Witholding part of the deposit if lodger prevents access to room during notice?

acatnamedotto

Hello Forum!
First time posting, thank you for the help!

My lodger was quite difficult around viewings during the notice period, keeping his room locked at all times and requesting 24-hour notice for viewings. I didn't force him to leave the room unlocked.

He went traveling for one weekend during the notice period and left the room locked, despite an ongoing conversation about the need to facilitate viewings as much as possible.

I withheld 1 week of deposit when returning it, he claims it's unlawful and threatens small claims court. Is this something I should be worried about?

Pasting below the lodger agreement (redacted) if it's helpful, thank you so much!

Grant of Licence

1. The Landlord grants, and the Lodger accepts, a licence to occupy the Room at the Property at the Rent with the right to use the Common Areas on the terms contained in the Agreement.

2. The Lodger accepts that this Agreement does not grant an assured or assured shorthold tenancy as it is a letting granted by a resident landlord.

3. The Agreement is personal to the Lodger.

4. The Room is part of the Property together with the fixtures and fittings set out in the Inventory.

5. The Landlord gives the Lodger (in common with other occupiers at the Property) the right to use the Common Areas. If the Lodger has the use of the Landlord's furniture, these are listed in the Inventory.

The Lodger will:
a. not damage or remove any of the items in the Inventory from the Property;
b. make good all damages and breakages of items on the Inventory which may occur during the Agreement (fair wear and tear excepted); and
c. keep the items in the Inventory clean and in a good condition.

---

Lodger's Obligations

1. To pay the Rent due under the Agreement at the agreed times to the Landlord’s bank account:
   

2. To pay any overdue Rent and other sums due, subject to interest at a rate of 3% per annum (above the Bank of England's base rate), calculated from the date payment is due up to the date payment is received by the Landlord.

3. To pay a reasonable and proportionate contribution (⅓ of the total) of all charges for cleaning products and supplies, household consumables (kitchen roll, toilet paper, etc.), and basic kitchen items (salt, oil, flour, etc.) purchased by the Landlord for the Property.

4. To keep the inside of the Room clean and in a good condition and not damage the Property or any part of it.

5. Not to take in any lodgers or assign, sublet, charge, or part with or share occupation of the Room or any part of it. Occasional overnight guests of up to 7 days are allowed.

6. To use the Room as a single private home and not to carry on any trade on or from the Property.

7. Not to keep any pets at the Property without the Landlord’s written permission.

8. Not to cause a nuisance to any other person in neighbouring properties or to any other person at the Property.

9. Not to use the Room for any illegal purpose.

10. To permit the Landlord at reasonable times to enter and check the condition of the Room.

11. On leaving the Property:
    a. give the Landlord a forwarding address;
    b. remove all rubbish and personal items (including the Lodger's own furniture and equipment) from the Property; and
    c. return all the keys to the Property to the Landlord.

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Landlord's Obligations

1. The Landlord will provide the Services to the Lodger.

2. The Landlord will pay the Council Tax in respect of the Property.

3. The Deposit (if any) is to be held in an account by the Landlord for the duration of the Agreement as security against the Lodger's failure to pay Rent and other sums due under the Agreement or non-performance of the obligations within this Agreement.

4. The Deposit will be returned to the Lodger at the end of the Agreement, less any outstanding Rent or other sums or reasonable deductions properly made by the Landlord to cover any reasonable costs incurred with cleaning the Room or in connection with damage to the Property or items on the Inventory (fair wear and tear excepted).

5. If the Property is damaged to such an extent that the Lodger cannot live in it, the Rent does not need to be paid until the Property is rebuilt or repaired so that the Lodger can live in it again, unless:
   a. the cause of the damage is something which the Lodger did or failed to do as a result of which the Landlord's insurance policy has become void; and
   b. the Landlord has given the Lodger notice of what the policy required.

---

Review and Termination

1. After one year from the start of this Agreement, the Lodger may at any time terminate this Agreement by giving Notice to the Landlord.

2. The Rent will be reviewed yearly on the anniversary of the start of this Agreement and upon each subsequent anniversary.

3. If the Lodger breaches any of the Lodger's obligations contained in the section above (Lodger's Obligations), the Landlord may at any time during the Agreement terminate this Agreement by giving the Lodger not less than one month's notice. On expiry of the notice, this Agreement will end.

4. If this Agreement terminates in accordance with this clause:
   a. the Lodger shall not be obliged to pay the Landlord the relevant proportion of the Rent or any other payment that relates to the period after this Agreement terminates, as calculated on a daily basis; and
   b. on the date on which this Agreement terminates, the Landlord shall refund to the Lodger the relevant proportion of any sums already paid by the Lodger relating to the Rent, or any other payment in respect of the period after this licence terminates, as calculated on a daily basis.

5. Termination under this clause will end the Agreement with no further liability for either party save for existing breaches.

