My lodger won't pay her last month's rent and her room smells vile

Raskolnikov

blackboots wrote: »

Maybe I'm a soft touch but I thought maybe I should wait to see if the transfer goes through then if it doesn't; on Monday I tell her either she pays the rent or she's out by Friday the 11th. I still would not be out of pocket by then.

I think that's the fairest thing to do in this circumstance.

blackboots

Yeah it probably is, I'd rather this just ended with me not being screwed, not overcharging her on her deposit and just to have her gone and out of my life.

I'll let you know how it goes.

newmug

blackboots wrote: »

So we had a "chat" and I'm no further to a resolution, I probably could have been a little more assertive.

I asked her about the rent again, said I still hadn't got it, she said she had made the transfer yesterday. I'm not sure I believe her since we are both with the same bank so usually when she transfers money it shows up straight away. Anyway then she said she had to go on a trip with her work tomorrow (she works for the tourism industry) and she would be gone from 5.30am tomorrow and back on Sunday evening. She said she would ring the bank about the rent.

Is she doing any packing? Cos that sounds to me like you'll never see her again!

blackboots

newmug is on the ball!!

Yes she seems to be doing a little more packing than is necessary for a weekend away!!

I thought it was just wishful thinking though as her original deposit would leave me with more than enough to cover her rent to this point, the bills, cleaning and some change for her.

I'll let you know what happens.

bath handle

Raskolnikov wrote: »

Why not?

Where does it say that?

It is a very general statement of the law which cannot take into account specific situations. It is implicit in it that notice periods are by reference to three being no breach of contract. Take the situation someone trashing a hotel bedroom. The management would be entitled to throw them physically out on the street immediately. If someone was thrown out on the spot for no good reason there would be a breach of contract by the hotel and compensation would be payable.

blackboots

It was just wishful thinking - she hasn't taken all her belongings and the rent went through this morning. I nearly fell over, serves me right for thinking the worst.

So I guess I'll be puting up with her...ahem..."aroma" and counting the days until the 30th March, 26 to go.

Since she's away this weekend I just might not be able to stop myself from boil washing her sheets and trying to get some of the smell out I could show the room then and line someone up to rent it - every little helps at the moment.

mydearwatson

blackboots wrote: »

Since she's away this weekend I just might not be able to stop myself from boil washing her sheets and trying to get some of the smell out I could show the room then and line someone up to rent it - every little helps at the moment.

OK, I get that she's in the wrong here.

But as someone who has lived in rented rooms in owner-occupied houses in the past ... the idea of the owner coming into my room when I'm away, and even going as far as to wash my sheets! :eek::eek::eek: Yuck, it's so wrong, even in your circumstances! This is the sort of thing that puts people off living in owner-occupied places.

blackboots

I take your point watson and I'd certainly be annoyed if anyone went into my room without permission. I try to act as much as a flatmate as possible and house rules are set up that way - I don't have any extra rights to common spaces

In the four months she was here before giving her notice I never set foot inside her room and never thought I would be even considering this. However it was agreed when she moved in that I would have access to her room for viewings during the last month of her stay. The condition she keeps her room in is now interfering with my being able to let it. Her sheets are visibly manky and they reek like you wouldn't believe.

To be honest I actually don't think she would be annoyed if I washed them. And if it does I'll just say very nicely that I was trying to freshen up the room to make it more attractive blah blah blah without saying anything nasty about her questionable hygiene.

Am I really that out of line?

blackboots

"the idea of the owner coming into my room when I'm away"..."yuck"

She has already given me permission to go into her room. Admittedly for viewings but.....

mydearwatson

blackboots wrote: »

I take your point watson and I'd certainly be annoyed if anyone went into my room without permission. I try to act as much as a flatmate as possible and house rules are set up that way - I don't have any extra rights to common spaces

In the four months she was here before giving her notice I never set foot inside her room and never thought I would be even considering this. However it was agreed when she moved in that I would have access to her room for viewings during the last month of her stay. The condition she keeps her room in is now interfering with my being able to let it. Her sheets are visibly manky and they reek like you wouldn't believe.

To be honest I actually don't think she would be annoyed if I washed them. And if it does I'll just say very nicely that I was trying to freshen up the room to make it more attractive blah blah blah without saying anything nasty about her questionable hygiene.

Am I really that out of line?

Yes, I think that you are.

