Lodger cranks up heating to 25

[Mumskisail]

My partner left a few years ago and I had time off work for burnout and now in a less stressful (lower paid) role so on a tight income. I rent 2 rooms to help cover my mortgage and bills (about 40%).

The house is heated to 18-21 degrees depending on the room / personal preference, using Nest thermostats (called TRVs) on each radiator. It is lowered at 11pm until 5.30am, meaning it's warm for about an hour after going to bed and it heats up for a few hours before the lodgers get up.

One lodger is very happy with this and prefers a cooler room so sometimes turns it down.

But the other constantly overrides this and heats his room to 25. When I've tried to speak to him about it he answers his door in a tshirt and is only wearing normal socks. The rest of us have warm clothes, slippers and big fleece hoodies on winter evenings, and use fleece blankets to stay cosy on the sofa.

We seem to be in a battle of wills. He goes along with my suggested times and temperatures in discussion but has done everything including claiming his radiator and the TRV don't work, disconnecting the TRV but trying to make it look as though it's connected, saying it won't connect and pulling the little pin out with a pair of pliers to force the heating on. He leaves it on all night. The thermostat when it's reading says 25-26.

The other issue in this old Victorian house is that the heating pumping out all night causes banging in the pipes and keeps myself and the other lodger awake, or wakes us up in the night. So we prefer lots of layers and a quiet night unless we're in a cold patch.

I've offered him extra duvets and blankets (his looks thin) and a hot water bottle but he refuses. I've asked him to discuss the times he wants the heating on and to talk about the heating.

He says the temperature reading is wrong so I gave him a wireless thermostat which showed the same temperature as the TRV and showed it was correct.

I've explained about the increasing cost of gas and showed him my bills. I've showed him the temperatures in the rest of the house and that we are comfortable.

This is the second winter we are having these issues. Last year his sister died so I just kept my mouth shut and left him to it but I felt really unhappy.

Do I just suck it up, winter will be over soon and I'm not making a loss. Or do I tell him it's not acceptable and ask him to leave? Or is it better the devil you know, this is the only issue.

A friend suggested a locking cover to go over the TRV, I'm so irritated it's tempting but is that really ethical? And anyway would he then just get an electric heater? I don't go into his room and I would never snoop.

He's a 44 year old man having to rent a room and it must be his sanctuary and private space.

Do I just let him win the battle and chill out?

That’s a very good point but the same people would probably argue it was reasonable and also that the sky is green and the grass is red given half the chance.

I am not sure why some posters seem to think that OP has some sort of duty to provide accommodation in her own home with decreasingly little benefit to her.

I do tend to agree with those saying he's taking the piss. At the end of the day it's my home and I have the right to live with people who are honest and treat me and my home with respect.

His behaviour is creating a bad atmosphere, my other lodger feels that too. I don't feel comfortable when he enters the house and notice I'm feeling anxious when I hear the door go in case it's him so I think he needs to find somewhere else to live.

I'll suggest a compromise of 23 degrees for the times mentioned provided the TRV stays on and is connected, and provided he is civil. If he can't do that he needs to leave as soon as possible and I'll manage.

In the meantime I'll look out for a better lodger... he's on 4 weeks notice so if I find someone suitable he needs to go.

It's always been a happy friendly house but it doesn't feel great right now.

@DesertIslandCondiment Being a landlord is not the same as being a mum. You can't tell him what to wear. It is none of the landlords business.
You can say when letting a room - this is how the house operates, these are the rules, and these are temperatures - are you happy to abide by this if you have the room. Communication before a room is officially let is key.

No you absolutely don’t.
Ignore this OP.
He can be gone by the weekend if she wants him to be.

OP isn’t a landlord.
He is a lodger!

Completely different.

We had a lodger in our spare room before we had a baby - and she played really loud music up until 11.30pm at night. I was pregnant and tired and eventually we just said that clearly our lifestyles weren't compatible, and perhaps she would be happier in another lodging. We gave her 4 weeks' notice. It doesn't have to be acrimonious, though it sounds like it might be, in this case.

