Lodgers boyfriend using our address

[cosmobrown]

We have an annex which we rent out.
Our lodger, (lets call her Mary) asked if boyfriend can stay over every so often. We said yes, as long as he didn't add significantly to electric bill or wear and tear etc. All happy.
Mary's post gets delivered through our main door and we pop it into the annex. No problems from anyone.
BUT, for the second time, I have received post for boyfriend. I assume it is the boyfriend, as the initial is correct, but I do not know boyfriends surname.
I feel as though boyfriend shouldn't be using our address.
AIBU?

We had something similar here. I just flip over the envelope and check sender postcode, I'd speak to Mary if it appears to be anything financial.

For example, if he ran up a number of parking tickets, and didn’t pay them, and is registered to your address, the council could send debt collectors to your address.

Just posting this again. There is a difference between a lodger and a non assured tenant. It absolutely does make a difference. A lodger uses communal facilities rather than being in a self-contained property. As you live in a self-contained property and even if that property cannot be sold separately from the main dwelling, you’re categorically not a lodger. As a result, your family absolutely should be paying tax on the rental income. https://help.openrent.co.uk/hc/en-gb/articles/9460943738641-Annexes-Tenancy-Type-Multiple-Dwelling-Relief-and-Council-Tax

Just put Not at this address on the envelope and toss it in the nearest postbox.

So what? That STILL wasn't the point of the thread. It's like the tenant police have squirmed out of the woodwork, trying to convince the OP that a lodger is a tenant because they want it to be that way.
The MAIL issue was/is the issue at hand the rest of it, tenant or lodger is really NOYFB nor anyone else's for that matter. FFS

Well said @Nanaof1

What's that got to do with the post ?

If It is his, and it’s something as minor as from the scuba diving association, I wonder if they’ve done something together and just put one address. I wouldn’t necessarily jump to all of the conclusions listed here.

Sounds like he's testing your boundary with a seemingly harmless flyer. If you say nothing and pass it on, he might use it for his mobile phone bill etc. If he gets 2 bills with your address in his name, he can get loans/credit at your address. I would tell him not to use my address.

Well, no. As a tenant I have never had my own front door. In flats the front door is shared, even if you also have a proper locked door yourself. Most of my rental life I have also shared a letter box and only once did I have my own letterbox in the shared front door.

I'm pretty sure OP knows herself whether Mary is a tenant or a lodger. It's possible the annex isn't 100% self-contained.

Talk to the lodger.
It could be simple such as for some valuable object, like a passport, the lodger suggested that it gets posted to her more secure mail box to limit theft.
The boyfriend should really have added a c/o line to the address ..
Mr J Smith,
c/o Gertie Girlfriend
Girl friend's address (your address)

Have a conversation. It might not be her boyfriend.
If the lodger is otherwise a great lodger maybe you allow logical deliveries of boyfriend's mail.

Tenant or Lodger
That's not the issue here so why are posters bleating on about it
It's the unorthrised use of her address by the bf that op needs advice on.
Bottom line is...if it's him doing it then he shouldn't be
Check with Mary. If it's him then ask that he doesn't
Return all mail to sender saying ' not known at this address'
You never know if this Scuba Diving stuff is a pre cursor to applying for bank cards ..loans etc.

just return to sender, not known at this address

I would do this.

And if parcels start to arrive, refuse delivery.

You know nothing about this man - he many be honest as the day is long, or he may not. You don't want your address associated with him.

NOPE!. a lodger has to share some facilities like kitchen with the landlord. If there is a separate kitchen and everything is separate, it's a tenant. Even if it's in the same building.

That is illegal

Agreed.
Key features of a lodger:

• Without authorisation, the resident landlord may enter the room;
• The landlord cannot be kept out by the lodger;
• The lodger enjoys use of the common areas of the house, including the kitchen, bathroom, and living room.
• The Landlord may ask that the lodger switch to a different room;

This is by the by for the post.

First of all, ask your lodger. You don’t even know if it is the boyfriend.

We have post from the NHS among other places addressed to someone who does not live here. They may once have been a lodger at this address but, if so, it was more than 20 years ago. Some companies are not great at cleaning up their mailing lists.

@Anisette it has been stated before that this is incorrect information and has been for many years.

So true.

The only implication would potentially be for her lodger if she had joint bank accounts or bills with her boyfriend who went bankrupt or something, his bankruptcy would affect the lodger's credit rating too as the credit referencing agencies would see the debt/default as joint too.

Not the OP.

Tenant vs Lodger people. Have a word with yourselves. It is NOTHING to do with the post.

The OP has given the facts. You have designed her entire house and set up in your mind on the basis of something she has chosen to call an annexe.

Let's talk about post baby, let's talk about you and me....

Ask Mary.

You know where the post is coming from so give them a call and ask them nicely not to send stuff to your address. An email would also work, possibly more effectively as you would have proof that you informed them of his non-residence at your property.

Then just return to sender.

Addendum

@MillicentRogers
There is no need to be stern with Mary as it may not be her fault. The bf could be a CF, assuming it is for bf.

She may have given the facts but as one of those "people" - if she is renting.. she's a tenant.

Two points
When I was between houses ( had sold one and waiting to buy another during Covid) I lived in my motorhome for six months. To stay on the Camping and caravan club type sites you need a permanent address so I used my parents address. Could the bf actually be technically homeless?
Second point and possibly rather paranoid but please be aware that it is possible for Mary to sublet the anexe to bf, she could draw up a tenancy agreement as the 'landlord' and he could claim housing benefit ( or UC housing element) towards living there
I've probably got far too much experience with scammers and I'd imagine it's something quite a lot more simple though!

ANY mail that comes to my house for a name I do not recognize, goes straight back into a letterbox with 'NOT KNOWN AT THIS ADDRESS - RETURN TO SENDER' scrawled across the front. Simple! I am not entertaining an associated risk that comes with people using my address for ANY reason. This way the company know ans has on record that this is an incorrect address, and a possible fraud risk. DO NOT RISK IT.

That's illegal.