lodger making my life difficult

[Landladyissues]

about a month ago I came down to find my freezer door wide open. I opened the doors to check that not too much damage had been done - I am the only person who used the freezer. My Polish lodger had helped herself to frozen black cherries and raspberries. The packets were in the bin. I had noticed that she had previously taken odd bananas and used washing tabs and conditioner but hadn't made a fuss. They were small items. She had been with me for 5 months. Anyway, her room is above the kitchen and the following morning she complained that had woken her up in the morning by noise in the kitchen. I explained why that morning I had had to check the freezer contents etc. She immediately deflected by saying that her room was too cold. The house is centrally heated and there is a radiator in her room. The room is also above an aga - but apparently the windows are too big and the laid wooden floor is cold. She has a rug!! I said that was she really telling me that the room wasn't suitable for her needs - she said yes, and followed this up with a lot of texts saying that I was keeping her in an unheated room etc. Then she asked for a reference which I gave - saying that she paid her rent and kept the room clean and tidy. She said that she wanted to give notice for 30th November - her next rent due date - but she didn't know how long it would take for her to find a room so it might take a bit longer. she told my other lodger it would take 6 months for me to get her out. I took legal advice and gave her a month notice. Since then she has been generally a nuisance - minor issues. Small scratches on the back door glass (which was newly put in) constant use of the washing machine - leaving the washing in while she goes off on her motorbike - today she rode off leaving a single item in the washing machine on 'hold' blocking it for everyone else.

I know she is just trying to needle me - and use as much of my electricity as possible - I am counting the days for her departure and have already arranged for the locks to be changed.

and I thought I'd sound off here!!!

She’s a lodger. You can get rid of her at any time. Give her 48 hours and mean it. Refund the rent she’s paid in advance to cover any time after that. She’s a Twat, treat her as such.

My partner had a nightmare tenant years ago, as difficult as it is, follow the correct legal procedures to get her out.
It sounds like she’s planned this from the start i.e small petty complaints, getting a reference first. There will always be some tenants who take the piss.
Sit tight.

Surely when the lodger came to live at yours there was an agreement between you for notice in place OP?
I would have turned the washing machine off and removed her item and left it in a bowl for her to find when she returned. Putting one item in a machine can cause damage to the drum.
With people like this living in your home it must be difficult to go out? I would not put up with nonsense like this from a paying guest

She is a lodger not a tenant so get rid of her instead of waiting

Just realised you said lodger. So maybe as the above poster has mentioned, it might be easier to get rid. If she has legal tenancy agreement then it’s not as straight forward.

She sounds like a nightmare but the relevance of her being Polish evades me.

She's a lodger not a Tennant. You can get rid of her anytime.

Personally I'd give her till Monday and change the locks.

Like everyone else has said, don't give her until the end of the month. Tell her she's gone on Monday! She can piss off and waste someone else's electricity

Agree with the above posters
She sounds like a nightmare
I think you should get legal advice, follow correct procedures and get her out as quick as possible

I am really sorry to hear this.

I'd mention that when faced with a written reference, most competent landlords will contact the referee direct to confirm it's genuine and have a personal chat.

I think it depends if you have a signed tenancy agreement or a signed licence agreement in place. Under usual circumstances (at least here in ni) tenancy agreements usually allow for one months notice but licence agreements allow for much shorter notice periods. I would get some legal advice to make sure you are following proper process. I know here (your area might be different) that if a tenant/lodger doesn't leave on the date of their notice expiring you legally cannot just change the locks and kick them out - it needs to go through court and that usually does take approx 6 months. So it sounds like she's looked into this. If you change the locks and throw her stuff out on 30th Nov you could be liable for harassment and it could be seen as an illegal eviction and she could actually take you to court. So definitely get yourself some legal advice. I'd also keep a record and photos of any damage and evidence that she was the one who caused the damage.

That’s not the situation here in England, (assuming the OP is in England) lodgers have very few rights here. That sounds very hard, having to keep someone you don’t want in your home.

What country do you live in OP? The law is different in each country.

Pack her stuff and Chuck her out!
What’s she going to do.

She doesn’t have to keep her there!
Throw her out.

Don’t wait. Dump her stuff outside and change the locks. Job done.

If she wanted time to find somewhere else she shouldn’t have been such a dick.

This!
So many people giving legal advice when you do not even know where the OP lives and so which laws apply.

Yes, I was replying to a poster in a different country to me.

Houses in Eastern Europe, especially Poland tend to be heated to what I find uncomfortable levels (25+ degrees). It can be a bit of a shock when they come over to the UK with our much colder houses.

Then again the -10 to -20 degree winter weather in Poland is always a shock to me.

Lodgers don't have the right to make a nuisance of themselves like this as it's your home too and your rights to enjoy your own home trump any of the rights she might have had as a tenant. She doesn't get to wait for an eviction order. So long as you don't prevent her from taking her posessions with her, you can get her gone whenever. I have been a lodger and was always very respectful that it was someone else's home first and foremost. She doesn't sound temperamentally suited to being a lodger.

She's seen that you're soft and she's taking advantage. I bet she'll cause further damage to your home before she goes. Id have given her 3 days max in the 1st place. She's a lodger you live in same household so she does not have tenancy rights.

If she is definitely a lodger, not a tenant, you can kick her out whenever you like. Tell her the situation has become untenable and she's got 48 hours (or whatever) before you change the locks.

If she shares common parts of the house with you she is a lodger and only has to be given 'reasonable notice'. If she is seriously misbehaving then that could even be immediate notice. The law recognizes that resident landlords are vulnerable, so if it is a question of you feeling threatened then you can tell the lodger to go, now. If you refund rent up to her last day then she can't really complain. Put it in writing, tell her when she has to go and make it plain that she is not keeping to the verbal agreement you made when you discussed the rules of her living in your home.

@loislovesstewie gives the correct advice if you are in England. The notice only needs to be reasonable, it sounds like she is confused and thinks she has a tenancy.

It is generally assumed that 'reasonable' notice for a lodger is the same length of time as the interval that she pays her rent - so a month if she pays monthly or a week if she pays weekly. This is not however protected in law so if her behaviour is becoming really difficult you are within your rights to give less notice.

If you have served her notice already then I'd be inclined to sit it out until that expires but lay the groundwork by being very clear that she will be moving out on/by that date and there won't be an extension. She needs to be clear that she must prioritise finding somewhere as the lodger/homeowner relationship has broken down irretrievably and she doesn't have the luxury of finding somewhere at her own pace.

I assume the washing machine is on rinse hold, press play, let it finish and take her item out. Use the washing machine. I think she is making the situation worse for herself and depending on what agreement you signed with her, I would be explaining in writing that she is making it harder for everyone else in the property and reissue a much shorter notice. You don't have to take this shit from someone living in your home.