My Dad's discovered his ex lodger only paid him every other month for 3 yrs...Q's!

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Will also post this in chat as it seems very quiet over here!

No idea why he hasn't been checking his bank statements for this before now but he's just discovered that his ex lodger (found through gumtree and no written formal contract set up) only paid him every other month - for a minimum of 3 years, possibly 6. My mum died 3 years ago and the lodger used to pay the money into her account (which no longer exists).

Questions:

1. As there was no written contract is there any way my Dad can recuperate the £7,200 owed to him?
2. The lodger filled my dad's shed up with all his stuff and Dad wants it gone. How is the best way to approach this and can he ultimately give it away / sell it without being accused of theft?

Thank you :(

Are you sure the lodger didn't pay 2 months at a time? Is there any proof that the rent was a set amount?

Assuming the lodger has moved out, does your dad have any contact details for him? A letter to the lodger's last known address saying "please collect all the items left on my properly by the [date in one month's time] or it will be disposed of" would suffice, but if no known address - how long has it been? If it's been a year with no contact then I would think disposal was reasonable.

Wow. The former tenant could very easily argue that your Dad was fine with this; having accepted it without question for three years. The burden of proof would be very firmly on your Dad.

Thank you for your replies. It's all rather frustrating! No known forwarding address - he moved out about 3-4 months ago I think. My dad is 71. The lodger definitely didn't pay 2 months at a time.
I honestly don't know how dad could have missed this! The lodger also put two bee hives in dad's garden (with dad's consent) and agreed to maintain them after moving out but dad has no idea if he is or not - he hasn't seen him.
We have his mobile number but don't want to call it until we know what's what.

Good luck

Whats the situation with giving written notice about disposing of his belongings if we don't have / can't get his forwarding address?

How do you nkow that the every 2 months sum of rent is for one month? Obviously your father has told you but he might be lying through his teeth. Are there emails or other people who can verify the monthly rent?

What does the original gumtree account say? Can your father log in to his account and find it and keep a date stamped copy as evidence?

Certainly at the moment it looks like your father accepted the lower rent so even if they agreed double at the start he and his wife who presumably was joint landlord accepted the lower sum so all the evidence points to the lower sum unfortunately so far.

At the moment your father had agreed to store the stuff on the garage. He is what is called a bailee of the goods so the terms of that bailment (assuming it was not part of the letting arrangement for the room) are relevant. When did the lodger leave? If the money was paid into your mother's account until she died 3 years ago that probably implies the lodger left 3 years ago in that case. If so generally there are 6 years to bring legal claims of this kind (for the rent) but you would need to check the period. You will have to try to track down the tenant. Have you started with a google and facebook search? Then try buying some credits on 192.com which has all the electoral roll and directorships on it? If that fails check all old addresses for this person and of course their gumtree account - email the account and pehaps ask gumtree to send the tenant a letter.

By the way why did your mother not notice only half the rent was paid and why did your father not check it? I know it would be probably under the rent a room scheme so tax free but still most people would check.

When you leave goods at a dry cleaner they put up a notice saying if not collected after [ 4??] weeks they will destroy them. Now there was no such notice to the tenant so I would start with trying to track him down. You might be able to find his parents if they live in the area and they might take the stuff. You could also pay for an ad in the local paper.

Thank you lotus. We're managed to get the lodger's address!
I don't think my dad is lying - he's a 72 year old vicar who is so honest he just can't lie. He may well have understood the situation but that's different.

My mum did all the 'lodger stuff' when she was alive and I'm not sure I would know how to get into her gum tree account. Great tip though - I'll investigate!

I suspect this only occurred after she died - she would definitely have been one to check and wouldn't have tolerated any missed payments. She was a woman of principle!

Thanks you so much for your really helpful reply x