To finally evict my lodger, even though she will end up homelss

[Throwawaytheatre]

Hi all,

Posting more for advice, but a little bit of aibu too...

Currently lying awake with worry and anxiety despite having to be up for work in less than four hours.

I’ve posted about my lodger before. She’s an old friend of mine and things started well. However; the past few months have been hard work. The first issue I had with her was when she had her partner at the time stay over. I told her I didn’t want men I didn’t know in the house and her partner in particular made me very uncomfortable. She had him stay over anyway and then after I had a chat with her to let her know how this made me feel, she had him over till one in the morning about a month ago.

She has since broken up with him, and this evening went on a date with a man she met online. She does not know this man at all and he is in his 30s (we are both 20s). She then brought him home and woke me up by having very loud sex. I have been unable to fall back asleep as I have been quite anxious about having a strange man she’s known for a few hours in the house. He could be anyone for all I know.

Just before Xmas she quit her job as she couldn’t hack doing nights anymore. She is now on UC; and is behind on rent. Our agreement says rent is weekly but she pays monthly in arrears if you see what I mean? She missed the Jan payment and has told me she will be unable to pay any extra this month (so assuming she pays be next week as normal she will still be four weeks behind ifyswim?) - I will add she always seems to have money for tobacco but that’s by-the-by I suppose.

As she is not working she has the heating on all day and my last gas bill was over £100.

The main reason I want to end the agreement is because she obviously doesn’t respect that this is my home and property and doesn’t respect that I don’t want strange men in it! However, I wonder if I would be better off making the arrears the “official” reason?

Do I have to give her a months notice or just a week - the agreement is weekly rent (in writing) but as I say she pays monthly.

The only thing is if I evicted her, she would have no where to go; she has no family local apart from her mum and the whole reason she ended up here is cos her mum threw her out. But I can’t keep living like this!

Thanks.

actually, they would consider it reasonable to tell CF to leave immediately, given the OP's feeling threatened by an unwelcome person in her house throughout the night, the noise and total disregard for the householder.

So you think if a landlord phoned them to say they weren't happy about their lodger having an overnight guest the night before they return up and forcibly remove the lodger that night? I very much doubt it.

O what possible grounds could the lodger expect to get time in court about any trumped-up complaint she may have?

I wasn't suggesting that they would get time in court for that alone. I am just pointing out that it wouldn't be considered reasonable to force her out that night if it came up in court for any reason e.g. if OP threw her stuff out tonight try to forcibly remove her in any other way .

Been in a very similar position, in the end I had to
ask her to leave as I felt uncomfortable in my home and I decided at the time I would rather cut back and enjoy my home than the small financial contribution she was making.
I was quite clear 1) I didn’t want to live with a couple 2) I didn’t want random men at my home.
One weekend I came home to a stranger waiting in my home for her to return. I have never had a housemate or lodger since!

wood are you being deliberately obtuse or just hard of understanding. OP is not a landlord, the CF isn't a tenant.

They (by 'they' I assume you mean the legal profession) wouldn't get involved with this. you mentioned the CF suing, firstly she couldn't afford it and if she could she doesn't have a case.

OTOH if a householder does not give permission or removes permission for someone (not a tenant within notice) to be in their property, they have to leave.

She is majorly taking the piss and has been doing for months. 25 quid a week? And she can't even manage that? It's your home, OP. You are not renting some random house together. She is living in your home, that you bought, with your own money. She is contributing nothing to you. It is the end of Feb, she hasn't given you a penny since Christmas and you will not see another penny from her. She is a freeloading user who sees you as a soft touch. "Her bedroom" is not "her" bedroom. It is a bedroom in your house that you are letting her sleep in.

I would not go to a friend's house and take over. I would not presume to bring people back without guest checking with the owner of the house. This is your house, not a rented property.

If she had been a reasonable lodger I would have given her reasonable notice. The fact that she hasn't contributed a penny in almost 2 months means she is now just an unwelcome guest who has long out stayed their welcome.

