Is lodger a CF?

[Ladiva1971]

I have a lodger his rent includes all bills, however I went on holiday for 2 weeks and on my return he presented me with a £25 top up bill for the gas which he used for heating when I was away. I told him there is no way I am paying for the gas he used when I wasn't here. He says gas and electric is included, but my argument is that if I was on holiday the gas would not have been used so he has to pay it. AIBU?

[RavenLG]

why should I reimburse him for that if I wasn't there?
Will you be reimbursing him for his 'bill' part of the payment when he on holiday then?

[SnorkFavour]

I feel for your lodger having to ask every time he is cold and wants to put the heating on

Agreed and for an HOUR at a time - it must be horrible to live in your house. It's been so, so cold recently, our heating has been on between 16-24 hours a day for weeks on end.

The rent may be cheap, but it's a heavy price to pay to be constantly cold. Poor chap!

[DavidBowiesNumber1]

OP I presume that the lodger pays the same amount of money for rent year round? In that case you will be saving money in the months that the heating isn't used plus less electric (for lighting) when the longer days start?
You'll give the lodger a discount then, surely?

YABVU

[Purplealienpuke]

OP I'm in the throes of menopause & have so many hot flushes I don't know where one ends and the next begins BUT...... I had my heating on low 24/7 during the cold snap because it was FREEZING AND because I didn't want my pipes to freeze!!!
I'm confident you would have been considerably more out of pocket had your pipes frozen.
You should also be aware a prepayment meter charge is definitely more than a quarterly bill.
You have no idea how long you would have wanted your heating on for during the cold spell because you weren't there! Your lodger is entitled to reasonable enjoyment of the property as per her tenancy agreement. Being cold is not reasonable.
If you think what they pay doesn't cover all the bills then increase their rent. But be prepared for an argument and maybe a change of tenant.
Do you normally get on with this person??
You could end up with a nightmare scenario (check out other threads) as it appears your tenant has not actually committed a cardinal sin, they were just cold .

[Lovebeingmama]

OP you are the CF.
You are liable for paying the bill.
You should have ensured there was enough to cover all bills while you were away and then some. You didn’t and lodger had to top up themselves. Understandly they want the money back and you are acting like an idiot. The extra money from lodger rent I’m sure is giving you the finances to holiday etc ...now be fair !!

[Graphista]

Illustrious hope that was sarcasm.

The weeks op was away were extremely cold, several of us have said we had our own heating on more than usual at that time.

[MammaTJ]

I think you should have made sure the gas and electric were topped up to a reasonable level before you left.

I think you were lucky not to return to an extremely pissed off lodger!

[IllustriouslyIllogical]

The lodged is NOT cheeky it was op took the piss!

You're so right, she should have anticipated that he'd spent more to heat just himself than she normally spends for both of them.

Don't renew him OP, see how warm he is in a cardboard box under embankment!!

[londonrach]

Seriously. What dont you understand of Bills included. Yabu and the cf

[hibbledibble]

Yes that is very cheap rent for the area, but you quibbling over heating and bills when they are supposedly included, isn't nice.

Why aren't you charging market rent? If you were, then you wouldn't be quibbling over the heating.

[Ellendegeneres]

lobster I’ve been known to refer distant family or friends to my living ‘in Greenwich’ because most people have heard of it. Given that the borough is huge, I could live anywhere from plumstead to new eltham and everything in between and still to those and on here I’d refer to it as Greenwich.
And quite frankly if it were woolwich then op is being an absolute twunt because nobody local wants to live there. Not even on the riverside apartment complexes they’ve done- can’t convince me that it’s a nice or safe place to live just because some developers slapped ridiculous price tags on them!

Either way, op set the value of the room and board, it’s down to her to swallow if she’s now decided it has greater value. As someone already said- her lodger may budget carefully and need that money.

[Creambun2]

Greenwich is not just a town/area it is a whole borough and there are some much cheaper parts of that borough, so not sure people are going on about the price - which of course is set by the OP anyway.

[Passenger42]

You may decide to up the rent to cover the fact that you lost out on a few heating costs, but then you run the risk of your lodger moving out and you getting a complete arse moving in! It could be much worse, You could end up with someone who works from home who has your heating on all day or has cleanliness mania and uses washing machine and hot water 24/7.. be warned.. lol

[starzig]

YABVU. You said bills included and it has been bloomin freezing recently.

[Graphista]

The lodged is NOT cheeky it was op took the piss!

Went on holiday

A didn't top up the meter in advance with amount it usually costs

B didn't consider adding extra (despite beast from the east WIDELY publicised)

C has been ridiculously awkward and unreasonable in not immediately reimbursing lodger

[IllustriouslyIllogical]

Revise your contract & don't renew it with this cheeky twat.

[Graphista]

But op set the rent - if she's set it too low to cover her costs that's HER mistake - capitalism is a 2 way street sometimes.

[ChocoholicsAsylum]

Lol lobster xx

[mummypeepee]

Are you going to let him off his rent if he’s away? Sorry I yabu if bills are include.

[LanguidLobster]

givemesteel landlady set his bill.

I did think it was a bit cheap for Greenwich but she set it. Lodger didn't.

[TeachesOfPeaches]

Bills INCLUDED. Heating is a bill.

[givemesteel]

Before anyone feels too sorry for this tenant £350 for a room in Greenwich is an absolute steal. You're probably undercharging by £200-300 a month depending on where you are and the size of room.

Of course you should pay the bill if that is your contract but I'd be significantly increasing the amount of rent each month. But if you do that I think you need to agree on a compromise on heating, a couple of hours in the morning and 3-4 in the evening is normal. But the increased rent will more than pay for that.

[user1470055656]

Some people just astound me. OP you are the CF here...

[LanguidLobster]

Chocoholics

Yeah I get fed up of some of them at times as well

[ChocoholicsAsylum]

Ok well I was asuming everything had been split or what not and this was 25 on top of everthing. Tbh I dont care much, id never have a lodger as I hate people