First experience as a live in landlord with mistakes made...

accidental_landlord_2

I recently became what I think you'd call an accidental live in landlord... Simply put, a house bought & renovated followed by a break up... I like it here, but it's excessive for 1 person in my current circumstances.

I looked at what the going all inclusive double room rate was (£500 pcm) and found a tenant quite quickly through spareroom - a foreign student who was on a 6 month uni placement. This is the first lodger I've taken in and I didn't set out any rules because I want guests (especially paying ones) to feel at home but in return I feel there's been a bit of p** taking. On the whole this lodger has actually been pretty good and I'd put 50% the problem down to the fact he's always lived with his parents/in halls and 50% down to me not setting out what's not acceptable from day 1, so when he goes I will be looking to outline some rules to future lodgers to hopefully avoid discord.

The short version of my post is what home rules do live in landlords generally set? but if you have time I could do with some help trying to avoid the specific issues below with future lodgers.

The 2 real problems have been:

The heating. This lodger has managed to add approx 250 to the gas (LPG and a fairly large house) use this month with reckless usage like cranking the thermostat up to max, changing the heating from timed to on while sometimes, no joke, sitting with the windows open. Despite telling him to leave the thermostat set at 20 (located in the coldest room), not to p** about turning individual radiators OFF, if he needs to boost the heating to just hit the advance and if the heating is on the windows are closed (especially if it has been manually advanced) it falls on def ears with an apology every time I've caught it - I'm sure the second I go out or go to bed it happens.... This alone pretty much tips the financial balance into not worth the hassle! I've seen some smart thermostats that can be locked down with a pin number, is anyone using one of these, if so which ones? But, I've read that this can potentially class as denial of a utility? Would this be the case if I set the heating to always on with the temperature varying between say 16 degrees and 20 degrees depending on time of day? (In searches around landlord/lodger heating I've seen this topic can attract people who think that 'all inclusive bills' means the heating is there to turn any room they choose into a sauna, hopefully this wont be sidetracked by this sort as realistically that type will not last as a lodger of mine. My view is the central heating is to there to keep the house at a comfortable temperature in the same way in hot climates air conditioning is not used to turn a whole house into a freezer - I wont be convinced otherwise).

The lodgers' friends. I don't want to be overly restrictive and want a lodger treating my house as their home, but I simply can't factor into the price for say 5 friends coming round for 'pre drinks' (I have no problem with this) because I don't expect them to push their luck by also showering in his en-suite and getting ready to go out here! Is there anyone in a similar situation that has come up with a rule to allow a lodger freedom but restrict p** taking?... (Maybe I wouldn't even be considering this if it wasn't for the excessive heating usage)

Also, what rules, if any,do people put in place regarding:

1) Keeping personal belongings in their bedroom
2) Washing machine use
3) I want my lounge (there is a separate shared one) and garage strictly off limits - how do people word this type of thing?
4) Opening windows in the winter??? especially in shared rooms.


Thanks in advance and apologies if you sense a bit of frustration in my post!

melanzana

The first thing to consider is evicting the student as soon as possible. He is a licensee not a tenant so does not have any rights.

Sounds like the best solution to me right now. Then get another lodger and set out the house rules.

This person is not listening to you.

Others may reply to your specific questions.

aneary

Depending on where they are from I would be wary of foreign lodgers.
1. if they are from a hot country they will want the heating on 24/7 and up to 30
2. depending on their english there could be communication barriers

However if the two points above aren't an issue then often foreign lodgers can be a lot nicer and more respectful than british ones.

Have a think about what house rules you want write them out and give them to a lodger prior to them signing anything. If it's expressed at the begining there can't be any complaints.

accidental_landlord_2

Thanks Mel/Anery, his course finishes in a few weeks, then he's off home... If he planned on staying longer I would be sorting the problem out one way or another, but not for the sake of a couple of weeks... Apart from the lack of respect for the utilities bills he's a nice lad.... I'll accept half the blame and take it on the chin this time round for not setting rules from the outset.

Point taken on considering the natural climate of a potential lodger! This one is Austrian however!!

Mainly looking to work out how to word any rules for a future lodger without behaving like the Stazi myself

scd3scd4

Reduce the rent and make them share half the LPG.

saajan_12

Definitely set out 'house rules' when you interview prospective lodgers, to set expectations early while everyone is in a more receptive mood, rather than later when it sounds like nagging. But this is more to reduce debates on what is / isn't allowed.

Don't expect it to be legally enforceable though - if the lodger breaks the rules, most would be too small to be considered a material breach of the licence and impossible to quantify and prove the financial loss due to their actions. So your only remedy is to give reasonable notice for them to leave which you can do anyway.

Mojisola

accidental_landlord wrote: »

I recently became what I think you'd call an accidental live in landlord... Simply put, a house bought & renovated followed by a break up... I like it here, but it's excessive for 1 person in my current circumstances.

Have you thought about trying for a Mon-Fri lodger?

You won't get so much money but he/she would be out at work most of the week and you'd have your home to yourself all weekend.

00ec25

obvious added risks of having student lodgers are exactly what you describe,

they have no experience of living away from home themselves where they have to pay for their "extravagances" with heating so have no concept of costs. Add in foreign students potentially used to higher ambient temps and yes, heating costs will be uncontrollable unless you do like Uni residences often do themselves and prevent access to thermostats etc as you suggest yourself.

it is also likely (personal experience!) that even post grad students will have friends who come round and see your property as a way of them getting things for free. I came home one day to find a stranger taking his washing out of my machine and then walking into my lounge 5 minutes later to start ironing using my iron whilst I was trying to watch TV. He was shown the door.... I have never had student lodgers again.

accidental_landlord_2

SCD - Given the way LPG is billed (£500 odd bill when the tank is filled up )and the lack of accurate usage stats I think it's pretty hard to fairly divide it into a monthly cost for what's actually been used. Would be interested to know what the situation of fitting an LPG meter would be? If possible....

G_M

It's madness not to have house rules understood & agreed. Whether you do this verbally (with a native speaker!) or preferable written, does not matter as long as they are understood upfront.

Should cover anything that could become an issue
* smoking
* share of utility bills, or if all-inclusive, then a 'fair use' policy (beware a lodger who buys their own electric heater and leaves it on in their room 24/7!)
* guests (frequency, times, number, and whether in own room or living areas etc)
* overnight guests (frequency etc - beware the boyfriend who stays 2 then 5 then 7 nights a week...)
* shared costs (kitchen/bathroom staples/consumables etc)
* cleaning
etc

Personally, as it's your own home, I'd put 1 weeks notice either way in the contract. If things go sour & can't be improved, you want to resolve it quickly.

See also:

LODGERS (Licencees/Excluded Occupiers)
A lodger (broadly) lives in the same property with a resident landlord & shares facilities. Unlike tenants, lodgers have few rights.

The Housing Act 1988 provides definitions of 'Resident Landlord' & 'same property' (S31 & Schedule 1 (10).

See:

LodgerLandlord (21 tips from solicitor Tessa Shepperson + General information site)

Landlordzone (Various articles on taking in lodgers)

Renting out rooms in your home (Government info)

Rent a Room Scheme (HMRC guide for tax-free income from lodgers)

accidental_landlord_2

Mojisola wrote: »

Have you thought about trying for a Mon-Fri lodger?

You won't get so much money but he/she would be out at work most of the week and you'd have your home to yourself all weekend.

Will definitely advertise this first the next time round.