Lodger freakout deposit IDKif i can do this anymore

[ForOliveTiger]

Lodger is insisting on deducting her deposit from this months rent before leaving the house. It's now incredibly awkward and I have to live with her for another 3-4 weeks.

We have been going round in circles for hours. She has run up a £1,000 British Gas bill by having 1 hour shower every night. I feel like she's trying to bully and intimidate me and I really don't feel comfortable with her in my home anymore. The fact she is so insistent makes me think there IS damage she doesn't want me to know about.

I have unreservedly reassured her I will refund her deposit but she won't have it.

Totally agree - think you are being v harsh and all this talk about ‘immaculate’ etc suggests she may have tricky time with deposit. Long term renter and LLs have always been happy to take last rent out if deposit particularly in lodger situation

Why not ask her to leave

How would u have no clue? U share a house with her.

It doesn't matter what she insists. I assume that's a security deposit to be held until you examine her quarters after she leaves.
And you should NOT promise to refund the deposit in the event that you make some unpleasant discovery.

Im a bit confused
if you live there why can’t you just check the room and return her deposit
and how did you not notice she had the heat going overnight all the time
Are you actually living there full time or living with a partner and just popping in and out and didn’t notice

my sons father threw out his lodger earlier this year because he was awful ( think single white female vibes but a male version 😂 )
gave him a days notice and gave him his deposit back as he left

Sorry and I do usually read the whole thread but I think I've read enough to comment. Your request for "landlords" only to post makes me wonder why? If you have a "lodger" the circumstances are very different to a "tenant". I personally do not have experiences with lodgers, (but I do wonder about their contractual rights) and if I did I guess I would fashion something to protect both parties. I have extended experience of tenants, I don't know but if you are a "landlord" in disguise, it won't work. My tenants are very much protected with deposit schemes, contracts etc, gas and electric certs etc. I educated myself years ago and continue to do so and no way would I be worried about a shortfall of expense at the cost of my tenants (beyond reasonable contracted terms) because it is not part of their problem.

Yes there may been a verbal agreement of payment of bills but this is so informal and ad hoc, I would cut my losses and take the win of them leaving 20th July.

However to the point, I have no idea if you can keep the deposit from someone renting a room from you that you cannot seemingly go into an inspect (if you live in the same house) and also a "fuck then they are out tomorrow attitude'...you are not a landlord, you are someone who rented your room and house to lodgers, who you now want out from and seemingly are getting this at a cost of approx £500 (you would have made money from the rent they paid you in the time they have been there surely?). Otherwise why rent out that room?

Op has said there's no contract and no deposit scheme so there's no need for landlords only. It would be different if there was a contract.

So you clearly aren't going to return her deposit, you were lying to her that you would. If the room is immaculate.
I'd definitely have sympathy about the electric or gas bill however you can't seem to decide which it is, so it sounds sketchy as fuck to me. If she takes you to small claims court for her deposit back and your evidence is anything like your explanations on this thread, you won't have a leg to stand on.

Ugh, that sounds so stressful — I’d honestly feel the same. You're being way more patient than I would be!
You're 100% right not to knock the deposit off the rent. That money is there to protect you in case of damage or unpaid bills — and honestly, a £1,000 gas bill for long showers? That alone is shocking.
If she’s pushing this hard, it does sound like she’s trying to avoid something being found after she leaves. You're absolutely within your rights to keep the deposit until she moves out and everything’s been checked. She can’t bully you into paying it early — that’s not how it works.
Stay firm. Put everything in writing. Even if it feels awkward now, protecting yourself matters more.
If it helps, I’ve had something a bit similar (not quite this bad), and keeping calm but clear really helped. And when it was over, I felt so relieved.
Sending strength — you're not being unreasonable at all. 💪

Yes of course it would. But at 22:16 (sorry don't know how to quote in a quote) when OP asked for landlords only to post my alarm bells went off.

Good landlords would not abide either morally or legally with these standards. Let's be really clear that the the OP is talking about a lodger who she was very willing to give ones days notice to!! Please don't apply the standards of being a landlord to this as OP was seemingly wanting to apply negative outcomes to their lodger in the name (and legislation) of those of a landlord which they have clearly not abused to.

How are you renting out a room in a 1 up 1 down house?

Sorry but to go at this one and I promise you the last time! NOT a landlord! Landlords can be equally rubbish but some can be good. IF this was a landlord / tenant arrangement then the amount of laws etc are so broken are huge The OP was renting a room and "housing a lodger". The laws are completely different.

I personally don't have experience of lodgers but I know the law and it doesn't favour then. Let's face it we are talking about an position with no contract and no deposit protection.

I can't get over anyone charging £650 per month PLUS BILLS for the pleasure of living in a "1 up, 1 down" 30sqm cupboard with the rude and chaotic OP.

Given you only have 1 bedroom OP you must have bunkbeds, can't you just poke her in the back to wake her up and talk to her rather than texting then blocking her when she gets het up and anxious about being made homeless tomorrow?

How do you even stay in a shower for an hour? That sounds really, highly unlikely. Especially over a prolongued period.

i am with you on the deposit though.

So you count blocking the lodger and turning off electric and WiFi as patient?

Ignore that poster. As soon as they included someone who has a lodger as a member of the "capitalist machine", you should have been looking for the bats in their belfry. They're just being spiteful and nasty to others to make themselves feel more important than they are.

Just ignore and discard their rhetoric.

Before you make wild accusations, either read the full thread or know the actual laws.

You're talking rubbish and you’re embarrassing yourself!

I wondered that.

Did you time how long she was in the shower?

She said, "I'm just a mother who wants to go home in peace." People say things like that when terminally ill. Where is home, is she from the Ukraine?

Gordon Bennett, why on earth did you tell her something so personal? Are your walls so thin that she can hear you crying?

This becomes stranger and stranger by the minute.

It sounds as though she is leaving anyway so you'll be shot of her. Don't take another lodger!

@ForOliveTiger try r/LegalAdviceUK subreddit for advice. It's quick and you'll get advice from people who understand the law

That scheme is not for lodgers

Then I don't think being a landlord is cut out for you. She's taking the P. You need to throw her out now for her intimidating behaviour.

You do have to give notice https://www.gov.uk/rent-room-in-your-home/ending-a-letting

You need to give the length of payment normally, so if she pays weekly you should give a week. You keep insisting on things you believe to be true yet a basic google would show otherwise.

If you rent your room again you should issue a contract detailing if you have taken a deposit, what bills are included etc and don’t rent to anyone who isn’t happy to sign.

What happened to ‘I have a heart’?