There's a difference between making her room available for viewing, and having the owner actually wash her sheets without her prior knowledge. I would feel utterly mortified and humiliated if someone did that to me! And very angry about it.

Why can't you just nicely ask her to do it? And if she refuses, then offer to do it yourself.

How would you feel if you were away for a weekend, and she washed your sheets? Honestly? Just because you don't "think" she'd be annoyed about it, it doesn't make it true!

Yawns

There is a line tho with privacy. Some people won't care if you washed the sheets and made the bed for a viewing but others would. I understand you are trying to line up future tennants and this is very off putting.

Maybe next time you see her have a chat and explain that some people are coming to view the room over the next week. Ask would it be ok for you to to a spring clean on the room as well as the house. Try to make it seem as if you are giving the whole house a cleaning as you arn't directing that her room in particular needs cleaning.

If she agrees, then go ahead and throw the rubbish etc out. Once she says ok then go for it. If she asks, just say during the cleaning you noticed the smell, threw the rubbish out and did not touch her personal belongings. Even call her or send her a text to try get to is asap.

Miaireland

Text her and say that you have noticed a smell coming out of her room and would it be ok to see if there is something causing. You can say that it would be unpleasant for her to face home to on Sunday.

I would then go in and remove the rubbish. Put it in a bag and leave the bag outside until she returns home (just on the off chance that she would claim you are throwing out her things).

blackboots

ooh that's a good idea mia

seamus

I wouldn't do any washing or otherwise go into her room without her knowing. You're not running a hotel or B&B, she has a right (especially now that her rent is paid up! ) to privacy in her bedroom.

Even if you are arranging viewings, it's only courtesy to text her and tell her when you have someone coming over to take a look. At least then she will know that someone will be/has been in her room.

You could even use that as an excuse - "I have someone coming over take a look at the room tonight, would you mind if I just straightened up the room a bit? I won't throw anything out or move anything", etc.

blackboots

Ok ok, I'll go with the general consensus - will leave her to wallow in her own filth for the moment and then try to ask her if I could possibly spring clean her room. Icky!

She has paid the rent and is leaving soon so..........good riddance to bad rubbish. hee hee :P

Yawns

GL with new tennant, just try to grin and bear it. explain you can quickly show the room but someone is still there atm. Make sure to show off the rest of the house etc. Let the future tennants know you respect the privacy of all tennants in your home.

HardyEustace

bb, I posted here about problems I've had previously with people vacating rooms and leaving them in a horrible state. Picking someone's toenails off the bathroom floor is fairly heave inducing.

One good suggestion that was mooted was to sit down with the tenant about two weeks or a week before they leave, tell them EXACTLY the standard that you expect the room to be left in (here you could mention the smell) and say that if the room is not left in that state you would be prepared to withhold part of the deposit in order to pay for professional cleaners/buy new curtains etc..

I do not under any circumstances think you start stripping beds, washing sheets or clearing rubbish. While you've had problems with the tenant, this is a grave violation of their right to privacy.

SteoL

I hope she doesn't read Boards....... :P

ricman

she gave up her right to privacy, she has a closet full of rubbish,give her black bags, say i,m giving you 4 days to clean your room, remove all rubbish,and food.i,ll inspect it in 5days.
if you dont clean it ,i will.She is causing a health hazard to you,and costing you money.There s a time to be polite,and a time to be blunt.this is not the time for great politeness,shes already ripping you off, her deposit is not gonna cover the cost of cleaning,new sheets or a new carpet ,or matress.
.You should have a tenancy agreement ,rooms must be kept clean,all rubbish must be left in the bin, any extra cleaning costs will be taken from the deposit, the deposit should be at least 6 weeks rent.
regardless of privacy i,ll remove all rubbish from the press , if you dont do it.
Shes a health hazard ,by acting this way ,shes giving up the right to privacy.

Yawns

ricman, that has probably got to be the most useless post I've ever read on boards. Did you even read thru the thread?

The lodger hasn't got much in the way of rights to begin with. She has paid rent up to date so far, it took some time to come thru the bank.

6 weeks deposit? Guess you havn't rented much in Ireland as 1 month is the norm.

New carpet? Even if you knew anything about tennancies, you'd know that you would lose a case for deducting costs of a new carpet over normal wear n tear. You'd want some polaroid pics with a newspaper showing proof for before and after tennancy. Even tho you'd be pushing it.


