Renting a room can be a good idea, but it comes with its own set of expenses. For instance, one has to pay the electricity bills, rent, and other utility bills. If one does not manage to pay for these expenses, he or she may be evicted. This is the reason why some people choose to live with other people in their houses. Such a person is commonly known as a roomer or a lodger. Technically, this person usually shares the living space with you. From the kitchen to the bathroom, there are many rooms you may have to share with a lodger.
However, there are some instances when you may want to evict someone who is living with you in the same house. Whether you want to live alone or you no longer need extra cash, there are a plethora of reasons why you may choose to evict him or her. In this article, we shall take a closer look at how one can evict this individual and other related facets.
Reasons To Evict A Lodger
There are many reasons why you may opt to evict a lodger. Some of these reasons include:
1. Rent arrears
If you live with a lodger, he or she needs to pay a fraction of the rent that you pay in that house. The amount of rent will depend on how much you will agree on the lodger agreement document. Although there are instances when the lodger may be able to pay the rent without fail, there are moments when he can fail to pay rent due to one reason or another.
For instance, if your lodger has failed to pay rent for 3 months, you have all the reasons to evict him. However, it is essential that you be guided by the clauses in the lodger agreement so as to avoid getting on the wrong side of the law.
2. Violence
If the lodger is violent or abusive, you may not be able to tolerate that behavior for long. After all, you may not have some peace of mind in your house. To prevent further problems, you may have to evict the lodger early in advance. You can even call the police to help you out.
3. Property damage
Sometimes, the lodger may damage some of the valuables you have in the house. Although the damage can be unintentional, sometimes, it is usually caused by a lack of common sense. Since some of these items are costly, you may be obliged to evict the lodger as soon as possible.
4. Bad habits
Although the lodger may be well-behaved during the first few months, he may change and start abusing drugs. Worse still, he or she may indulge in criminal activities. Such individuals are always on police radar and thus can even be a threat to you. If your lodger engages in such behavior, you may have to evict him or her within the shortest time possible.
5. Privacy issues
Living with someone under the same roof can hinder you from enjoying more privacy. If you want to enjoy more privacy, you may have to issue an eviction notice to the lodger so that he can relocate in good time.
How Do I Evict Someone Who Has Rented A Room In My House?
If you want to evict someone who has rented a room in your house, there are a number of things that you should have in mind. First and foremost, this individual usually has the same rights as a typical tenant.
However, the procedure for evicting a lodger is quite different from that one of a tenant. Besides this, owner-occupied situations usually allow you to access all the parts of the property, including the private room of the lodger.
The process of eviction will depend on their setup. For instance, if the lodger lives in your house and he usually shares a bathroom, kitchen, or living room with you, he is termed as an excluded occupier. Therefore, if you want to evict such a person, you will not need to seek any court order to evict him.
All you need to do is to give the person reasonable notice to leave your house. In most cases, this is usually the period in which the person pays the rent. For instance, if the person pays rent after every two weeks, you need to give the person about 2 weeks to leave your home.
Although you can give the notice by word of mouth, it is vital that you do it in writing. Better still, if you have to give it verbally, record everything that you have said. By doing so, you will be safe in case there is any dispute that may arise.
There are scenarios where the lodger lives in your home but do not share any living space with you or any other person in your home. Such individuals are deemed to have basic protection. If you want to evict such a person, you cannot go ahead just like you would have done with an excluded occupier.
In fact, the only moment you can evict this occupier during the fixed term is when he or she has broken a clause in the lodger’s agreement. However, you will still need to apply for a court order for you to evict him or her. Here, you need to give the occupier a written notice to quit. In most cases, the notice period is usually about 4 weeks or thereabout, depending on how often the rent is paid.
Supposing Am Experiencing Issues With The Lodger, What Should I Do?
Since people are different, chances are that you will experience a few issues with your lodger. However, these issues should not be extreme as they may inconvenience you a great deal. In case you are facing a problem with your lodger, the first step should be talking to him or her. If this does not work, you can consider voicing your issues through a letter. Here, you can ask the lodger to change a few behaviors so that you can co-exist peacefully.
Ideally, you should not threaten the lodger. This is because he may be facing a few challenges here and there and maybe trying to cope with them as he moves on. Once you serve them with a letter, keep a copy of the same letter in a safe place. The lodger should now know that you urgently need him to change a few things here and there.
If he does not change, write another letter that is more formal than the first one. Here, you can now tell him to either change or you evict him. You can even ensure that there is someone else representing during the whole undertaking. In case the lodger starts complaining, you will be able to produce the first copy of the letter to show that you had informed him to change his behavior.
In case the situation does not change, you can contact their kin to talk to him or them. If the lodger is a student, you can go ahead and talk to the administration of his university or college and see if you will get some help. If things fall out of place, you may have to serve the lodger with an eviction notice. As you serve the person with an eviction notice, you can give the lodger an extra two days so that he can organize how he will leave your house. However, do not allow them to spend a lot of extra time as they will not be paying for the extra duration spent in your house.
What should I do in case the lodger refuses to leave?
If you have already served the lodger with an eviction notice and he or she has refused to move within the stipulated period, there are a number of actions that you can take. These include:
- Refuse them from entering your house. One way to do this is to change the locks of your house. By doing so, they will not have access to your house even when you are not there.
- Look for an independent witness and let him or her know about the situation. He or she may be of help to you.
- Alert the police.
More importantly, do not use force as you may face assault charges in court. Instead, you should try to be as passive as possible to avoid future problems. You can even seek legal advice on the best steps to take moving forward.
Final Words
Although sharing a house with a lodger can help you save more money, sometimes, you might experience a few problems here and there. From the change of habits to the violation of the lodger agreement, there are many issues that may make it difficult to live with the lodger any longer. As a result, you may have to evict him or her. The procedure mentioned above can help you get started. Consider it today, and you will not be disappointed.