Money Moral Dilemma: Should I ask my lodger to pay more rent because she regularly has guests?

MSE_Kelvin

This week's MoneySaver who wants advice asks...

 I have a lodger, and she largely has my house to herself as I'm often away. I have several security cameras that she's aware of, and on reviewing them, it's clear she often has guests over to stay. While I'm not happy about having random people in my home, she's otherwise respectful, as well as clean, tidy and reliable. But I've been thinking she should pay more rent to cover the increased use of energy and water, plus general wear and tear. Do I approach her about it and risk losing an otherwise good lodger, or turn a blind eye?

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ButterCheese

From what I've read elsewhere and from my personal experience, good lodgers are sometimes hard to come by.  I would not think that a guest staying over for the night would use much more water or gas or electricity.  If two people need the heating, TV and a light on, it's likely that one person would need the same things.  The only difference is an extra shower maybe, which is not a huge cost.  Same goes for wear and tear, I don't think a guest staying a few times a week is going to wear through the carpet.  

I'd just ask them to inform you out of courtesy, but be careful what you wish for!  You don't want texts every other day (or maybe you do)

Mark_d

It your house so you make the rules.  Do her guests sleep in the room that your lodger pays for, or to they sleep in your lounge?  If you're not happy with random people staying over in your house then you should say something.  Perhaps this invalidates your home insurance.

badmemory

I suspect that if it was me I would be concerned about whether it was the same person every time.  If it is a different one then as Mark said I would be worried about my insurance.  The question of the insurance could be a way of bringing this up without needing a confrontation - as if something happens that damages both your properties you could both find yourselves uninsured.

flaneurs_lobster

If I were the lodger I'd be asking under what circumstances does the owner "review" the several CCTV's-worth of footage? 

When something's missing or broken? Find out who keeps leaving the lights on?

Or just general viewing to check on what the lodger's wearing, to offer fashion tips and so on?

Uriziel

Whether there are guests or not does not matter. If you feel you need more money to cover the utilities you can ask for more and she is allowed to look elsewhere but taking into account she is not going to find any other place where she essentially has a house to herself she will probably suck it up and pay.

singhini

So........... Your not happy about random people in your house, yet you think the solution is to charge more money.
What happens if you charge more money and the guests still come over........... surely your still not happy about random people in your house. 

If you charge rent the person should be able to live in the house normally, and normal would include having guests. 

Sounds like you need to rethink your situation. Perhaps you need to think about what you need to give up in exchange for money.......... 

Perhaps invite the lodger to have a quite night in one evening and get to know them and their friends better (you could end up either marrying them or a friend of theirs like i did).
Before anyone asks............ yes you money savvy people i made sure i asked all the relevant questions like how much money do you have in savings and in pension funds and what debts do you have and how much is outstanding loans, and are you an only child and will you be inheriting your parents wealth and how much are we talking about.

saajan_12

MSE_Kelvin said:

While I'm not happy about having random people in my home, she's otherwise respectful, as well as clean, tidy and reliable. But I've been thinking she should pay more rent to cover the increased use of energy and water, plus general wear and tear. 

If the costs have increased and the competition is charging more, just increase the rent. Presumably you have a rolling agreement not a fixed term so you can ask for more - she can then agree, refuse or negotiate. Beyond that what difference does it make to you if there's more people if you're not there. 

However this is the bigger issue: 

MSE_Kelvin said:

This week's MoneySaver who wants advice asks...

 I have a lodger, and she largely has my house to herself as I'm often away. I have several security cameras that she's aware of, and on reviewing them, ...

If you're away that often and only know about this from the cameras rather than when you're there, the "lodger" may legally be a "tenant", with tenant rights and no rent-a-room scheme. I'd regularise that before worrying about a few extra showers. 

PennysIntoPounds

That's her home, that she pays to live in. It's not weird to have friends.
Why are you reviewing footage of her if nothing bad has occurred? That is a bit weird 🙂
She's clearly not trying to be sneaky if you say she's aware of the cameras.
If your bills have gone up solely due to her having friends to stay then by all means have a pleasant word asking her to chip in more.
If they haven't, then yes it will be entirely your own fault if you end up with no extra income or a terrible lodger.

iclayt

You're often not there for her to ask about guests stopping over and potentially disturbing you. Why else would she ask permission? It's her home too.
How much extra is it costing you per guest? More than you value your clean, respectful and reliable lodger?
The issue is you don't like the idea of people you don't know in your home, and you're looking for a reason to bring it up, but asking for extra money won't stop her having guests, so if you really want to talk about it just be honest. Be prepared to lose your lodger though.

kimwp

The points above about you viewing the footage are spot on - even if she knows about them, it's a bit of an intrusive thing to be doing without a reason.

If the bills have noticeably gone up, that might be a reason to increase the bills, otherwise if nothing is broken or taken, and she's a good lodger, then let it be.

When I had lodgers, my view on visitors was that it was fine, but my expectation was that they would spend roughly the same amount of nights away as they had visitors, meaning that I had the house to myself one night for every night there were more people in the house.