Lodger issues

delma06

Hello

I need the advice or the contact details of the legal advisor. I have an issue with a lodger. My partner and I have an AST with the landlord and his permission to sublet the room. We have a separate flatmate contract with our collegue. He has started creating problems with not paying rent on time and breaching the terms of the contract by for example overconsumption the electricity and gas without needing (such as switching on heating 4-5h before returning to home using an app for a smart heating system which I installed and exposing us to additional costs. He moved to partner and suggested that he would not pay the rent even though according to the contract he should have 3 more months and must then give one month's written notice.

What should I do when he stops paying?

Can you recommend a solicitor for tenancy law?

Thank you in advance.

theartfullodger

Next time only short contract and ability on both sides to give almost immediate notice 

Where did you get this "contract" please?  What does it saw if either party breaches terms agreed please? I can't read it from here.

pretamang

If things weren't working out when they lived there isn't it a good thing that they've moved out?

I expect you can agree an early surrender with them and now look for a new lodger.

Or do you want them to move back in for 3 months minimum? I'm sure someone will be along with more knowledge on your legal position, but making them comply with things like energy consumption will probably be difficult to enforce, in your position I'd just move on.

gwynlas

Is he still living at the house or moved to partner?
Little you can do except give him notice to remove his property so that you can let room to somebody else. 
This is an open forum not set up to give specific legal advice for this you would need to seek a solicitor and the money involved is not worth it.
There is a lot of information regarding lodgers already on this forum just use the search facility.

canaldumidi

* There is no 'legal adviser here. Just us mad amateurs. Trust us if you dare!

* England/Wales?

* 3 months notice is bonkers for a lodger agreement. As you're finding out!

* What are the terms of the agreement regarding heating? Guests? Occupants? Are these in a written agreement, written 'house rules', or were they discussed at the start?

* But if the lodger is breaching terms, then evict. Give reasonable notice based on the breaches, eg 2 weeks?

* Then change the locks while he's at work, shopping etc, and communicate with him about collection of his belongings (for which you have a duty of care). Pack them up and arrange a time (or place) for him to collect. Ideally don't let him in to collect them - but if you must, have a beefy friend/witness present.

* Forget advance rent - charge him to the date he leaves or date you evict. If he is in arrears for this, use the deposit and return the balance to him.

Post 10: Lodgers: advice & links for landlords & lodgers

FreeBear

gwynlas said: Little you can do except give him notice to remove his property so that you can let room to somebody else.

Assuming this person is a lodger with just a "licence to occupy" without a fixed term, just give him notice to leave as per the terms of the contract.

Change the locks if he refuses to return the keys, and change the password on that app - Passwords should be changed on a regular basis and never shared.

Voyager2002

Start with the Shelter website, and once you have found basic guidance there move on to the Shelter Legal site to find out exactly how the law applies in your situation.

Whatever the agreement with your lodger says, it has no effect if it is in conflict with the law. And the law states that if someone is living in your home and you are unhappy with them, you have the power to bring the tenancy to and end and evict them (for example by changing the locks) with just a few day's notice. This probably applies to your situation.

I appreciate that you would like your lodger to pay for another three months, but that clause in your contract is probably in conflict with the law (so not enforcable). All that you can do is hold on to any deposit, bring the arrangement to an end and in due course look for someone else.

ele_91

It’s not clear from your post if he has moved out or not? But either way it sounds better for you if he goes, so I would look to negotiate a short notice period with him and readvertise the room. 

canaldumidi

FreeBear said:

gwynlas said: Little you can do except give him notice to remove his property so that you can let room to somebody else.

Assuming this person is a lodger with just a "licence to occupy" without a fixed term, just give him notice to leave as per the terms of the contract.

OP said "according to the contract he should have 3 more months and must then give one month's written notice." so I assume a fixed term?

Voyager2002 said:

Whatever the agreement with your lodger says, it has no effect if it is in conflict with the law. And the law states that if someone is living in your home and you are unhappy with them, you have the power to bring the tenancy to and end and evict them (for example by changing the locks) with just a few day's notice. This probably applies to your situation.

I appreciate that you would like your lodger to pay for another three months, but that clause in your contract is probably in conflict with the law (so not enforcable). All that you can do is hold on to any deposit, bring the arrangement to an end and in due course look for someone else.