 

cr1mson

You had no right to enter the room in those circumstances as you were not entering to check the condition as per agreement, it wasn't an emergency nor were you doing repairs so their is no loss on your part. See link below:

Check your rights as a lodger - Citizens Advice

To be honest it could be interpreted as harassment as you did not allow them to enjoy their room peacefully.

RAS

You allowed him to have a locked door.

If he realises that could have created a tenancy, then there's a load of issues round deposit protection you may not want him to explore further. 

And please don't use that "lodger" agreement again. You might be better having a bit of a break in letting and making sure your procedures and paperwork are compliant.

DE_612183

Normally if you withhold a deposit - it has to be done via a scheme and you have to be able to prove loss.

What have you lost ( in monetary terms? )

Also did you lodge the deposit with a recognised scheme?

elsien

Yes, the whole point of a lodger is that you don’t give them exclusive use of a room and they certainly shouldn’t be locking you out. 

Obviously you want to be reasonable about when you go in and what for (cleaning, for example) but don’t set a precedent with allowing locks and 24 hours notice. 

You might have had a lucky escape here. 

And you have no grounds for withholding the deposit just because they’ve locked the door. Viewings are your problem, not theirs, and I would probably have waited till they left. 

FreeBear

RAS said:

You allowed him to have a locked door.

If he realises that could have created a tenancy, then there's a load of issues round deposit protection you may not want him to explore further. 

And please don't use that "lodger" agreement again. You might be better having a bit of a break in letting and making sure your procedures and paperwork are compliant.

Having had lodgers myself, I would never allow locks to be fitted to internal doors (except thumb latches).

A couple of points relating to that agreement - Don't ever specify a fixed term. Consumables such as cleaning products and (some) kitchen supplies should be built in to the rent. I'd exclude flour, but treat condiments & oil as consumables.

GDB2222

DE_612183 said:

Normally if you withhold a deposit - it has to be done via a scheme and you have to be able to prove loss.

What have you lost ( in monetary terms? )

Also did you lodge the deposit with a recognised scheme?

Does any of that apply to a lodger?

DE_612183

GDB2222 said:

DE_612183 said:

Normally if you withhold a deposit - it has to be done via a scheme and you have to be able to prove loss.

What have you lost ( in monetary terms? )

Also did you lodge the deposit with a recognised scheme?

Does any of that apply to a lodger?

Ah, yes sorry thought it was tenancy - however I think the "you need to prove loss" is still applicable in this case.

The landlord is only withholding deposit as a "penalty" rather than any actual loss, and penalties are not part of the contract so the lodger is quite right that he could try to recover any monies not paid back to him for this reason.

silvercar

DE_612183 said:

GDB2222 said:

DE_612183 said:

Normally if you withhold a deposit - it has to be done via a scheme and you have to be able to prove loss.

What have you lost ( in monetary terms? )

Also did you lodge the deposit with a recognised scheme?

Does any of that apply to a lodger?

Ah, yes sorry thought it was tenancy - however I think the "you need to prove loss" is still applicable in this case.

The landlord is only withholding deposit as a "penalty" rather than any actual loss, and penalties are not part of the contract so the lodger is quite right that he could try to recover any monies not paid back to him for this reason.

The actual loss is that the landlord is forced to have a gap between lodgers, if the exiting lodger makes it impossible for prospective lodgers to view the room.

GDB2222

silvercar said:

DE_612183 said:

GDB2222 said:

DE_612183 said:

Normally if you withhold a deposit - it has to be done via a scheme and you have to be able to prove loss.

What have you lost ( in monetary terms? )

Also did you lodge the deposit with a recognised scheme?

Does any of that apply to a lodger?

Ah, yes sorry thought it was tenancy - however I think the "you need to prove loss" is still applicable in this case.

The landlord is only withholding deposit as a "penalty" rather than any actual loss, and penalties are not part of the contract so the lodger is quite right that he could try to recover any monies not paid back to him for this reason.

The actual loss is that the landlord is forced to have a gap between lodgers, if the exiting lodger makes it impossible for prospective lodgers to view the room.

Indeed, although the op didn’t mention whether that happened. I don’t think that the lodger agreement gives the landlord the right to show the room, though. 

FreeBear

silvercar said:

DE_612183 said:

GDB2222 said:

DE_612183 said:

Normally if you withhold a deposit - it has to be done via a scheme and you have to be able to prove loss.

What have you lost ( in monetary terms? )

Also did you lodge the deposit with a recognised scheme?

Does any of that apply to a lodger?

Ah, yes sorry thought it was tenancy - however I think the "you need to prove loss" is still applicable in this case.

The landlord is only withholding deposit as a "penalty" rather than any actual loss, and penalties are not part of the contract so the lodger is quite right that he could try to recover any monies not paid back to him for this reason.

The actual loss is that the landlord is forced to have a gap between lodgers, if the exiting lodger makes it impossible for prospective lodgers to view the room.

Having vacant periods is just one of the costs of having lodgers or tenants. If the landlord can not accommodate the "loss", then they need a different line of business. Depending on rental income from a single lodger is not a sustainable long term business.