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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Is lodger being disrespectful?

207 replies

NewAgeDawning · 14/06/2026 01:24

This time last year my husband and I decided to take in a lodger. We found a lady who would provide a very good arrangement: she would pay full asking price but only use the room when working. On her days off shed return to her home. The agreement was for 6 months only, and we extended for another six months so not a long term thing. Shes always been respectful, quiet, clean, tidy. No complaints. We let her in to our inner circle - as time progressed conversations became friendlier, shed often share dinner with us, our toddler loves her. Its been a v good balance.

Like i said earlier, this lodger returns home regularly, where she has a long term boyfriend. We always said he was welcome in the house, as well as her family. Said boyfriend visited once (didnt stay), she had an uncle come over for tea and I always said her daughter should come visit. The tenancy agreement has no rules about visitors, theres something vague about how permission is needed for anyone to stay over a week. We never thought it necessary to say anything more about visitors given her personal situation.

About a month ago, she breaks up with her boyfriend (she told me) and literally one week later she rocks up to the house with a man we've never seen or heard of before. We know this because we saw it on our ring camera whilst we were away for the weekend.
She brings him into the house and is critical of our home - that I buy plants and kill them for example (I laughed when I heard her say this and brushed it off but her tone kinda stung).
Then, in the hallway, the guy says something about me drinking j*zz and she laughs (we have another camera in the living room so could hear) then they go upstairs where I can just about hear her begin to criticise something else but the camera stops picking up dialogue. By the way, she knows about the cameras, theyre not hidden. We tell people about them. We put them in to watch our dog initially but left them for security.

My husband was livid and wanted to kick her out but I talked him down, said the money was important, and shed only be around for a few more months. We didnt mention any of this to her. I hoped she wouldnt bring him back.

After this, the guy becomes a permanent fixture - never comes in again, just parks on the road side and takes her. A couple of times hes been outside, with her, when im arriving home with my toddler and she never thought of introducing him to me.
She never mentioned him to us even though shes been seeing him every day for the last month or so.

Last week at home DH, now placated from his anger, jokes around, asks the lodger if she has a new boyfriend, who he is and she tells him his name, what he does, and she is v open. When the guy comes to pick her up DH goes out to meet him, of his own initiative.

Im technically still in the dark.
But im like its a good arrangement. Just suck it up, just a few more months. Im bothered, and dither between giving her notice or letting it be.

A few days ago, she does the hard work for me and gives notice. Great. Shes gone in a month.

However today, we spent the day out. We tell her well be out and guess who comes back in the house? The guy. Annoyingly he parked on our drive when we had planned for the dog walker to use it.

Im really annoyed. I feel like my space has been violated. I dont know this man, and for all i know, she doesnt really either. She was vetoed before being allowed in the house but now the door's been swung open to a man, when we have a little girl with us.

AiBU in confronting her? Im not a confrontational type and feel myself shaking just thinking about the chat itself but I'm 15 weeks pregnant and upset. At this point I dont want him here and want to tell her as much. It all feels so dodgy. Her life is her business as long as it is away from here.

OP posts:
OneFineDay22 · 14/06/2026 18:57

AnswerIsNo · 14/06/2026 18:28

You can say I'm missing the point as many times as you like, it adds no further validity to the first time you claimed it

As for your insistence that spying is occurring, here's my most recent post at 18:25

Cambridge Dictionary definition of spying:
"to secretly collect and report information about the activities of another (country or organization)"

Brackets added for obvious reasons

OPs first post includes: By the way, she knows about the cameras, they're not hidden. We tell people about them

i/the cameras are clearly visible, they are not secret or hidden
and surreptitiously collecting info without the lodger's knowledge

ii/the lodger was made fully aware of them and presumably when they came round for the initial visit, prior to signing any lodger's agreement.
She's given her implied consent to live in a place where CCTV is present, else she would have gone elsewhere, no?

iii/OP has stated the lodger has been there 12 months, instead of the original lodging agreement and it is reasonable to expect they have gotten used to the presence of the cameras in the shared areas - else why would they have chosen to stay beyond the initial 6 month agreement?

Points i through iii shows OPs scenario fails to meet the literal criteria for spying

and... if you choose to think I'm calling you names 😇, you're somewhat overestimating your importance

Edited

I just looked up the word spying and it said “synonyms:
eavesdropping: secretly listening in on people’s conversations”

Considering the OP wasn’t present, it can be assumed that the lodger’s conversation with her visitor was not intended for others to hear. Either way, I agree that I wouldn’t be happy if I did overhear something of that nature about me, but I wouldn’t necessarily be able to do anything about it under these circumstances.