I have no idea what 'law' you are referring to. Please advise.

As an 'Excluded Occupier' the Housing Act does not apply, and there is no specific Statute law that I know of that over-rides Contract Law.

Yes Common Law allows consent to occupy to be withdrawn immediately from a Licensee (Excluded Occupier), but Common Law does not over-ride Contract Law.

Hence the wording of the contract, written and/or verbal, is applicable, though as I said, if he has breached it then it is far easier to evict than it would be if he were a tenant subject to Statute law (the Housing Act).

saajan_12

Voyager2002 said:

Start with the Shelter website, and once you have found basic guidance there move on to the Shelter Legal site to find out exactly how the law applies in your situation.

Whatever the agreement with your lodger says, it has no effect if it is in conflict with the law. - agree
And the law states that if someone is living in your home and you are unhappy with them, you have the power to bring the tenancy to and end and evict them (for example by changing the locks) with just a few day's notice. This probably applies to your situation. - No. What law is that? There is no tenancy statute applicable here that restricts the LL's ability to evict and sets up minimum notice periods, but that just means you fall back to the contract. There is no law I know of that specifically overrides contractual notice to 'a few days'.  

I appreciate that you would like your lodger to pay for another three months, but that clause in your contract is probably in conflict with the law (so not enforcable). - again, what law? It might be inadvisable and non standard, but the LL &  lodger can (and apparently have) agreed to a fixed term, which is perfectly valid. 
All that you can do is hold on to any deposit, bring the arrangement to an end and in due course look for someone else. 

Please do not post such misleading and incorrect 'advice'. 

OP, please quote your contract particularly around the fixed term, notice periods, bills, utility usage clauses, etc. If the lodger has breached a minor term, then your remedy is to just get any damages (possibly via court). If the lodger has materially breached the contract, you may be able to seek to terminate it, by evicting with reasonable notice and rent for the time they stayed.. would have to be a material breach though. 

delma06

Hi

 

 Thank you all for your replies, I am impressed at how quickly I got the advice.

- We live in England

 

 - I bought and adjusted a flatmate agreement from "LawDepot"

 

 - He is currently staying in his partner's flat, he doesn't really intend to come back to live here, but he left his things. He said will move out by the end of February even though our contract is for 6 months from the first of November and then he can give a month's notice. Therefore, according to the contract, the earliest he can move out is the 1st of May.

 

 -The contract is structured in such a way that my partner and I can give him a month's notice whenever we want, even two days after he has moved in, and he has to have lived there for a minimum of six months and at the end of that period, we can give him a month's notice. This way we wanted to avoid looking for another tenant for the winter. The problem is that in winter it is more difficult to find a student as a tenant. We are students and looking for someone our own age. we also won't have to pay council tax

 

 

- He probably started problems because he wanted to move to his partner's flat earlier but I told him we wouldn't be looking for a new tenant for the winter and we didn't take him for 3 months. Therefore must wait until the end of the contract.

 - He started insulting me and saying disrespectful things. He also said that we are renting on the same terms even though legally I am his landlord.

 - I added a clause to the contract that where possible he undertakes to use the utilities in an economical way, and he starts heating the room to 22 degrees 5 hours before he gets home, even though it is relatively warm outside (10 degrees), and the room gets cold anyway before his return. I told him to heat the room when he is at home so as not to generate unnecessary costs, he replied that he does not care because the contract says "bills included". Additionally, he put us in danger because he left the gas burners on twice and went somewhere. 

- So I changed the password and he has no access to the app, that is why he went to live with his girlfriend. He said he would keep the heat as high as possible for 24 hours using valves after I changed the password. He started threatening me that he had contacted a solicitor (which I am sure is a lie) and that I could pay a fine to the council of up to 15000 for turning the app/heating off (obviously he still has access to the heating but through a valve, not an app) and that it was easy to prove, which is pathetic. The smart heating system and the app is just an accessory that I installed and at any time he has access to hot water or heating and generally great conditions in the house. In addition, he does not clean which is also inconsistent with the rules of the agreement.

1. What do you advise me to do if he stops paying and I have not found a new tenant by then?

2. Can he harm me in any way legally?

Thank you.