Our last few tips have looked a problem lodger situations, but of course this is not the norm. Most lodgers get on very well with their landlord. However all good things have to end, and sooner or later the day will come when your lodger leaves.
There are many reasons. Most of my lodgers, for example, were students who were only ever going to stay for a limited time. Perhaps your lodger is moving elsewhere for his job, or has decided to rent a flat or even buy his own place.
You should try to make your lodger’s departure as pleasant as possible, if only because he will then be more likely to recommend you to other people.
Here is a list of the things you need to deal with.
If you have taken a deposit
You will need to check the condition of your lodger’s room against the inventory (inventories are discussed on day 16), this should be done shortly before they go. It is best if you do this with your lodger present and both go through the inventory together.
Hopefully the room will be in a spotless condition and you will be able to refund the deposit there and then. Otherwise proceed as follows:
- If you know how much it will cost to deal with the damage (for example if it is a broken desk lamp which you know you can replace for £15) you can simply deduct this from the deposit and pay the balance
- If you do not know the replacement cost or the cost of repair work, say them you cannot refund the deposit immediately. Get contact details and say that you will contact him once you know. Make sure you do this promptly. It the delay is going to be longer than a week, give him a ring and let them know the reason for the delay.
- Once you know the cost, either send him the balance or arrange for him to call round for it, if your lodger prefers to be paid in cash.
- If there are rent arrears, you deduct this from the deposit after any damage has been deducted first.
Fair wear and tear – this is an important rule about deductions from deposits. When considering deductions, you should not expect a property (ie for a tenancy) or a room (ie for a lodger let) to be in the same pristine condition it was in when the lodger moved in. This is particularly the case if your lodger been there for a long time. So long as the rooms is in a reasonable condition for the amont of time your lodger has been living in it, that is all you can expect.
This means that you will not normally be entitled to charge for cleaning or redecoration. Unless your lodger has been smoking in his room in breach of his lodger agreement (see day 15), and the décor and furnishings have been damaged by the smoke.
Visitors book
I had a visitors book and got my lodgers to write in it on their last day. They were always happy to do this (and always had a good look through the other entries), which means that I now have something to remember them by. You do forget, and I think this is a nice thing to do.
Post
If your lodger gets a lot of post, suggest they arrange for a postal redirect. If you don’t mind re-directing their post for them, don’t forget to get their forwarding address!
However you will not want to act as an unpaid mail forwarding service forever. Make it clear that you will only do this for a couple of months, and that post received after this will be sent back marked ‘return to sender’.
On the day that they leave
If they still owe you any rent, make sure you get a payment from them before they go. Otherwise it may be difficult.
Make sure their room is checked properly before they go. I once had a Japanese student leave £20 in travellers cheques in the bin. If you find it now, this will save having to forward it on to them.
Unpaid rent
If your lodger is hard up or on a low income, in most cases you will not get paid, and it is best to accept this and move on.
However if you want to pursue it, be aware that the only way you can force someone to pay if they refuse to pay voluntarily, is by getting a County Court Judgement (CCJ) in the Small Claims Court (there is a money claims online service). You will need to have the new address for service of the court papers, so it is a important to get a forwarding address from your lodger before he goes.
After your lodger has gone
You have your room back! Lodgers are nice, but sometimes it is also nice to have your privacy back. However if you need the money, you will have to start the whole process of getting a new lodger to take his place.
If you are the one moving out
Be aware that your lodger will only have lodger status (discussed on day 1) if you are living in the property with him and sharing living accommodation. If you move out permanently, for example to go and work in another town, your ‘lodger’ will become a tenant.
As you will no longer be a resident landlord, the tenancy your lodger will acquire will be an assured shorthold tenancy. The change will happen at the time when you move out. You should therefore get your lodger to sign up a proper AST agreement when you go. You can find out more, and get tenancy agreements, from our Landlord Law service.
If you are selling your property, you should get your lodger to move out, at least by the time you are ready to exchange contracts, as your purchasers may not want to sign if he is still living there.
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Note – please see also this >> later post on dealing with possessions left behind
Having had lodgers for 15 years old mail becomes a problem. I usually require at least 6 (more is better) self addressed stickers which makes it easier. I had a girl once who received a £300 check from inland revenue 3 years later which she did not expect. Happily i had already been invited to dinner at her new home and could give her her mail.
Thank you for your comment Linnda. Getting departing lodgers to give you a set of self addressed stickers is a really good idea. Thank you for that.
