Lodger query

[Lodgerconfusion]

Hi first time post and looking for advice please...

If I live in a house where the landlord lives part time (comes back at weekends and stays overnight for the weekend as they work away) does that still class me as a lodger?

@snowspider possibly but it seems unlikely given the OP writes

they [the landlord] have temporarily been placed elsewhere for work.

Why do you want a lock on your room?

I agree it's likely that op is still a lodger but it depends on the individual facts so it is also possible that a default AST on the room can happen

Government advice for landlords
1.3 How exactly is a landlord considered to be ‘resident’ in law? Does it make a difference if I don’t live in the property all the time?
For lettings started from 15 January 1989, the important point is whether you are using the property as an only or principal home, both at the start of the letting and throughout it.

It is accepted that, for short periods, a landlord may not live in the property yet still be considered to be resident: so long as he or she intends to return and this is apparent, for example if he or she has left belongings. However, only a court can say for certain whether a landlord has maintained enough residence in the property to count as a resident landlord: if not, then it is possible that the letting arrangement may be deemed to have become a regulated or assured tenancy, depending whether it first began before or from 15 January 1989. The definition of ‘residence’ for determining how the landlord must give notice or can evict an occupier is slightly different (see section 1.4).

Depends on whether you have a rental contract or not I would have thought? Either way you cannot make alterations to someone else's house without their approval, lodger or tenant.

It's unlikely you'd be able to do it without the landlords permission. But if he's only there four days a month why do you want to. Its likely you're a lodger not a tenant but check your contract. And it should also say if you can make changes.

Op, why are you so keen to change your status to tenant? Is it because as a lodger you can be asked to leave at shorter notice?

@silverspider thank you for that, how interesting. I wonder if LLs are ever caught out by that?

@snowspider

Well there are two of us here (not related).
Landlord is definitely charging us much lower rate. We are concerned about having to leave as we both like it here.

Landlord rents another place.
All her belongings are here- contract states lodger contract not AST. She fully intends to return to the place once placement is up. I would say she still thinks of it as her main residence.

I think landlords can and do get caught out. Lodger agreements are sometimes used by landlords to avoid ASTs, but the facts trump the lodger agreement if a landlord is deemed to be non resident in court. I think you can create a default AST as a landlord by moving out but can't revert to a lodger arrangement by moving in if an AST has been created.

You are 100% a lodger.
I assume none of the bills are in your name?
I assume you don't actually pay for bill?
I assume you pay a much lower rent than if you tried to rent a similar place alone?

You can't damage the property by adding a lock on any door, or changing the locks.

You sound dodgy (cuckoo) and like you are trying to put one over on the landlord/owner of the property - I hope and doubt you will succeed. The law is not on your side. You don't get to move into a place then try and steal it!

You are a lodger. The amount of time he chooses to be there is irrelevant. It is his main home.

You would be a tenant if he owned a property (in addition to his main property) and rented it out to you, with your name on a tenancy agreement.

You cannot put a lock on the door without his permission. Even if it's your own bedroom.

I'd ask yourself why you feel the need to...?

Well said Karmasaic: feel very sorry for your LL, I’d be giving you notice if you put a lock on the door

(A week if you are lucky) - it’s very clear from the law that you are a lodger: if you want the security of tenancy or home ownership you should be willing to pay for that

You sound like you'd like the benefits of being a tenant without paying the rent that a tenant pays.

As a lodger, your landlord is entitled to bet here whenever they want. It is their home. It doesn't matter if they choose to be there all the days of the month or rent one or multiple other places for themselves. It is still their home and they are entitled to be there.

As a lodger, you pay a significantly reduced rent than if you were a tenant. A tenant rents the whole property or rents it with someone else from a landlord. The tenants then pay for the utilities and council tax and the property is their home and landlord needs to seek permission and give notice to enter the home. They will not be sleeping I the property.

You cannot expect to pay lodger rates and gain tenant benefits.

Currently, you've been on a very good deal because you have much freer access to the home without the landlord being present most of the time. However, you have not become a tenant because the landlord is rarely there. The notice terms for your lodger agreement remain whatever they were when you signed. As a lodger you are living in someone else's house, who is also resident there and who is the owner. You will have use of the kitchen etc but it is not your kitchen and so key decisions about its use etc will be made by the property owner, not you, as would be the case if you were a tenant renting the whole property.

You definitely sound like you're looking to have all the benefits of a tenant and have fuller control of the house than the lodger rent you pay entitles you to. Wanting to out a lock on the door sounds like you are trying to get one over on the Landlord in some way.

If you want a room with a lock, look for a room in an HMO. You will then find you are not living with the landlord but with other room renters with shared facilities such as kitchens. Your rooms are your personal space. I suspect you wouldn't find this alternative as appealing as what you have now, especially given that the majority of the time you have the house to yourselves.

I'd appreciate that you're probably onto a very good deal and not be looking to turn it even further to your advantage, in what sounds like a rather odd and unsavoury way.

OP wishes to put the lock to change their status from lodger to a tenant(more rights),so they can challenge the landlord and refuse to leave :)

If you put a lock on your room you don't get tenants rights automatically.
That's not how the law works.
Its a nasty thing to do and if you were a lodger on mine I would ask you to leave if you did that because it's extremely disrespectful and is against your agreement.