Day in the Life of Bob - Lodger observations

bobwilson

Having been a lodger myself over many years & repeatedly told by my landlord that I'm the best lodger he / she ever had & they would almost regularly beg me not to leave, I found it somewhat hard to believe at the time- I'm nothing special. I simply exist & pay the rent, eat food etc. Everything any usual human being would do. However, since my transition to becoming an unwitting landlord by mistake, I have since discovered that my landlords were indeed not joking.

Here are some of the most fascinating requests (or observations) of my Lodger(s):

- She has one of the biggest rooms in the house. She has a relatively small number of belongings, while we, as most people do, struggle to fit our belongings into spaces, making as efficient use of our space as possible- and selling or throwing out things we don't need (as everyone has to, it's a normal part of life). Instead of organising her belongings or putting clothes away into her empty cupboards, said lodger has everything thrown around her floor for months & says "Look- I have SO much stuff! Do you have a bigger room for me?"

Almost all lodgers assume they have more belongings than anyone else in the history of the human race, and it's unfair they have to deal with it all- in reality, they have barely anything. They also assume they're the only person in the world with "a LOT of stuff OMG!!!!!", and instead of dealing with their belongings like anyone else would- by organising, storing, or downsizing if necessary, they almost all complain about it to their landlord, as if they are the only person in the world with belongings. This seems to be a universal constant among most lodgers.

- The landlord has moved home countless times, packed up more boxes than can be remembered, and could be dealing with major life events such as bereavement, bankruptcy, job loss or serious health issues without moaning about it, but almost every lodger will assume their basic life task (e.g. moving in or moving out of their bedroom), is the most daunting & monumental problem no one has ever faced before & that they're hard-done-by. They'll complain to someone who is hanging by a cliff-edge, about their basic life task of having to pack up a couple of boxes.

- One might expect the more mature lodgers (e.g. 35 +) to be ..... well..... a little more mature in their approach. However, the opposite appears to be the case. They will arrive with a house worth of furniture (sofa, king size bed, wardrobes, tables), to fit into a small furnished bedroom & then stand outside the bedroom looking bemused as if they never saw the bedroom before (which they did, during their viewing), with their lorry & removal men outside asking "what are we supposed to do?". The lodger will then turn to the landlord as ask "Where can I put all my stuff?" as if their rent includes unlimited storage space or it's his job to buy a garage or big yellow storage for them.

- Lodgers who are told "the bedroom is furnished, so please don't bring your own furniture, and please don't move furniture around the room without permission because it leaves marks on the carpet & much of it is hand-made out of pine that can break if not moved carefully." - will almost always do the exact opposite. They will bring furniture & proceed to move everything around the room.

- Lodgers who are told "keep your own belongings in your own room or kitchen cupboard and not anywhere else", will almost always keep their belongings in the hallway or kitchen, blocking the path for anyone else.:cool:

- Lodgers will absolutely refuse to inform you when anything in their room breaks, e.g. spotlights break or fall down... they will leave them broken forever without informing you- but they will get annoyed that things are broken- but absolutely despise you going in their room to fix anything.

- Lodgers will refuse to rent the room if it doesn't look spotless & perfect in every way- but after they move in, they will live in there like an animal, staining every carpet & surface they can see, destroy the curtains or blinds, damage the bed, almost never vacuum ever at all, and never put their clothes away in drawers or cupboards. They age the fixtures & fittings by a factor of 10, as if time moved forwards faster for their room than for anywhere else in the house. When they move out, it almost always costs £hundreds or £thousands to rectify the damage, in order to find another lodger who equally refuses to take the room unless it looks perfect (and then lives like an animal, and the cycle repeats :rotfl:).

If you read that far, then I'm impressed.

I would never recommend having a lodger unless it's an unfortunate necessity or you're forced into it by circumstances that changed- at least until you can escape that circumstance. In the small number of times you find a lodger who is also a normal human being as opposed to some species you've never come across before- please don't count on them staying forever. You'll always end up dealing with one of the 70% of animals again. One might think "I don't care, I'm easy going- as long as the lodger is a happy character!"- please don't count on it. Once you have experience of lodgers, you realise how much of society actually sucks & drains resources instead of providing or even contributing in any way.

DoaM

Are you living in the property too? If not then they're not lodgers, they're tenants.

Honeylife

Come on Bob! Where are you getting your lodgers from?
You cannot allow this nonsense from lodgers.
Weed them out at the interview or even before they come for a viewing! (make it clear that viewing is by invitation not an automatic right)

As a student lodger in the late 70s early 80s, I was terrified of my landlady. She had another room between my room and my designated shower/toilet downstairs, which was her "sewing room". I had to pass through this room to get to the separate shower unit and on the pain of death could not ever use it for any private reason! I never did. She made it clear that it was her house and I was to do as I was told otherwise I could leave. I left after 2 years, we became friends until she passed. When I got my first lodger I went to her for guidance, she relished educating me!

I rent the largest room which is set up almost like a bedsit with a sofa, coffee table. (My two daughters shared this room for ever without stepping on each others toes) On viewing, potential lodgers exclaim in delight at the space, but fail to notice there is only one wardrobe and a chest of 3 drawers. So yes storage is limited even with three shelves in the alcove. What they are seeing is the empty floor space and thinking how they can fill it. Invariably they want to bring their own furniture, I simply wont allow it. I tell them I don't know if it meets fire regulations, that it is not insured on my house insurance, that it is not part of the Agreement. Usually they try and slip something in when I am not home THEN have the cheek to ask me to remove an item of existing furniture from the room eg the coffee table. I say no, no and no you took it and signed for it as seen.

Several lodgers have parked their emptied suitcases outside the room door, I very quickly put the said item back in their rooms and remind them that items left in the hall or stairwell are a fire hazard. The lodgers have no access to any other rooms bar the kitchen and bathroom, so I wont allow their belonging to spill over.

Did have a lodger with enough stuff to furnish an apartment - told him firmly to put it in storage or find somewhere else to rent. He put his stuff in storage ten minutes walk from here. Sold most of it in the next 12 months.

My second room is a small single but the most desirable because it is ridiculously cheap. At viewing I emphasise that they must be a minimalist as there is limited storage. Have worked on creating storage. Pinterest, tiny homes, camper van websites and my Chinese lodgers have been inspirational. Loads of hidden storage with a long wall mirror to give a sense of space. Wont allow the suitcase to be stored anywhere but under the comfy chair in that room.

What I have found bizarre is when lodgers want to remove the roller blind, the nets or the heavy winter curtains! Whats that about?

The more "older" the lodger, the more they want to make changes and the more they want to argue with me. I just say "them's me rules if you don't like them perhaps this is not the right place for you"

missile

Give her notice

missile

You couldn't make this up - or maybe you could?

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6003747/day-in-the-life-of-bob-ll-wont-do-repairs

repeatedly told by my landlord that I'm the best lodger he / she ever had & they would almost regularly beg me not to leave

and somehow this glowing endorsement doesn't agree with your other post >

The LL then kept my deposit after I moved out, and it took a huge amount of time & evidence gathering to claim it back from the deposit protection scheme, at which point I realised it cost more to fight that battle than to lose it. I won though.