dazalock
09-05-2005, 09:39 AM
Here's the scenario from a friend of mine this weekend.
Friend rents a room to a lodger and has been for the past 12 months. Rent is paid weekly and friend get on quite well with lodger with no complaints. Over the last moth friend has been installing a new kitchen with some disruption to cooking and washing facilities. Friend holds a month's deposit, and a couple of months ago, tenant has problems with rent, and comes to mutual arrangement to use deposit for the missing rent. However, over the last month tenant is in arrears again but promises to make it up this week. On Friday friend notices some of tenants possessions gone, and confronting her, admits she is moving out that night. Friend say "no problem" but demands she leaves he TV and Video until she pays outstanding rent. She leaves but returns with a Posse of family who demand said items. He gives in and hands over items and is likely never to see missing 5 weeks rent.
My advice to him would be:
She is a lodger and tenancy rights do not apply.
He should not have got into this position, he should have chucked her out as soon as she got into arrears and not negotiated on the deposit.
He has no rights to her possessions to try and claim the rent, and this could have been seen as theft.
IF he want to try and get the rent money owing, he needs to go through money claim.
He is lucky to have got off so lightly by not dealing with the situation 2 months ago.
Friend rents a room to a lodger and has been for the past 12 months. Rent is paid weekly and friend get on quite well with lodger with no complaints. Over the last moth friend has been installing a new kitchen with some disruption to cooking and washing facilities. Friend holds a month's deposit, and a couple of months ago, tenant has problems with rent, and comes to mutual arrangement to use deposit for the missing rent. However, over the last month tenant is in arrears again but promises to make it up this week. On Friday friend notices some of tenants possessions gone, and confronting her, admits she is moving out that night. Friend say "no problem" but demands she leaves he TV and Video until she pays outstanding rent. She leaves but returns with a Posse of family who demand said items. He gives in and hands over items and is likely never to see missing 5 weeks rent.
My advice to him would be:
She is a lodger and tenancy rights do not apply.
He should not have got into this position, he should have chucked her out as soon as she got into arrears and not negotiated on the deposit.
He has no rights to her possessions to try and claim the rent, and this could have been seen as theft.
IF he want to try and get the rent money owing, he needs to go through money claim.
He is lucky to have got off so lightly by not dealing with the situation 2 months ago.