Tenant is not pulling weight in terms of chores, cleaning

[Scorcher79]

Hi all,
Find this forum invaluable for totally objective advice/perspective so I thought I'd share a wee issue which is bothering me and perhaps others might be able to advise on?

Basically, I have a tenant renting a room from me for almost 2 years. She's a lovely girl and we get on very well but I fear I have been a little too nice and now I notice she's doing the bare minimum in terms of cleaning and household chores. She also doesn't contribute to bills which are increasing now with the cost of living...

The trouble is I hate confrontation and don't want to make things awkward or uncomfortable for either of us so I'm not sure how to deal with this? Any advice? It's my first time ever being a "landlady" as I only bought the house two years ago...

Any tips greatly appreciated!

It sounds more like she's a lodger, not a tenant. Surely she just pays whatever the room rate was set at, as this is usually inclusive of their share of bills.

She’s a lodger not a tenant.

what does your lodger agreement say? Normally bills are included in the room rate and cleaning would be expected to be her room/private bathroom if she has one and any mess she actually creates in shared areas nothing more.

What does your rental agreement say? Doesn't her rent cover her share of the bills?

Lodgers don't pay towards bills, nor particularly clean beyond their own spaces and a reasonable amount if chipping in.

Sounds like you have a lodger, not a tenant. Lodgers generally keep their room clean (or not, as they wish) and tidy up after themselves in the kitchen, but aren’t typically responsible for cleaning shared spaces.

What your lodger pays for bills should be in your contract. If your agreement doesn’t cover sharing bills then they’re included in her rent.

Basically, unless you stipulated this stuff up front then YABU.

She isn't a tenant. She's a lodger and she doesn't have to clean your house. She is only responsible for her room and cleaning up after herself.

Where do you live @Scorcher79 ? The law is different in different countries.

She is a lodger, tell her your utility costs have increased and increase her rent to cover this. I would speak to her about the cleaning and if it doesn't improve to consider getting a cleaner and split the cost.

She's living IN your house with you? She's not a tenant.

Ireland. :-)

She's a lodger not a tenant. Lodgers aren't usually expected to share the housework, only clean their room and clear up after themselves. If the bills are going up then renegotiate rent.

Apologies, you're all correct. She is a lodger as opposed to a tenant so it was a very loose rental agreement, nothing formal.

This.

Hmmm...how do you start this conversation? That's my issue...

Fair enough and you're right, she's a lodger.

Start what conversation? You don’t need to ‘start’ any conversation because she’s a lodger and you have nothing to discuss. But that’s not what you want to hear from this thread is it? 🙄

I would either get a cleaner or talk to her about changing the agreement so she is a tenant.

Ireland may have totally different rules so you'll need to check, but in England you don't really start the conversation as her monthly payment is inclusive of bills and she wouldn't need to contribute to cleaning communal spaces (unless she made a mess). She's paying a reduced rate to rent a room and have use of other areas, sometimes with stipulations. You have to see it as your house and she's renting a small part, it's not a 50/50 housework/payment thing.

OP, you must have had difficult conversations with people before? How have you gone through your entire adult life without having a difficult conversation?

You just say

"Lodger, in light of the cost of living crisis, I'm going to have to increase your rent by 10% from the 1st of November. It's not something I'm happy doing but unfortunately the COL has spirelled and so far, I've been absorbing all the additional cost. I'm giving you a months notice so that it doesn't come as a shock. I hope you'll understand"

I think it depends on what you originally asked for and stated the agreement was for -- .a lodger usually has a set rate- not bills on top- and don't have cleaning responsibilities above and beyond their room - was this all clear at the beginning? As if not I don't think you can suddenly say you expect her to do more housework-
with regards to bills I would just say I'm going to have to put the room rate up to xyz due to the bills being higher.

Does she use the other areas? Does she clean and tidy after herself? If it’s not part of her agreement to share bills, but they have went up, then it’s a good reason to have a discussion on raising the rent as it is bill inclusive. Have you raised it on the 2years? She must expect that you will at some point, everyone knows costs have went up a lot.

The laws on lodgers in Ireland are similar to UK. If you have no formal agreement then you need to start there, bills are traditionally included in the price you can't change that now.

I assume you are registered for the rent a room scheme? Are you under the limits of that?

Cleaning would generally included also with typically clearing up the kitchen after yourself being expected.

The only conversation would be if you wanted to increase her rent.

You can’t expect her to hover your carpets or wash up your dirty dishes.

When you say nothing formal, do you mean you've not got a written agreement and it's just a casual verbal agreement?

As you live on ROI, the first thing you need to do is check the law on lodgers and find out if the agreement you have right now is legal and what your rights and responsibilities are.

https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/housing/renting-a-home/tenants-rights-and-responsibilities/sharing-accommodation-with-your-landlord/

Most people posting here will assume you are in England so any legal advice they give you might be wrong.