Lodger Licence Fee Increase - Your Opinion Requested

macman

If this is causing you so such concern, seemingly bordering on distress, then simply give him a week's/month's notice to leave, depending on the licence terms. He's not a tenant, so he has only the minimal rights of a lodger.
I don't think just hiking the rent is going to resolve the situation.

jrawle

It seems a pity to ask him to leave given that you like the chap and get on well. Next time you could end up with someone awful. Why not increase the rent to closer to market rates? For the time being, it can be to cover the excess electricity usage while he's at home, and you can consider it to be doing him a favour while he is unemployed not to have to pay both the market rate and full electricity cost. Once he has a job, the rent can stay as it is and will bring you in line with the market rate. Obviously, if he won't pay the increased rent, he'll have to leave. If he doesn't find a job in the next weeks or months, you can review things then. (Is it easy to find a job as a lorry driver after being sacked for using a phone?)

trix-a-belle

macman said:

If this is causing you so such concern, seemingly bordering on distress, then simply give him a week's/month's notice to leave, depending on the licence terms. He's not a tenant, so he has only the minimal rights of a lodger.
I don't think just hiking the rent is going to resolve the situation.

I'm inclined to agree with macman & nip it in the bud now.

I'd say you do need to have a fairly clear conversation with him too though, even though you're not his mother. You accepted him on the basis he was working and the rent level was acceptable for that, now he has lost his job and been sat at home all day nearly every day just gaming, thats a very different use level & dynamic, hes also had no income coming in for a month. I recall a few threads on a similar vein where lodgers went from working in an office to suddenly working from home over & after lockdown.
You've conveniently avoided answering the question of whether he has been actively looking or not so i'm taking it that he probably hasn't been & you're trying to ignore the impending problems that could additionally bring.

I had a similar debate with myself last year, we got through lockdown where my lodger was suddenly at home for a couple of months solid, also gaming all day, the energy usage was noticeably higher & though it dropped after they went back in it remained higher than previous. When the writing was on the wall for energy prices going up it tipped the balance when added to other niggles that had been building and I gave notice, i'd rather have the control of energy use in my property in my hands now.

& I had a previous lodger who thought nothing of using the vast percentage of pots, pans, plates & utensils in the place & every clean tea towel as an extension to the draining board so that anyone else who needed anything found themselves putting it all away, & also saw nothing wrong with leaving things to go off at the back of the fridge for others to hunt out and clear up who had a total toddler tantrum when I gave him notice.

mi-key

If he is only 23, and lived at home before you, chances are he has never actually had to pay an electric bill so doesn't realise how much it costs to use all that equipment he has. 

Ryan_Holden

Trix, I haven't conveniently avoided anything about his search for work. I appreciate you taking the time to reply but it is something I addressed I think in the very first post, he has been looking but not within his trade.

He has done 2 days of contract work in the period since Feb 28th with a truck agency and he left today so he may be doing a shift now. 

I just need to point out to everyone, he's not causing me any distress per se, the energy use is a big issue for me but I'm not losing sleep or anything dramatic. I just want to keep the relationship and agreement we have fair so came looking for your opinions, which I'm grateful for. 

What I've decided to do is have a conversation with him and request a payment for the increased electricity as a result of being home all the time, which is not the situation that was agreed when he moved in (unemployed). 

I will also be raising his rent to £535 regardless from the next full month to contribute to the cost of living rises in water rate, water usage, council tax and household supplies.  

I feel comfortable that I am not being unreasonable doing this thanks to people sharing their thoughts, so thank you again.

And while it's none of my business, he also has good savings as a result of his lifestyle, so I'm confident it won't cause him any real stress. 

Ryan_Holden

Update 12th April 2023.

My lodger responded well to the idea of paying the excess electricity over the period that he is not working.

It was a healthy conversation and he confessed to not having a lot of spare money at the moment with his limited agency working, so we have agreed that he will pay the over use of electricity (£45 for April) and any going forward once he is more stabilised. 

And that should he leave in the interim he's happy for me to take it from his deposit.

The average usage for the house seems to be around 270 kWh per month so we are going to work to that as the average.

Because he's confessed to being a bit concerned about money while he hunts for a job, I've decided to hold off on a general rent increase for now. I have no reason not to trust him, so I would rather eat a little of the margin in order to keep him in as ultimately he brings in more than he costs. I think it's just about a bit of a sacrifice on my part. 

Plus, I don't want him stressing.

Thanks all for your input!

ArbitraryRandom

Ryan_Holden said:

It was a healthy conversation and he confessed to not having a lot of spare money at the moment with his limited agency working, so we have agreed that he will pay the over use of electricity (£45 for April) and any going forward once he is more stabilised. 

And that should he leave in the interim he's happy for me to take it from his deposit.

The average usage for the house seems to be around 270 kWh per month so we are going to work to that as the average.

Thanks for coming back to update and glad to hear the conversation went well. 

Might I suggest (if you're open to one last bit of advice) dropping him a quick friendly email just to confirm the above.

No reason to think there's going to be a problem but it can help in the event the detail of the agreement is forgotten once things have moved on a bit. 

Ryan_Holden

That's a great idea AribitraryRandom, then it's in writing for any future issues if they arise, I'll put that down to him today.

Yep, it went well and despite considering myself confident I actually found myself quite anxious in the days leading up to the conversation. Just goes to show though, doesn't always go as you think. 

But once he's working, I will work out a plan with him to pay off the energy debt and then his rent will have to rise later in the year.