CF lodger - advice please

[Kiwirose]

Our spare double room in our family home is let for single occupancy for £500pm including bills (which is probably too cheap) to a PhD student. He has just returned home with is wife without discussing this with us first. She tells us she is staying for 2-3 months.

We knew he was married and his wife lived and worked abroad in the same country he lived and worked in prior to study, so he is over here on a student visa.

We previously discussed with him the need to increase rent bin October because of the cost of living and all of the bills increasing.

My question is how much do you think it is reasonable to charge for a double room with double occupancy for the time his wife is here?

(and yes I am annoyed that this happened without prior discussion. I think he is treating this like a shared flat which it isn't, but even if it were I don't think you could move another person in without everyone else asking reasonable financial measures to compensate for additional utility usage and inconvenience).

All ideas gratefully received please.

For goodness sake…. Just say no! And give him notice to leave as he’s shown you he’s a CF.

For me i would give him notice instead. The fact that he sees it as a shared flat means Its going to end in tears. Living wuth a single man vs living with a couple are very different. Save yourself the trouble

For anyone else that thinks £500 is extortion

take a look here and pop in “Warwick”

you’ll find plenty of double bedrooms to rent at over £500 and under for mon-Fri only

£500 is an average rent for lodgers in a household/home setting in a provincial market town

How bloody rude of him to do that. I would be furious. He’s taking the piss.

Don't be silly. He is a lodger. Not a housemate. They don't have a joint tenancy. It is not his home, it is the OP's home. He's renting a room that's all. Maybe do a bit of research about what a lodger is vs a tenant and the rights involved with that. You'll sound less silly next time you comment then.

I would imagine this is some sort of immigration scam, or the start of it.

I'd look into that if I were you. Can she legally stay for three months? Might be time to tip the Home Office off....

Completely agree with this. You seemed happy with the amount he was paying, it was the behaviour and entitlement which annoyed you so raising the price doesn't seem like it will stop the annoyance unless you done this with a view to them both leaving

Give him notice.
His wife is moving in for a few months this time. Next time it'll be 6. Before you know it she'll be living with you.

Also, people on here really need to learn the legal differences between lodgers, housemates and tenants.

I agree you need to give him notice. If you raise the rent you are agreeing that you are okay with a couple living in the room and you are not.

I'm mostly annoyed about the lack of communication which essentially means a lack of informed choice and a lack of opportunity to discuss who it might work prior to any agreed arrival.

It was a deliberate decision and plan to spring this on you so you had no defence or argument prepared. That is how conmen get their foot in the door. The most important thing for you to grasp is that gaining entry this is only their FIRST move ; not the last. Now a female stranger is in your home 24/7 waiting for you all to be out. Everything private and confidential in your home may be a target . Lock up all financial documents, birth/marriage certificates, bank info, cards, passports and car keys.

Meanwhile I would contact the university to check the "student" story. I've encountered it as a cover for why a prospective tenant could not supply a current employer reference.

I think the main issue here is his attitude.
He has rented accommodation for himself as a single person.
That accommodation is for one person only. Even if he had a room in house share, which is much less of a personal contract, he would not just be able to move an additional person in.
The agreement is for OP to have one lodger. It completely changes the dynamic within the property to have an additional adult there, especially one who is there all day.
If he had spoken to the OP about bringing another person into her home ( the wife won’t just be in his room, presumably she will be using shared areas) the situation might be different. As it is he has shown a blatant disrespect for OP, her family, and her home.
Whilst living in a home as a lodger is not for some people due to restrictions, etc, lodgers do often get additional benefits, such as the landlord cleaning shared areas.
I am not sure I could move past this. I would be inclined to tell him that his wife must leave immediately, and give him whatever notice he is entitled to as per contact to leave. Just putting up the rent makes it seem like he can just do what he wants as long as the price is right.

Please stop focussing on the rent money.

The potential loss from scammers in your home is worth a lot more than £500.

If you haven't told your house insurers you have commercial guests, you may have voided your domestic insurance policy on buildings and contents. That means the insurers won't cover any claims for fire, flood, damage, theft , ID theft, losses.

www.brightsideinsurance.co.uk/home/lodgers

If you have commercial guests sleeping upstairs, to stay legal you need to check a whole raft of extra fire safety precautions like firedoors, stair lights, extinguishers . smoke sensors and alarms.

You and your husband are both being weirdly passive. It's daft that you haven't said anything to them. I can't fathom how you didn't say anything when he told you how long she was staying.

I also don't understand why you need to wait until the weekend when your kids aren't around and when both you and your husband are there? Just decide what you want to do, knock on his door and tell him. It really is as simple as that.

Is there a reason you want to hide this from your kids? It's not really a contentious issue.

You mention being 'horrified' by Christmas as though you are helpless about what is going to happen.

If you are thinking of letting them stay then it's a little tricky as you were going to increase the rent anyway. I'd have a good look,at what available in your city and take it from there. (Some people on this thread are clueless about how much it can cost)

I would speak to him and say the letting was agreed for 1 person only. For another adult this would be an extra 50% of what he is currently paying.
The cheek of it though ! Any decent person with half a brain cell would discuss this with the landlord prior 🙈

Scottish Highlands.

I'd give him notice tbh

really helpful thank you
I've pm'd you as your contract seems superior.

its cheap where we are. More like the scenario @Talia99 describes.

Don't change the rent, simply evict immediately with whatever notice period is on your agreement (it's usually 2 weeks for lodgers). This is your home and it is totally unacceptable for the lodger to do this. There's no going back from this, it is unacceptable behaviour. Any conversation about a higher rent immediately implies this is acceptable at the right price and it simply isn't.

Re-advertise the room at £600pcm. You'll get a new and lovely lodger very quickly. Make sure the new agreement has some specific rules about overnight guests.

very reasoned. Thank you. As someone further up said there are probably different cultural expectations. He isn't a terrible person but firm boundaries are required.

anyone mentioned that if OP gives him notice he's homeless with a wife so he could go to the local council for housing!!

In most areas that wouldn't matter.
He'd need to be homeless with a child to be a priority.

@ivykaty44 @autocollantes @Talia99 @Kiwirose

Just because it's the going rate or below the going rate wherever you are doesn't mean it's fair. Choose who you vote for wisely, join a tenant's unions , campaign for fair rents
The OP is yet another long line of greedy grasping landlords profiting from people who can't afford a mortgage, are a low income student or are stuck on the council house list. Absolutely disgusting greed!

I but know you aren't meant to feed the trolls but really?????

Firstly how can you be a greedy grasping landlord and offer a low market rate? Surely if I were one of these the rent would already be much higher? I'm not stopping anyone get a mortgage nor do I prevent them renting elsewhere should they choose.

Actually we are NHS workers trying to make ends meet

Just ignore. Too many GFs on MN these days.
Have you decided what you’ll do? (IMO notice to quit is your best option)