Is my paying lodger actually living here

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Oldlandlady wrote: »

I have rented a furnished room in my house, where I also live with another lodger. The new lodger pays me "rent" in full,

so he pays rent, not "rent"

Oldlandlady wrote: »

but stays here only 2 - 3 days a week. I was not expecting this, thinking he would live here full time. Do I have to declare him on the council Household Enquiry Form? He doesn't receive post here and doesn't want me to declare him.
He says he stays with his girlfriend the rest of the time and stops here only for convenience. All his post and other documents are registered at his parents' address, where he doesn't actually live, but presumably visit regularly.

Whether or not you reside at an address is not defined in law. Residence is understood to mean a “considerable degree of permanence”.
http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/faq/voting-and-registration/i-have-two-homes.-can-i-register-to-vote-at-both-addresses

I would say that anyone who lives there 2 -3 days per week, pays rent, expects to be able to come and go as they please (you have not let it as a Mon - Fri lodging only) and has "stuff" there has a considerable degree of permanence as a resident of that property and should be listed.

whether he then chooses to complete the electoral registration form when it is subsequently sent to him is entirely his own decision (and liability). You need to cover yourself by declaring his existence since his presence with you is a matter of simple fact.

if he thinks he is going to live "off grid" by not registering to vote at your property he is mistaken, takes more than that to disappear. If he is already registered to vote elsewhere then again that does not mean he is invisible at your place, or for that matter, that he can't also be registered to vote from your address - assuming of course his other addresses are in a different council area.