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!!!

Yes, but the minute the "anti racism brigade" realised that they could hate on the OP while virtue signalling, there was no going back.

Agee's @Rippled

Some of us actually work heavily under The Equality Act and full understanding of what racism is. We record ethnicity and cultural data and mention this in reports as it is background info that may help understand someone's context or different needs or views after asking them their perspectives on issues they discuss
The same way mentioning someone is disabled or gender etc. is not ableist or sexist or phobic in some way. It's an aid to further wider understanding if it becomes relevant later on to specific areas or issues

Agree @Rippled
Sorry not "Agee"!! My phone is making up autocorrects now

So according to the OP, the lodger gave notice of her moving out at the end of the month. The OP herself then confirmed that, and also gave notice. If she already told the landlady she'd be leaving then, it's entirely reasonable for the landlady to arrange (a) for a new lodger to love in immediately after that date, or (b) for a cleaner and/or decorator to come in to refresh the room

What we still don't know are the terms of the licence agreement made when this woman first moved in - either orally or in writing?

It's quite standard to include a clause explaining what sorts of behaviour would be considered unacceptable, and potentially lead to instant termination of the agreement. If she has broken any of those conditions then it could well be 'reasonable' to make her leave earlier than the 30th.

The OP would be well advised to put the terms of the licence in writing so things are clear in future/ with any other lodgers.

There is a good Facebook group for landlords and tenants that has some people who are professionals in the field. They give good advice

fb link

I’m getting a lodger as of 2023 start.

I’ll probably look at part time lodgers (eg go home at weekends) or foreign language students as I’m fairly close by train for them to commute to a central London language school.

I don’t want to downsize, the hassle of selling etc.

Plus my mum, nana and family have had lodgers and foreign students so have had experience with them.

Ok, I have met many English people who do those very things that you describe, as I have known people from many other nationalities doing the same thing. Leaving the lights and putting only one item of clothing into into the washing machine are not cultural traits! What nonsense.

Also communism ended in1989 and Poland is one of the more expensive Eastern European countries, where the government has stopped subsidising heating costs 24 years ago!! So people in places like Poland are very mindful of heating costs and like most other people in the world they try not to be wasteful as it’s expensive!

*Goingtogetreturns
*
The top tip from legislation is do a rolling contract month by month and make sure you keep it at excluded occupier ie you have right as resident landlord to enter their room without permission when out see the terms for that and put in behaviour break clause for anti social behaviour
See the weblinks

Pack her things up and put them outside the door when you see her coming home.

She's deliberately damaging your property.

SO easy to forget when you get distracted by a noise outside, isn't it?

How offensive are you?! This is bad.

THIS ⬆

Reported, shocking!

Some useful knowledge here for anyone grappling with a lodger:

www.lodgerguide.co.uk/what-is-a-lodger/

I would have her out. If you hadn't noticed the freezer all the food in there could have been spoiled and wasted. Putting the washing machine on and going out is the main cause of fires in the home. I had a fire safety visit from our local fire brigade. I thought it was just dryers. But said never to put the washing machine on and go to bed or before going out.

Is being Polish relevant?

Have to admit - if stealing food from fridges is a Polish habit, then almost every workplace I have been in has had a closet Pole.

IME it's just an *rsehole habit - some people just think that if there is something there they want then they are entitled to take it. This applies to food from fridges, sweets in desk drawers and gifts from grateful patients (One colleague of mine actually unwrapped and ate part of a gift box of chocolate that had been left on my desk, with a card, when I was out of the building!), as well as more pedestrian things like mugs, staplers and pens.

Its a PITA, but especially in your own home where you should be able to think- "Oooh - I fancy some of those berries made into a smoothie" (or whatever), and know that they are there. Get rid of her.

Understand your irritation, although my issue with my lodger is slightly different in that he does too much & Im feeling slightly smothered. However he’s a lovely guy.

One tip, if I may, for those things that don’t really matter try not to show it bothers you.

Good luck

I think "Fair notice" is for when the lodger is being fair.
If they are causing nuisance then that is out and you can evict at whatever notice you wish.
I would make sure you are at home for the notice period and have someone there with you. Good luck. You shouldn't have to but up with crap in your own home
(I have been a lodger for many years in the past and wouldn't have tried any of that shit).

@Landladyissues I feel for you. Having lodgers can be incredibly difficult and I've also just had to ask mine to leave after similar and worse behaviour. 😞 And asking someone to leave is so stressful in itself.

Well done for addressing it as soon as you have. I shrugged off far too many things before one became very aggressive over nothing and I had to ask them to go (I also had a thead here a couple of months ago when one semi moved her boyfriend in without asking).

Keep us posted on whether she leaves in her notice period as I'm also nervously waiting to see if mine leave on time and pay the last bit of rent.

Feel free to message me if you want a chat or a sounding board. It's nice to know I'm not the only one going through this right now😩

OP, she could be very damaging to you as well as your property. Be very careful, photograph everything she has damaged and it may well be that she does not get the deposit back. Log everything including abusive words.

Polish is not a race. Xenophobia is the correct term.

And I did not detect any xenophobia from the OP’s post. Just contextual info.

Being Polish is relevant. Polish people are used to homes heated to care-home temperatures during winter. Finns too, for what it's worth.

Years ago I let my flat to a Polish couple who complained about not being able to heat the place properly (it had central heating and a new boiler) when winter arrived. I sent an engineer who assured me that he'd run the heating and put the thermostat at 22 degrees which he regarded as more than adequate. Still the complaints kept coming, so I went to check the place out myself on a frosty Saturday morning. They opened the door in t-shirts and the heat hit me like a hairdryer. They'd got the thermostat at 25 degrees and also had plug-in electric heaters. The following year they asked for a rent reduction over winter to take into account the fact that (in 2001) they were racking up gas and electricity bills of £400 a month. They owed £3k to the utility company when they left: I know because I kept getting their bills. They were greatly missed by the owners of the flat above, who had been able to get away without heating for two winters.