Hello All
I have a question pertaining to Landlord/Lodger rights and I will be very grateful for some answers.
I took in a lodger in April 2012 to supplement my income while I was going through a messy maintenance case against my ex in court. We signed a Tenancy Agreement for 6 months with an early termination clause as follows;
"By mutual agreement, either party may at any time end this Agreement earlier than the end of the Term by giving to the other written notice of Two Weeks"
The Tenancy agreement covered the guest bedroom and shared access for the kitchen, bathroom and utility room.
The relationship was cordial and the lodger seemed ok even though he quickly crossed the boundary and regaled me with stories about his ex partner kicking him out and denying him access to his children. I listened politely and offered some advice basically saying he should move on with his life and try to arrange access to see his children via legal means. I got fed up when he kept bringing up the issue day in day out and wanted to keep on talking about his ex and her "cruelty". He was very anal about the situation with his ex and her new partner and it got to the point I was uncomfortable and kept to my room because I was fed up of listening to his tales of self pity.
Fast track 6 months after and I told the Lodger I would increase the rent and wanted to know his plans after the tenancy ended. He agreed to continue the tenancy at the new rent and we signed a new 6 months agreement.
I however insisted that he keeps to the term of the agreement, expecially with regards to the shared access areas. (He had access to the living room although it was not part of the shared access areas - I had told him it was okay to use the living room IF it was not in use by me or my family - he turned it into an extension of his room, being there all the time, watching TV, eating there and it got to a point, I could not use the living room because he was always there). My family also could not use the living room because he was aways there.
Hence, before the commencement of the new term - I insisted that he keep to the shared areas and leave the other rooms free.
He gave 1 month notice (that he would be moving out) 2 days after we signed the new contract and I pointed out to him that early termination notice was 2 weeks. He agreed to leave in 2 weeks and he did.
He subsequently sent me an email that he would expect his deposit and unspent part of the rent back.
I replied that he chose to terminate the contract early and there was nothing in the contract which stated any "unspent" rent would be refunded, only the deposit - and the deposit refund was subject to:
"The Deposit will be held by the Householder for the duration of this agreement and refunded to the Lodger at the end of the Term less any reasonable deductions properly made by the Householder for any reasonable costs incurred by or losses caused to the Householder by any breaches of the Lodger’s obligations under the Agreement. No interest is payable by the Householder to the Lodger in respect of the deposit money"
When he left, the room was not in a fit state to rent. The walls had to be re-painted, rug washed, mattress cover and curtains drycleaned and I told him I would pay back the deposit less the amount incurred in doing the above.
He got nasty and called me unscrupulous and that he would be making a claim in court. I told him good luck.
I rented out A ROOM, not my ENTIRE HOUSE and I expected him to adhere to the terms of the agreement, not take advantage of my hospitality by taking over my entire home.
I am fairly certain I did everything legally, fairly and above board, however, I was wondering what your thoughts are concerning this situation and what I should expect if he takes this to court and what my response should be.
I apologise for the lenght but I wanted to give a detailed background so you would have all the information prior to responding.
Thank you and I will be grateful for any responses.
I have a question pertaining to Landlord/Lodger rights and I will be very grateful for some answers.
I took in a lodger in April 2012 to supplement my income while I was going through a messy maintenance case against my ex in court. We signed a Tenancy Agreement for 6 months with an early termination clause as follows;
"By mutual agreement, either party may at any time end this Agreement earlier than the end of the Term by giving to the other written notice of Two Weeks"
The Tenancy agreement covered the guest bedroom and shared access for the kitchen, bathroom and utility room.
The relationship was cordial and the lodger seemed ok even though he quickly crossed the boundary and regaled me with stories about his ex partner kicking him out and denying him access to his children. I listened politely and offered some advice basically saying he should move on with his life and try to arrange access to see his children via legal means. I got fed up when he kept bringing up the issue day in day out and wanted to keep on talking about his ex and her "cruelty". He was very anal about the situation with his ex and her new partner and it got to the point I was uncomfortable and kept to my room because I was fed up of listening to his tales of self pity.
Fast track 6 months after and I told the Lodger I would increase the rent and wanted to know his plans after the tenancy ended. He agreed to continue the tenancy at the new rent and we signed a new 6 months agreement.
I however insisted that he keeps to the term of the agreement, expecially with regards to the shared access areas. (He had access to the living room although it was not part of the shared access areas - I had told him it was okay to use the living room IF it was not in use by me or my family - he turned it into an extension of his room, being there all the time, watching TV, eating there and it got to a point, I could not use the living room because he was always there). My family also could not use the living room because he was aways there.
Hence, before the commencement of the new term - I insisted that he keep to the shared areas and leave the other rooms free.
He gave 1 month notice (that he would be moving out) 2 days after we signed the new contract and I pointed out to him that early termination notice was 2 weeks. He agreed to leave in 2 weeks and he did.
He subsequently sent me an email that he would expect his deposit and unspent part of the rent back.
I replied that he chose to terminate the contract early and there was nothing in the contract which stated any "unspent" rent would be refunded, only the deposit - and the deposit refund was subject to:
"The Deposit will be held by the Householder for the duration of this agreement and refunded to the Lodger at the end of the Term less any reasonable deductions properly made by the Householder for any reasonable costs incurred by or losses caused to the Householder by any breaches of the Lodger’s obligations under the Agreement. No interest is payable by the Householder to the Lodger in respect of the deposit money"
When he left, the room was not in a fit state to rent. The walls had to be re-painted, rug washed, mattress cover and curtains drycleaned and I told him I would pay back the deposit less the amount incurred in doing the above.
He got nasty and called me unscrupulous and that he would be making a claim in court. I told him good luck.
I rented out A ROOM, not my ENTIRE HOUSE and I expected him to adhere to the terms of the agreement, not take advantage of my hospitality by taking over my entire home.
I am fairly certain I did everything legally, fairly and above board, however, I was wondering what your thoughts are concerning this situation and what I should expect if he takes this to court and what my response should be.
I apologise for the lenght but I wanted to give a detailed background so you would have all the information prior to responding.
Thank you and I will be grateful for any responses.