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Original poster

Houseshare problems - tenant's new boyfriend refuses to leave

647 replies

FirstAvenue · 15/03/2021 16:05

Name changed, looking for advice here. I'll try not to go into too much detail.

I own a five bedroom house in a town a fair distance away and I let out four bedrooms under Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreements. It's an all female house as I have found that way it is generally easier to manage from a distance.

I do everything as professionally as possible, I advertise empty rooms, take references from applicants, tell them the house rules and give the tenants a proper tenancy agreement which states that they have exclusive use of their bedroom and shared use of the communal areas.

One of the House rules states: "Your room is for single occupancy only and boyfriends / girlfriends etc. should only really stay every other weekend." Now it's not that I am a prude, it's just that I have learnt from previous bad experiences that the house becomes overcrowded and untidy and generally starts to smell if the house is over-occupied. It's very hard to let a room if the house smells.

One of the girls, let's call her Ann, got a new boyfriend about six months ago and recently he appears to have "moved in". She says he has not and that she is aware of the house rules, but he is "always there" despite him living nearby. Unfortunately it is not just a case of staying in her room, he seems to spend most of the time watching TV in the living room and has even set his laptop up in the kitchen.

One of the other girls, let's call her Betsy, has complained about his continued presence. Betsy says that she took the house on the basis that it was girls only, and that she feels uncomfortable with him being in the house all the time in his dressing gown.

I've asked Ann to stick to the house rules and to make sure he only stays ever other weekend, and she has at various times in the last two weeks a) denied that he stays there in the week, b) says he does stay over sometimes but the other girls don't mind, or c) says that he is her partner and she wants him to stay as much as possible. It is clear that she is not telling the truth.

Betsy however made a further formal complaint to me last Tuesday, and after a number of texts and phone calls to Ann during which time the boyfriend did not depart, last Friday I had to write an email to Ann asking her to make sure that house rules are obeyed and that her boyfriend only stays two nights a fortnight. I did not get a reply.

Betsy went away for the weekend but when she arrived back last night the boyfriend was there and he was still there this morning. She is now dreading going back home this evening, and it is my understanding that he has now stayed there for 11 consecutive nights. Betsy is now asking me what she should do if he is still there this evening.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to resolve this?

OP posts:
DarthWeeder · 15/03/2021 16:26

I would be at the house this evening to personally serve Ann her notice.

I would be there this evening and every evening, telling her boyfriend to get out right now, until they get the message.

Basically I would make Ann and her boyfriend as uncomfortable as they don’t give a shit about making the other tenants feel.

I would gather the other women together and tell them that you’ve given Ann notice and explained to her and her boyfriend in words of two syllables or less so that they clearly understand, that he is no longer welcome at the house, and if he is there and they feel in any way uncomfortable or threatened they are to call the police.

If you’re not willing to do that then you need to at least offer the other women a rent reduction until they inevitably find elsewhere to live.

Osirus · 15/03/2021 16:26

Ignore the second point in my first post; I changed my mind but for some reason didn’t delete the whole sentence!

Iloveacurry · 15/03/2021 16:26

If she’s breaking the contract, surely you can get her to leave sooner than 6 months?

DinoHat · 15/03/2021 16:28

You’ve dropped the ball a little letting them occupy under tenancy agreements and not licence agreements. From here forward I’d recommend you use a licence agreement and say you’ll clean the room/have a cleaner once a week etc.

Do you have any access to the room? If not and Ann has exclusive occupation then yes, you need to follow Covid rules. Now Ann is a tenant but BF is NOT and you’re doing at complete liberty to ask him to leave/remind Ann he is not welcome.

AnyFucker · 15/03/2021 16:29

Give Ann her 6 months notice. You can always cancel it if she normally a good tenant and comes to her senses

Tell the bf he leaves or the police are called. Inform Betsy of this plan and tell her to stay out of it but if she feels threatened by either of them to call the police.

That should sharpen Ann’s mind. If it becomes clear she is being coerced or threatened herself, call the police.

BoomBoomsCousin · 15/03/2021 16:29

I don't think there is a lot you can do other than give Anne notice.

The police won't kick him out if he isn't committing a crime or breaching the peace. This is a civil matter and all you can really do is pursue action against Anne.

takethedeviledeggs · 15/03/2021 16:30

Your issue here is that you are letting somewhere too far away to be of practical support which isn't fair on your tenants.
You need to give her notice but you also need to make sure the boyfriend leaves. Even if you call the police, you still need to be on hand to support the other tenants with this.

JustLyra · 15/03/2021 16:32

@Iloveacurry

If she’s breaking the contract, surely you can get her to leave sooner than 6 months?
No, the OP still has to go through the legal procedure to evict.

It should also be noted that 6 months is the notice. If Ann does not leave then it will be considerably longer than that because the OP will then, at that point, have to go to court for eviction proceedings.