Yeah, you're wrong. But I think OP has the intelligence to know this.

The irony of this post. You are wrong on the law, it’s not usually 28 days, it’s the length of a rental payment period. Could be as short as a week. OP has obviously agreed one upfront but the law is here if you need it:

www.gov.uk/rent-room-in-your-home/ending-a-letting

If it was just a question of him having different temperature preferences, I'd just suggest putting his rent up and leaving him to it. The fiddling with the radiator and refusing to talk to you makes it seem more problematic. I think I'd give him notice and put a bit in the contract with a new lodger about the need to pay extra if they want their room warmer than the rest of the house.

I know it is a lodger and OP is the landlord for her lodger. It is legally different because they share the same house. But she can't put him out on the street the next day legally.

If he pays rent by the week, then he should get a week's notice. If he pays monthly, he should get a month's notice. Have a look here:

www.gov.uk/rent-room-in-your-home/ending-a-letting

Of course if something very serious happened - for example if a lodger had been violent and the police had been called - then they could be made to leave sooner. But generally speaking they should get notice that is same as the period they're paying rent.

I understand you can't tell him what to wear (you can suggest it to help him not be cold).

I understand about communication.

He is being a CF though. It is common sense to wear a jumper in winter. He is being awkward. I would get rid.

C'mon. He likes it warmer, absolutely no point in saying "its ridiculous, no need to bla, just wear layers etc". He just wants it at 25C in his room, full stop.
BUT! He definitely should pay for it, probably extra £100 a month to compensate for increased bills.

For this reason alone I would be suggesting you ask him to leave. It's not even so much the detail of the temperature as how he is responding to this kind of issue, which will inevitably crop up when sharing a house.

So are all the radiators higher? If not, can’t you turn room thermostats down to level out the temp/cost?

Or instead of having it moving between 18-21, keep it at 21.
18 is pretty chilly in cold weather.

Give him notice. Think it a week for a lodger

Absolutely get rid, @Mumskisail. This person is not only disrespectful of you with the deceit and lack of concern for your bills but he sounds completely self-centred. The fact it is now affecting your own enjoyment of your house means you have to ask him to leave before things get worse - that is 100% not ok

Mumsnet is full of people giving the wrong legal advice.

"How to end an excluded tenancy or licence
If your lodger is an excluded occupier, you only need to give them ‘reasonable notice’ to quit.
Usually this means the length of the rental payment period – so if your lodger pays rent weekly, you need to give 1 week’s notice. The notice does not have to be in writing.
You can then change the locks on your lodger’s rooms, even if they’ve left their belongings there. You must give their belongings back to them.
How to end a non-excluded tenancy or licence
If your lodger is an occupier with basic protection, you must serve them a written ‘notice to quit’. The notice period will depend on the tenancy or agreement, but is often at least 4 weeks.
If your lodger does not leave, you’ll need to get a court order to evict them."

www.gov.uk/rent-room-in-your-home/ending-a-letting#:~:text=If%20your%20lodger%20is%20an%20occupier%20with%20basic%20protection%2C%20you,court%20order%20to%20evict%20them.

No I am not.
Very easily looked up.
Excluded occupier or not.

If a lodger pays his rent weekly, then a weeks notice is deemed enough.

Right there on lots website include gov and shelter.

What you should do and what you are obliged to do, are two different things entirely.

He is rude, deceptive and is costing her money.

He can go and stay in a premier in until he finds new lodgings.

This must surely be an issue in all properties where are bills are included in the rent, what was workable prior to the current increases looks very different now that heating is so much more expensive 😕

If he's stressing you out and making you feel anxious in your own home, he needs to go, regardless of him taking the piss with the heating and potentially damaging your radiator/thermostat.

Give him his 4 weeks notice.

And no one would rent a room if legally you could put someone out on the street with zero notice. There are notice periods as I and someone else has posted. Just as a tenant has to give notice.