Lodger not signed contract or paid rent

abfabally

Hi,

A lodger has just moved in (on Saturday). He has paid his deposit (late) but still has not paid me for the 1st months rent (it was due on Saturday - I reminded him on Sunday, and it is still not in my account - today is Monday). I know the transfer is effectively instant, since his deposit came through instantly when I reminded him about it, so I am sure he has not transferred the rent yet).

Neither of us has signed the contract yet - I sent it to him several weeks in advance and reminded him to sign it.
We agreed he'd sign it the day he moved in, but that didn't happen. Please don't berate me for this - I've enough stuff going on at the moment without being given a hard time by strangers. In any case, he'd have broken the terms within the contract already due to late deposit and late rent payment.

What are my rights? He's at work right now. If he doesn't pay by the end of business today (after another reminder, of course!), I have a good mind to change the locks. What duty do I have for all his belongings? I can just dump them outside?

Thanks,

Alison

Browntoa

If he's a lodger with an unsigned contract then they have no rights , not even a notice period

[Deleted User]

I agree but you can't just dump his stuff outside either. You will have to make arrangements for him to collect them. Have someone there with you if necessary.

Its not just the unsigned contract. If you live in and share facilities, he is a lodger and has few rights. You will need to return the deposit less any rent due. I'd take two days rent out or just give it all back if its worth doing this to get rid of him. It probably is to be honest.

theartfullodger

Lodgers do have rights, albeit much weaker than tenants.
https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/private_renting/lodgers

Did you do & file "Right to rent" checks for him - even if her appears "British" - woteva that is..

What did the written terms or receipt say about the deposit paid?

Give him reasonable notice ("rent is due today or no accommodation") and if not sorted (eg cash in claw or in your bank account) change locks when he's next out. After that, don't let him back in but pass him his belongings through front door or window. Ideally have a witness when this happens.

Next time, no signed agreement, inventory, rent, deposit no keys no access.

abfabally

Wow you guys are fast, thanks! The (unsigned) contract states "Should the Lodger fail to pay the rent the Landlord may serve upon them a notice for payment/removal or apply to court for payment/removal."

So I suppose I can give him "Notice for Payment" now, due by 3pm today (really, he already had this in the draft contract, and also by my reminder yesterday), swiftly followed by "notice for removal" (i.e. me changing the locks) by 5pm.

Thanks again everyone! Next time I'll be more careful

Yours,

Alison

anselld

Given that you relaxed the payment requirement in the first place (by letting lodger in without rent in advance), I think you need to chill out a bit.

You are still in possession of full deposit for 2 days occupancy so you are nowhere near out of pocket.

I understand your desire to put the foot down about late payment, but changing the locks would be seen as unreasonable and this point.

Comms69

abfabally wrote: »

Hi,

A lodger has just moved in (on Saturday). He has paid his deposit (late) but still has not paid me for the 1st months rent (it was due on Saturday - I reminded him on Sunday, and it is still not in my account - today is Monday). I know the transfer is effectively instant, since his deposit came through instantly when I reminded him about it, so I am sure he has not transferred the rent yet).

Neither of us has signed the contract yet - I sent it to him several weeks in advance and reminded him to sign it.
We agreed he'd sign it the day he moved in, but that didn't happen. Please don't berate me for this - I've enough stuff going on at the moment without being given a hard time by strangers. In any case, he'd have broken the terms within the contract already due to late deposit and late rent payment.

What are my rights? He's at work right now. If he doesn't pay by the end of business today (after another reminder, of course!), I have a good mind to change the locks. What duty do I have for all his belongings? I can just dump them outside?

Thanks,

Alison

He may have signed the contract but not given you a copy. So assume he has.


You should give notice as the contract states.


You have to look after his belongings, you CANNOT just dump them outside.

Comms69

Browntoa wrote: »

If he's a lodger with an unsigned contract then they have no rights , not even a notice period

Incorrect. The OP doesn't have a signed contract, she has no idea what the lodger has

Comms69

abfabally wrote: »

Wow you guys are fast, thanks! The (unsigned) contract states "Should the Lodger fail to pay the rent the Landlord may serve upon them a notice for payment/removal or apply to court for payment/removal."

So I suppose I can give him "Notice for Payment" now, due by 3pm today (really, he already had this in the draft contract, and also by my reminder yesterday), swiftly followed by "notice for removal" (i.e. me changing the locks) by 5pm.

Thanks again everyone! Next time I'll be more careful

Yours,

Alison

why would you apply to the court for removal? Did you write this contract yourself?

abfabally

hi Anselld,

it takes a little time to find someone - the only reason I allowed a few days lapse for the deposit was that I didn't want to have to go through the whole advertisement procedure again & meeting people. The deposit only covers 2 weeks; even if I started looking now, I probably wouldn't find a replacement to move in before 2 weeks. Maybe because I only asked for a deposit which only covers 2 weeks rent he thinks he can use me as a stop gap while he continues to look for somewhere more permanent (my spare room is only available until end April -which he was perfectly aware of before moving in), or maybe he genuinely doesn't have the rent money. If he's just late, he has until the end of today (3rd reminder) to resolve it. The longer I give him the benefit of the doubt, the more I put myself at risk...

abfabally

hi Comms69,

I downloaded a template from a website offering free templates for such things...