LaurieFairyCake · 15/03/2021 16:33

I'd go round there every day during the day and tell him to leave if you're allowed to visit and inspect the communal areas

He is not your tenant - you can make his life as unpleasant as you want. Take a few people with you to make sure he leaves.

mumwon · 15/03/2021 16:34

mention to the gf tenant that this is her final notice - either bf moves out or you will be giving her her notice (as soon as you are allowed- Actually this MIGHT slip into antisocial behaviour by breaking her tenancy agreement & covid rules which MIGHT mean section 8 which MIGHT hypothetically mean you could give her her notice. Hypothetically you could say that unless he moves out you will be treating this as antisocial behaviour etc etc etc.
A little threat might frighten her into making bf move out - you will have to keep checking.
This won't improve the relationships in the house
As a house of multi occupancy aren't there legal restrictions on number of tenants?

Graphista · 15/03/2021 16:34

There are exemptions to the covid eviction ban

These include anti social behaviour, domestic abuse and extreme rent arrears.

I would think you have some kind of landlord insurance? I'd think as it's an hmo you're required to? Does this not include access to legal advice?

I think domestic abuse laws can also apply to albeit non paying/trespassing "lodgers"? As in Betsy is the victim of harassment in her own home.

I'd certainly think harassment and intimidation laws would cover and maybe as pps said trespass

Again I would recommend getting legal advice on this

Less legal - have you any big burly blokes you could take with you to visit with and have a meeting with all the tenants and this chancer and you tell them with bbb present that you will not be standing for this, that the terms of the tenancy must be adhered to and you WILL be keeping a close eye and taking action where necessary

That's what I'd do tbh

Fairly sure you have a duty of care to Betsy too

And I'd still immediately move to evict Ann too, she's taken the piss and lied to you and put her housemate in an awful position

Tinydinosaur · 15/03/2021 16:34

You need to give Ann notice to leave. Or Betsy will, and should, then you'll be left with one shit tenant and struggle to let the other room.
You need to put your foot down firmly with this, I'd be so pissed off to be Betsy right now.

heymammy · 15/03/2021 16:34

As other posters have said, go round tonight and kick him out with police help if he refuses to leave but I would also be firming up your tenancy agreement, which is too wishy washy, and state "any visitors may only stay overnight for two nights per fortnight unless with prior agreement from the landlord"

And get the current tenants to sign the update.

mumwon · 15/03/2021 16:35

section 8 is not included in the covid rules for unsocial behaviour

Felifox · 15/03/2021 16:35

OP You say that you let your house out on a professional basis so would you have legal insurance on your landlord's house insurance. That would be my first port of call.

I I understand the point of view from Betsy and indeed your other tenants. There is a vast difference between 8 and 4 people. Also if you are working all week when you want to relax and enjoy your space having more people may not be convenient

2bazookas · 15/03/2021 16:36

You give the BF written instructions to vacate your property immediately and not return . Then you give Ann notice to quit for breaching her tenancy.

Moelwynbach · 15/03/2021 16:38

Give Ann notice. Ring Police about the boyfriend.

SofiaMichelle · 15/03/2021 16:38

Could you call the police and say he trespassing?

Trespass is not a criminal offence.

This is a tricky one, OP, because the usual recourse you'd have is serving Ann with notice to leave but this ridiculous COVID legislation precludes that for now, as I think you've recognised.

There's no crime being committed so people suggesting involving the police are somewhat wide of the mark.

Does the letting agreement say anything regarding visitors? You've mentioned the "shouldn't really stay..." house rule - which in itself is left open to interpretation by the 'really' - but it's what's in the agreement that matters.

That said, it's still going to be a problem trying to evict anyone at the moment.

BashfulClam · 15/03/2021 16:39

I agree go over and kick him out. Tell him and his girlfriend that if he stays again you will have the police remove him. Show them you aren’t a pushover and give notice to Anne to ship out!

Time4change2018 · 15/03/2021 16:39

Just out of curiosity is the 5th bedroom vacant ? Could you temporarily move in if it's too far for daily checks ?
Ann needs to feel the heat of your anger and sort this out. Do you have friends local to the house that could attend with you ?

tikha · 15/03/2021 16:41

Covid rules might mean boyfriend breaking them. Is he even allowed overnight at someone else's place

TonTonMacoute · 15/03/2021 16:42

Well there's not much you can do tonight, is there?

Are Ann and Betsy the only tenants in the house at the moment?

How far away is the house from where you are?

I think you need to go there in the evening and read Ann the riot act. If you can't go today then ASAP

silverbubbles · 15/03/2021 16:42

Not quite sure why you need to ask?

Serve Ann her notice at once and get police involved at once to get the man out as it is likely that Ann will continue to allow him in the house whilst she is serving her notice.

Eckhart · 15/03/2021 16:43

@4Mongrels

Tell Ann that if he’s still there tonight you will be involving the Police and give her notice at the same time.
This. Ann needs to recognise that there are consequences, and Betsy needs to know you're taking this seriously.
Finfintytint · 15/03/2021 16:45

Start billing Ann for rent for the extra “ tenant”. My friend’s landlord charged for any nights a friend overstayed. This was early nineties though.