Oh Tessa I hope you can help me!!
I have this lodger he moved in on 8th of June and is now 02 of July and he did no t pay his rent or even gave me the deposit! He gave me some money to secure the room but then when he moved he started giving me excuses til today… I don’t know what to do as I hardly see him and he does not answer my calls, he just txt saying his going to bring the money around but never does!! I went into his room just to see if he was intending to leave but all his belongings is in there. I txt him saying that he won’t be able to come in the house unless he pays and said when he does i’ll gie his stuff back! Can i even do that? What should I do to make sure I get paid???
Thank you!!
Take a look at days 19 and 20 in this 21 day series. They will tell you what you need to do, to evict a lodger, for example one who is not paying rent. Then have a look around at some of the later posts which build on that information.
There is no magic ‘silver bullet’ you can use to ensure payment of rent. However what you can do is get rid of people who don’t pay, so you can find someone else who does.
I have recently evicted a lodger from my home. After getting into an argument threats were made to my property whilst I go on holiday. The lodgers have left and I have their keys but some of their stuff is left in my house, there is writing on their wall and the room is filthy. They have paid most but not all of their rent for the month and are asking for the remainder of the months rent back. where do I stand in terms of removing the property and keeping the money for cleaning? Thanks.
I think you can legitimately use money paid to you for reasonable expenses for cleaning and repair of any items broken.
So far as their possessions are concerned, you need to keep these for them as they do not belong to you. I will be doing a blog post on this shortly.
I had a lodger who left abruptly after being suspended from his job. For months after I received mail in his name that i always put back in the post ‘return to sender’ I think he was continuing to use my address after he had moved out.
I then received phone calls from debt recovery agencies. As i held onto his deposit until i had a forwarding address – I could give them this address.
Could you have problems with lodger debts etc where they have used your address?
You may do. I would suggest you check your name and address with the credit reference agencies. For example Experian : http://www.experian.co.uk/
If you find entries that are nothing to do with you, you can ask them to remove them.
Hi, I have a 2 bed flat and a new lodger moving in next week ( this is my second time renting a room) I am pretty sure this is a nice person and she will pay the rent on time while I am away, although I usually go on my gut instincts only. Anyway I am going away for 5 months travel and will also rent my bedroom while I am away. where do I stand if I do this as far as do they become tenants rather than lodgers ?
You need to be a bit careful, it could well be deemed to be a tenancy particuarly as you are renting out your bedroom so are effectively saying that you are not living there yourself for the period.
For information on tenancies see my Landlord Law site http://www.landlordlaw.co.uk
I have recently had a lodger move out and he did not give me the full notice period. I have therefore said I am keeping his deposit to cover the rent i am now going to lose out on. Also had to get the room cleaned to get it back to the state it was in when he moved in. Am I within my rights to do this?
What you are entitled to do will depend on the contract / agreement you have. But remember the fair wear and tear rules I discuss above.
hi Tessa, my lodger recently moved out. I gave her the full deposit back after quickly looking at the room. However when i came to move furniture to give it a paint a few days later i found a lot of damage, (she had cut large circles out of the carpet under the wardrobe!). where do i stand as i have already given her the deposit back?. I do use a lodgers agreement that sates she is responsable for damage. Also she has left some of her belongings here. i asked her to get them within a week but she hasn’t reappeared. When she does am i entitled to hold them until i get money for the carpet, or charge for storage??
thanks ocve again for your help
kitty
@Kitty: She is liable to you for the damage, but as you have already given the deposit back you may find it difficult practically to get the money. If she refuses to pay your only option may be the Small Claims Court.
So far as her possessions are concerned, this post applies: http://lodgerlandlord.co.uk.gridhosted.co.uk/2010/08/19/dealing-with-lodgers-possessions-that-they-leave-behind/
I have two unconnected lodgers living in my house one of whom has just moved out at my request (which the lodger did not take well). A few days before the lodger moved out a kitchen appliance was irreparably damaged by one of my lodgers. Neither lodger admits to causing the damage and I cannot prove who is responsible. It was caused by an considerable impact, I believe by something falling out of the cupboard of the lodger who has just moved out (their food cupboard is directly above the damage). Is there anything I can reasonably do so that I don’t have to either absorb the entire replacement cost or make a claim on my household insurance (which will put up my premiums)? I have not yet returned their deposit which would cover the replacement cost.
@Suzannah This is a very difficult problem and there is no real answer. Mainly becuase it is unfair to expect the lodger who did not cause the damage to make any payment towards the loss.
