if you ever want to have a lodger again!
http://www.lodgersite.com/index.html

These ones have loads of practical suggestions of living with a lodger
https://www.theaccidentallandlady.com

This one is excellent on finding a lodger
https://www.spareroom.com

You cannot throw any of her belonging out. You must give her the opportunity to collect them. That is the law.

You can ask her to leave earlier and actually pay her to leave. Yes I know that sounds horrid but if you offer a small sum to cover moving costs that may speed up departure.

Having a lodger can be a wonderful experience but having a dodgy lodger comes with the territory and you just have to chalk it up to experience and be more diligent in your reference search and write the Licence Agreement more specifically ie a trial period of 2 or three months. You can also include 2 weeks notice in future, but really 28 days is the norm and should be adequate.

On the day of departure make sure you are there when she leave and do not touch her physically (she may say you assaulted her!). Even if she gives you the keys back I would change at least one of the locks to be certain that she hasn't copied them.

If you have to take a funds from the deposit for cleaning or damages, please please get receipts don't pick a figure out of thin air. Copy the receipts and send to her with an invoice/statement. Do everything legally and correctly so there is absolutely no come back. Including any post that may come after, just mark 'return to sender'

Good luck

moneyistooshorttomention

Good advice there from post above.

That thought hadn't crossed my mind re the "not touching" in case she starts telling lies about assault - but a valid point.

I'm remembering back to when I (totally accidently) touched a troublemaker (in a very different context to this) in the course of trying to stop them doing something they weren't entitled to. They instantly started yelling at me that I was assaulting them!!!!! Me! I've never assaulted anyone in my life:mad:. It was a total surprise to me to find that someone would try making out I had assaulted them - when I hadn't at all:eek:

Guest101

Honeylife wrote: »

I am a Live in Landlady of some several years and I really feel for you.

Try this site if you ever want to have a lodger again!
http://www.lodgersite.com/index.html

These ones have loads of practical suggestions of living with a lodger
www.theaccidentallandlady.com

This one is excellent on finding a lodger
www.spareroom.com

You cannot throw any of her belonging out. You must give her the opportunity to collect them. That is the law.

You can ask her to leave earlier and actually pay her to leave. Yes I know that sounds horrid but if you offer a small sum to cover moving costs that may speed up departure.

Having a lodger can be a wonderful experience but having a dodgy lodger comes with the territory and you just have to chalk it up to experience and be more diligent in your reference search and write the Licence Agreement more specifically ie a trial period of 2 or three months. You can also include 2 weeks notice in future, but really 28 days is the norm and should be adequate.

On the day of departure make sure you are there when she leave and do not touch her physically (she may say you assaulted her!). Even if she gives you the keys back I would change at least one of the locks to be certain that she hasn't copied them.

If you have to take a funds from the deposit for cleaning or damages, please please get receipts don't pick a figure out of thin air. Copy the receipts and send to her with an invoice/statement. Do everything legally and correctly so there is absolutely no come back. Including any post that may come after, just mark 'return to sender'

Good luck

1 weeks notice is perfectly reasonable, and is what I suggest in all lodger agreements.


you do not need recepits to prove there was damage. In fact you do not need to carry out the work to claim from the deposit. Just claim a reasonable amount.

Guest101

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

Good advice there from post above.

That thought hadn't crossed my mind re the "not touching" in case she starts telling lies about assault - but a valid point.

I'm remembering back to when I (totally accidently) touched a troublemaker (in a very different context to this) in the course of trying to stop them doing something they weren't entitled to. They instantly started yelling at me that I was assaulting them!!!!! Me! I've never assaulted anyone in my life:mad:. It was a total surprise to me to find that someone would try making out I had assaulted them - when I hadn't at all:eek:

Remember assault is as little as touching someone. There doesn't need to be injury for an assault

moneyistooshorttomention

Guest101 wrote: »

Remember assault is as little as touching someone. There doesn't need to be injury for an assault

By that definition - then I would count as having assaulted rather a lot of people - as I'm a pretty affectionate person and pretty prone to sympathetic pats/hugs/etc:rotfl:. To me (and presumably the commonsense definition) would mean hitting/kicking/shooting someone..

What is the legal definition of assault? Do you have a link?

G_M

Actually you do not even have to touch the other person at common law (not statutory) for an assult to arise:

"any act by which a person intentionally or recklessly causes another to apprehend immediate unlawful violence. Such an act must be with the intent being calculated in that persons mind to cause apprehension or fear in the mind of the victim. Therefore, where there is no intent, there will be not be an assault"

A raised fist could be enough.

Alderbank

Assault is even less than that - legally it is simply putting someone in fear that you will injure them. Shouting, threatening, raising your hand can be enough for assault. Any physical contact however slight is battery, hence the phrase assault and battery.

Battery must have hostile intent though, so your accidental touching and affectionate pats and hugs wouldn't count, Money

ETA: G_M got there first!

moneyistooshorttomention

Much wider than I thought then! :eek:

Just as well for some people I can think of (ie my nfh) that I didn't know that then.....:cool:. I didn't realise they'd committed "assault" against me - ie shouting and threatening (more than once).....for which they can be duly grateful for being "off the hook" on that one...:cool:.

They've stopped that sort of stuff now - thankfully ...

Honeylife

If you have major concerns for your safety, 24 hours notice if you have been verbally abused within your own home

Immediate, if you have been assaulted and are concerned for yourself mentally or physically - call the Police so they may be escorted of the premises. (Call a locksmith to change the locks)

Many Police do not know the difference between Lodgers and Tenants so its useful to have to facts to hand as they will start telling you that you have to apply to Courts to the lodger out etc. This is incorrect!

For Lodger:
This is your supporting legislation for immediate action: 3A(2) of the Protection from Eviction Act 1977.

Legislation UK

In the first part of this act, it states that no residential occupier shall be evicted other than by ‘due process of law’ i.e. by obtaining a Court order for possession. Section 3 of the Act then goes on to list various types of occupation where this rule DOES NOT APPLY they are described in the act as ‘excluded tenancies and licenses’. Sub sections (2) and (3) are the sections which provide for lodgers to be excluded.


Read it and print it out – if you are able – and hand it to the Police. In fact I now have several copies in a Folder in my safe, just in case I need to educate anyone!

Generally speaking 28 days is the norm (well certainly in London) unless you are collecting rent weekly and have a high turnover of lodgers. It also gives them the opportunity to find somewhere else. If my Agreement said one weeks mutual notice I would be unlikely to get the kind of lodger I want. They need time to find somewhere else to live.

I had one lodger who absolutely stank! :eek: Her body odour impregnated the house so I had no choice but to give her 28 days notice. We lived with the smell for those 28 days to her departure. In all my years of lodger I have had no reason whatsoever to change it from 28 days notice.

Bits of Advice given to me by a very experienced Live in Landlord, when I started this many moons ago. Get a Safe (for paperwork not money!) and a lock on your bedroom door. Know the Landlord Law inside out and always have a copy of the most recent amendments in that Safe.

G_M

Alderbank wrote: »

Battery must have hostile intent though, so your accidental touching and affectionate pats and hugs wouldn't count, Money

ETA: G_M got there first!

Ha! That's not what the transport police said about my affectionate pats and hugs of the girl on the underground.......