Rent-a-room lodger problems

M

Marcia

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I rented a room in my home to one person for approx a year under the rent-a-room scheme. This lodger has a double bedroom and their own bathroom and has been living there for 7 months. I drew up an agreement at the beginning which we both signed. This agreement included terms such as details of rent and that the gas and electricity bills would be divided equally between us, unless the lodger is away for 7 days or longer, in which case I reduce the amount accordingly. If I am away I pay my half in full. I understand that this is an unusual arrangement and is quite generous and more than fair. I also only asked for half a month's rent as a security deposit.
The lodger has been paying their half of the bills as explained above with no problems until the most recent bills. I got a message from the lodger from abroad (they were away) advising me that they will only pay a small percentage of the electric bill from now on as it is "financially unacceptable" to them due to the fact that I turn the hall lamp on when I get home from work when they believe that it should be off. They have therefore deducted €15 off their portion of the bill.
On a separate issue, the rent was always paid on time but this month it was 8 days late followed by a message from abroad containing unacceptable excuses such as they had no bank app available and they "lost track of time".
What are my rights? Can I keep back €15 when I return the security deposit? Any comments?
 
The lodger sounds like a total chancer. Since the standing charge part of your electricity bill is fixed, €15 is more than 60 units of electricity at 24.1c (inc. VAT). They presumably are claiming this is just their half of the bill they are withholding, so that would be 1,200 hours of operation for a 100W light bulb. Assuming you have sensible low power bulbs of 15W or less in a hallway, you're talking more like 8,000 hours. That's a year of non-stop 24/7 usage, or a decade of more typical usage.
 
What would they say if they tripped and fell because there was no light on in the hall...

I think you need to get a different lodger. To me it looks like the situation has gone \ is going south with this one and €15 is a small price to pay to be shot of them.
 
Sounds like one of those people who mistake kindness for weakness.

Make the rules\agreement clear to them again, if they don't like it they can leave. If you don't like the way its going then terminate the agreement and get a new lodger.

I wouldn't bother trying to haggle over €15. Give back the full deposit and move on.
 
Yes it's not really the amount of €15 - its more the fact that the lodger just dictated to me, out of the blue, that they were not paying it. Surely a lodger can't do that.

I didn't elaborate on my response because I wanted people's opinions on what the lodger did but I did ask them to leave.
 
Marcia said:
Surely a lodger can't do that.
Click to expand...

It is sometimes the start of many more dictates particularly if you roll over on the first one. Renting rooms involves some degree of compromise but this sounds over the top.

You have asked them to leave? correct decision I think.
 
Lodgers have no protection under law. They are not tenants. They can be asked to leave at any time with little or no notice.

Advise your lodger that rent is due on time and all other bills as agreed. If that is not agreeable they are free to move out at any time. Altering that arrangement unilaterally is tantamount to the same thing.

Have a lock Smith on standby in case you need to change your locks.
 
I pointed out that they signed an agreement and if they're not happy with the terms anymore then they should look elsewhere. In the agreement it's states that the security deposit will be returned on leaving as long as all monies are paid in full. If they had come to me and discussed their difficulties i might have helped them out. It's the principle of the matter - I will with hold the €15.
 
dub_nerd said:
The lodger sounds like a total chancer. Since the standing charge part of your electricity bill is fixed, €15 is more than 60 units of electricity at 24.1c (inc. VAT). They presumably are claiming this is just their half of the bill they are withholding, so that would be 1,200 hours of operation for a 100W light bulb. Assuming you have sensible low power bulbs of 15W or less in a hallway, you're talking more like 8,000 hours. That's a year of non-stop 24/7 usage, or a decade of more typical usage.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the hall lamp? Seriously? !! Oh and I put two energy saving lamps on in the living room while I'm watching TV at night too ... and I must confess I put two strip lights on in the kitchen while I'm eating my dinner .... not to mention the energy saving lamp in my bedroom while I'm changing into my pyjamas and cleaning my teeth ..... maybe I should just walk around in the dark ....
 
Walking around in the dark is ridiculous, You can get a headlamp, easy on the battery life and an LED bulb, kind to the environment, all very reasonable for you and Mr Lodger...no need for any more excessive lighting in the hallway.....two strip lights in your kitchen indicates you are clearly into excess....:)
 
Once you have all the money, if they are still about on the last day... turn on EVERY light in the entire building. Lamps and all.
Explain it's a test of the emergency lighting system.
Immediately turn off all non-essential lights once the door closes on the way out...
 
This person is about to find out what the rental market is like right now...

One of the great things about having a lodger (aside from the tax break) is the ability to give them the boot if trouble arises.

This person has shot themselves in the foot bigtime...
 
As long as you are happy that the lodger will leave and not do any damage then hold the €15. Personally I would not hold it back but just give notice and change the locks.
 
Gordon Gekko said:
This person is about to find out what the rental market is like right now...

One of the great things about having a lodger (aside from the tax break) is the ability to give them the boot if trouble arises.

This person has shot themselves in the foot bigtime...
Click to expand...

Unless this person becomes a tenant elsewhere and acts the maggot. He will get away with murder :rolleyes:
 
Lol at the fork handles skit - I love it every time!
The lodger is not a threat in terms of security - I wont need to change any locks. Not a bad person or unstable - just a culture thing I think as they come from the middle east. Also quite spoiled - complained and gave out about every little thing for the last 7 months. Very loud and bossy too, no idea about diplomacy or exercising tactfulness. Gives out constantly about Irish people and Ireland in general. But once gone that's it, no fear of them returning.
Most house shares on Daft are going for more than I'm looking for - I think they'll realise they've made a mistake.
 
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