Also, we have no idea how long the lodger has known this man. She might have known him longer than her previous boyfriend. Just because she never brought him round before is irrelevant. The Op invited her lodger’s boyfriend who she didn’t know to come to the house. The only reason she has a problem really is because she heard him say something not very nice about her. Which she wouldn’t have heard if she had stopped watching the videos once she realised it was her lodger entering the house.

Schoolchoicesucks · 14/06/2026 19:17

I don't think she's done anything wrong. The agreement didn't say she wasn't allowed visitors, you welcomed her other visitors. She's only invited him in when she's known that you (and your daughter) weren't home, so is being respectful and not bringibg strangers into your child's home.
The parking was a very minor inconvenience (to your dogwalker, not even to you).
She's going in 3 weeks, just keep things pleasant and don't get a new lodger.

AnswerIsNo · 14/06/2026 19:27

OneFineDay22 · 14/06/2026 18:57

I just looked up the word spying and it said “synonyms:
eavesdropping: secretly listening in on people’s conversations”

Considering the OP wasn’t present, it can be assumed that the lodger’s conversation with her visitor was not intended for others to hear. Either way, I agree that I wouldn’t be happy if I did overhear something of that nature about me, but I wouldn’t necessarily be able to do anything about it under these circumstances.

Also, we have no idea how long the lodger has known this man. She might have known him longer than her previous boyfriend. Just because she never brought him round before is irrelevant. The Op invited her lodger’s boyfriend who she didn’t know to come to the house. The only reason she has a problem really is because she heard him say something not very nice about her. Which she wouldn’t have heard if she had stopped watching the videos once she realised it was her lodger entering the house.

The first two paragraphs are irrelevant to whether spying is occurring

eavesdropping: secretly listening in on people’s conversations

well, if you need to stretch to synonyms to make the claim of spying valid, eavesdropping still fails the criteria - because the cameras are both visible and the lodger is aware... i.e. no secrecy

I don't think there's much else to say on this matter, other than delving into the depths of pedantry, which is a complete waste of my time, you can carry on if you want

I think OP is BU only because they've posted on here asking for opinions of others on what they think of her reasonable boundaries

OneFineDay22 · 14/06/2026 19:53

AnswerIsNo · 14/06/2026 19:27

The first two paragraphs are irrelevant to whether spying is occurring

eavesdropping: secretly listening in on people’s conversations

well, if you need to stretch to synonyms to make the claim of spying valid, eavesdropping still fails the criteria - because the cameras are both visible and the lodger is aware... i.e. no secrecy

I don't think there's much else to say on this matter, other than delving into the depths of pedantry, which is a complete waste of my time, you can carry on if you want

I think OP is BU only because they've posted on here asking for opinions of others on what they think of her reasonable boundaries

Stretch to synonyms?

Synonym means that another word for eavesdropping is spying, they are synonymous, they (can) mean the same thing.

If someone doesn’t know you’re watching the videos then you are doing it in secret.

Yes agree to disagree.

ChocolateApples · 14/06/2026 20:07

This is the issue I have with cameras in public rooms like this. It's far too easy to go back and listen to what are essentially private conversations. There's a saying that evesdroppers seldom hear any good of themselves and this sort of thing is why it's frowned on. People are absolutely going to say not 100% nice things about people and that's life. Manners dictate that they don't say it in front of you, but I'm allowed to say things in private and they shouldn't cause diplomatic incidents like this. I think this level of surveillance is psychologically very unhealthy for us. This whole drama would never have happened back in the past.

MMAS · Yesterday 20:29

I have read some of your answers. Do not mention anything about using the drive. You have three weeks to go and your dog walker can manage for that length of time if you tell her the drive may not always be available in that period.

Do not make an issue of it.

Keep things as they are, which is friendly.

On the day she moves out get any locks changed the same day without her knowing that she may have had keys to.

Nothing else matters and ignore anything else. You are entitled to have security in your home regardless of the comments made. You lawfully told her there were cameras. Her problem is not to have remembered not yours.

Laura95167 · Yesterday 21:31

Shes had this man in your home twice. She hasnt broken her lease terms. You just find him rude (he is) and her hurtful (she was)

Just let it go. You'll be free soon

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