"Reasonable notice" no longer applies. Tell her to leave, preferably tomorrow, but definitely by Friday.

If she's not gone by Friday send her to the shops and change your locks!

@woodchuck99 you don't know what you are talking about.

Oh for God's sake she's a lodger not a tenant

If the situation was reversed she would have no trouble evicting you. She does not think about you. So don't worry too much, she will sort herself out and you will be doing both of you a favour by ending this.

She's a lodger not a tenant cancel the cheque

wood are you being deliberately obtuse or just hard of understanding. OP is not a landlord, the CF isn't a tenant.

OP is a landlord. CF is a lodger.

They (by 'they' I assume you mean the legal profession) wouldn't get involved with this. you mentioned the CF suing, firstly she couldn't afford it and if she could she doesn't have a case.

I'm not sure what you're referring to. I said the police wouldn't help if she wanted to evict the lodger tonight. She would have to give reasonable notice and the lodger would have to refuse to leave despite that. As for suing I was referring to the fact that if she threw the lodgers stuff out tonight and it got damaged she could sue.

£100 a month is not rent but a contribution to bills, (gas, electric, water, council tax, TV license etc). She has essentially been staying for free!

You say your lodger is currently on UC.
I would explain the situation to her and ask her to share her situation with her Work Coach at the Jobcentre. The Work Coach should then be able to complete a 'Duty To Refer' on her behalf (providing she gives them consent to do so).

woodchuck youre talking nonsense

theres a case where a lodger was thrown out no notice whatsoever the police said nothing they could do to help they didnt have any rights

hope it goes ok op

£25 a week??? Well, she has enough to pay that no matter what she says. She just hasn't prioritised it and isn't going to.

Oh for God's sake she's a lodger not a tenant

Over God's sake. Everybody knows she is a lodger not a tenant.

woodchuck youre talking nonsense

About what? That you should give reasonable notice to lodgers and that it could be pretty difficult to force them out without it. How exactly do you think OP could get the lodger out tonight she didn't want to go?

FFS. OP’s last update:

She is being given notice tonight when I get home from work.

Just in case that wasn’t clear:

SHE IS BEING GIVEN NOTICE

Seems like some people could start an argument in a paper bag.

@woodchuck99, the right to notice is contractual. If you go into fundamental breach of the contract, you lose the right to all benefits under the contract, including the notice period. Being almost two months in arrears plus breaking the term about guests is certainly sufficient to qualify.

Woodchuck, the lodger is hardly going to sue when the inevitable result would be a counterclaim for rent arrears plus any other damage which might come to light when she leaves.

woodchuck Here's how I've done it in the past.
'I'm sorry, this isn't working for me. I've repeatedly explained x,y, and z to you and you've ignored me. Furthermore, you haven't paid the rent. You need to leave now.'
'But I have nowhere to go.'
'Please pack your belongings and leave.' (repeat as many times as necessary.
I made sure I had a friend there when I did it in case things got nasty. I did not do it lightly - it was a last resort. I changed the barrel of my Yale lock afterwards.
The moment a lodger makes you feel uncomfortable or endangered in your own home is the moment they must leave. It's quite simple.

woodchuck99 your posts are really making me laugh now, no one can be this obtuse, so I think you are just trying to derail the thread with your comments for reasons best known to yourself

Woodchuck..are you the cf sofa surfer (not lodger and not paid). The judge would laugh and ask cf to give op her rent. Op...id be tempted now to just change locks. This ex friend is not worth it. At least you sleep tonight without sex soundtrack

the right to notice is contractual. If you go into fundamental breach of the contract, you lose the right to all benefits under the contract, including the notice period. Being almost two months in arrears plus breaking the term about guests is certainly sufficient to qualify.

Unless the law has changed since I was a landlord, that's not correct. You still have to give notice and can't throw them out that night as suggested by some posters.

This is not a lodger, this is a pisstaking friend!!!

good luck op