If they won’t own up to it I think probably the insurance policy is the only answer.
@Suzannah It’s not really fair to blame either of them without proof, and unfortunately, I think you’d just have to take the hit.
I had a similar situation where I was the lodger – one of the bathrooms got damaged really badly on the day we all moved out (3 unconnected people). The landlord didn’t even mention it, and just took equal amounts from each of our deposits – probably the worst possible way to handle the situation, in my opinion.
This comment is related to day 20 on how to evict a lodger.
I own my house and I’m the legal owner and live in it.
I have a trouble lodger that doesn’t want to leave. I gave her 2 month notice (as I need the place for myself) as I wanted to be nice and give her enough time to find a suitable place. As a pay back she took in a man with her (that I do not know) and she is now refusing to leave, not only that from this month she also stopped paying her rent. This week end I had to leave my house and find myself a place to stay as they both attacked me once I asked them again to leave. Now today I’be been to the police to ask their help to attend to my flat as I intended to use your tips and change the locks of the house on Sunday when I know they will be out. The lady at the counter in the police station has been to say the least really arrogant. As soon as I explained the situation she told me that the police would not do anything that I need legal advice and that if I try to change the locks I will be just in trouble and she sent me away. And she also told me that they do have all the rights and also squatters rights. I was almost in tears. I am in my own house taken over by two strangers who now started to open my mail and insult my visitors and that are illegally in this country, something that I discovered just recently , (using fake document and NI) and I cannot do anything. I really do not know what to do next.
@Richard Yes, the police can be really unhelpful at times. But they are also notorious for knowing nothing about landlord and tenant law. Was the lady on the counter a trained housing lawyer? I thought not.
I think the best thing to do would be to seek advice from a local solicitors firm. I would also suggest you lodge an official complaint about the police and in particular the unhelpful woman on the counter.
If these people have more or less evicted you from your own home the police should help you. I did a post on my Landlord Law Blog about squatters here http://www.landlordlawblog.co.uk/2010/11/30/urban-myth-evicting-squatters-is-difficult-and-takes-a-long-time/ which explains a bit about the law
Good morning Testa,
Thank you very much for your kind reply and for your suggestion. I will book an appointment to a local solicitor today and feed back the outcome.
Try to find a firm and a solicitor who understands housing law. It is a bit of an esoteric area and not all firms do it.
Hi
I have a lodger that is due to move out. During their stay they have not kept the room clean to the degree that I have had to ask them to do so on the basis that at Easter this year I asked them to clean it as it had not been cleaned since September previous. The walls now have grease marks on them where they have rested their head on the wall and splashes up the walls and sheer grime. Also they asked to borrow my single bed linen on arrival as they only had a double quilt etc. The bed linen has not been washed since last September at least and is totally disgusting bearing in mind this has also probably penetrated through to the mattress. Am I ok to withhold their deposit based on having to repaint the room, new bedlinen and more than likely a new mattress as this is not general wear and tear but more hygenine levels.
@Natalie Probably, but make sure that the sum you deduct is justified. For example you need receipts for the new bedlinen etc. You can’t just deduct an arbitrary sum on the basis that this is ‘fair’ – it needs to be referable to an actual expense.
If you do the cleaning yourself, you should find out what it would have cost had you had it done professionally and charge a bit less.
I have a lovely lodger and he has become quite a good friend. He has been living with me for a year but gave notice 3 weeks ago as he is moving to a place with more room. I inspected the room only to find that the roller blind I bought for him is broken and where he has moved furniture around he has broken then top of the chest of drawers (it was only 18 months old when he moved in and is a Schreiber one and cost £170). I have a deposit and I know he should replace broken / damaged furniture and he signed an agreement agreeing to this. I’m trying to be fair and I’m going to replace the chest of drawers from Ikea at half the cost but why do I feel guilty? He is due to move out on the 3rd September and his deposit will be ready to withdraw from 16th September. The total to replace the chest of drawers and blind is £94.00. Am I being fair and reasonable as this is not fair wear and tear and what are my rights? How do I word the letter to him when I send the receipts and the cheque back to him for his remaining deposit? Help, I feel quite sick with worry.
@Jo If he is a nice person he will probably recognise the justness of your deductions. He may be expecting it. Why don’t you talk about it with him first and explain it to him?
But if as you say the damage is beyond fair wear and tear then you are fully justified in making a deduction – so long as you have the receipts to back them up if challenged.