Lodger gave no notice to leave

ChloeM2010

Hi all,

I had a lodger move in to my property which I live in a month ago. We share all facilities. When she moved in we agreed that she would pay one month’s rent and one month’s rent as a deposit upfront. The agreement was that if she gave me a month’s notice she could use the deposit as her last month’s rent and as such not have to pay for that final month. I know I should have gotten her to sign a contract, but she was a friend from work so I didn’t think there would be any issues. She’s messaged me today to say she is moving out imminently and wants her deposit back. I’ve said because she has not given me a month’s notice and it will take me however long to get a new lodger in she cannot have it back in full and if I can get someone in I will give her the difference.
Where do I stand with this as there were no contracts signed it was a verbal agreement before she moved in?

Thank you.

oddjobbpb

Keep the deposit, tough on her

ACG

Keep the deposit.
IF she takes it to court and lose, you may find you have to pay the deposit plus costs (give or take £50-100) but it is unlikely she will take it that far and there is also no guarantee you would lose.

sevenhills

ChloeM2010 wrote: »

I had a lodger move in to my property which I live in a month ago. We share all facilities. When she moved in we agreed that she would pay one month’s rent and one month’s rent as a deposit upfront. The agreement was that if she gave me a month’s notice she could use the deposit as her last month’s rent and as such not have to pay for that final month.

So you did not agree on a minimum notice period required, or what the penalty would be if she did not adhere to it?
She should pay for the time she stayed at your property.

G_M

Well lesson here is that irrespective of whether a lodger is a stranger or a friend, you should always have clear written understandings of the terms.


Regarding notice, where this has not been explicitly agred, it must be 'reasonable'.


As a guide, reasonableness in a monthly agreement would be 1 month's notice. If rent is paid weekly, then 1 week's notice.


My strong advice would be to have notice defined in a written contract as 1 week, irrespective of the rental frequency.


But in this case you have blurred matters further:

The agreement was that if she gave me a month’s notice she could use the deposit as her last month’s rent

so it was not a deposit. It was rent.


In effect, she has already paid rent for the month following the date she vacated. This covers the notice period that she failed to provide. Keep the rent for the month following her departure and if she complains, or goes to court, respond that the lack of 'reasonable notice' is the reasin rent is being charged for a further month.

FreeBear

ChloeM2010 wrote: »

The agreement was that if she gave me a month’s notice she could use the deposit as her last month’s rent and as such not have to pay for that final month.

If you ever have another lodger, do not include this in an agreement, written or verbal. Without a deposit to rely on, you would end up having to pay for any damages yourself and then trying to extract the money from the (ex)lodger.

Always have a written and signed agreement in place.
Always check and retain copies of ID - Needed for the Right to Rent checks.

G_M

FreeBear wrote: »

If you ever have another lodger, do not include this in an agreement, written or verbal. Without a deposit to rely on, you would end up having to pay for any damages yourself and then trying to extract the money from the (ex)lodger.

.

Indeed.



The wholepoint of a deposit is that it can be returned to the lodger after they have left, by when you know if they have caused any damage, cleaned up after themselves, walked off with the bread-maker, and/or paid all the rent due.

ChloeM2010

I stated I needed a month’s notice period if she decided she wanted to move out.

zagubov

It's counter-intuitive but you're learning the hard way that the closer the friendship the more explicit and formal the rules have to be for the landlord-lodger relationship.

G_M

ChloeM2010 wrote: »

I stated I needed a month’s notice period if she decided she wanted to move out.

And she agreed? To be legally binding, both parties must agree. That's why written contracts are signed by both.



Plus of course, as this was done verbally the lodger might claim you said one day, not one month - it then becomes a dispute over "I said xxxx. " "No, you said YYYY and I said ZZZZ....".