4 days to clean her room? I know what I'd be telling you to do with your black bags if you said that to me. But then again a 6 week deposit up front would tell me far more about what kind of landlord you are to deal with...


I'm just gonna end here thinking, hoping, praying that you are trolling....

blackboots

I hope she doesn't read boards too!!

Yawns I agree with you....to a point.

Can I just reiterate, the smell when you walk into her room is quite overpowering. It's coming from rubbish not being thrown away and from bedding that hasn't been washed in FOUR MONTHS and sleeps a girl who is quite happy to leave a sizable interval between washes herself.

I live in a very nice area and have a very nice apartment so the rent is quite high. There is no way that anyone viewing would want to stay in that room. Furthermore even if I wait until she has left to have people view the room, nothing but a professional clean - either by myself with hired equipment or by a cleaning contractor - will make the mattress and possibly the carpet acceptable. So to go back to my original post, I'm not being unreasonable by deducting those costs from her deposit am I? To hire a steam cleaner would be around €60 for a weekend or getting a contractor in would cost about €35 for the carpet and something from €20 for the mattress according to rombiscleaning.ie

As posted by Seamus, having to get this done after 3 years would be normal wear and tear, but surely not after four months.

blackboots

Also while she was away I took the opportunity to bleach the hell out of the bathroom she uses which had started to smell like her, not even close to what her room smells like though. It's not "her bathroom", it's the main bathroom which I don't use as I have an en suite, it is used as a WC by guests though.

Anyway I started to clean the bath and realised the water wasn't going down the drain and the bath was filling up. So with a plunger it took me 45 minutes to unclog it!! Full of hair and crap and even some plastic - the wrapper from something or other. I even had to unscrew the u-bend (it's a free standing bath so access was easy) and go at it from underneath.

I'm so annoyed that she let it get that bad and never said anything to me like "I think there's a problem with the drain - the water is really really slow to empty" I think I took more hair out of that drain than she has on her head - unbelievable since she washes so rarely.

Kimia

I'd be careful Blackboots - as far as I know it's illegal for cleaning costs to be taken out of a deposit. I know it's awful and she sounds like an animal, but I don't think you can take any money out of her deposit for cleaning, only for damages. That's the risk you take by being a landlord unfortunately.

Yawns

Sry blackboots I was directing mine at ricman re the replacing carpet.

If the mattress is filthy then get a cleaner. make sure to have a receipt and give her a COPY. Keep them safe for future reference. More than likely she will just leave it. If you need to deduct costs then do so but you seem to have a level head about what the costs are going to be.

Again don't be afraid to have chats with her if you need to. If its a general use bathroom then of course you can clean it all but if I were in your shoes I'd be having words with her about it. It's a communal area and I'm sure you would have mentioned to her in beginning that communal areas are to be kept clean after use.

Re the smell. I know, they can be terrible. I house shared once when starting out but never again. I need to rent privately for own sanity. This girl sounds like a filthy lil ***** alright tho and I do feel for you.

You could still always ask her to clean her room. Note the difference between asking and telling tho. As you said you pay service charges each year so she doesn't have to pay for bins or anything. She just sounds real lazy tbh.

Yawns

Kimia wrote: »

I'd be careful Blackboots - as far as I know it's illegal for cleaning costs to be taken out of a deposit. I know it's awful and she sounds like an animal, but I don't think you can take any money out of her deposit for cleaning, only for damages. That's the risk you take by being a landlord unfortunately.

I was thinking that too but would that not apply to tenancies for say 2 years and it would be consider wear n tear. Such as painting walls? Then it would be illegal. After 4 months if you need to replace something is wrong but then you'd have to prove it was perfect. If the bed is say 4 years old and you are replacing a mattress some may argue it would have to be replaced soon anyway so not to deduct from the deposit.

Kimia

Yawns wrote: »

I was thinking that too but would that not apply to tenancies for say 2 years and it would be consider wear n tear. Such as painting walls? Then it would be illegal. After 4 months if you need to replace something is wrong but then you'd have to prove it was perfect. If the bed is say 4 years old and you are replacing a mattress some may argue it would have to be replaced soon anyway so not to deduct from the deposit.

Yea it's a tough one. I suppose the best way is to see if it's worth it, I mean if it costs 50 euro to hire a steam cleaner after she's gone, I wouldn't bother trying to deduct that in case of the hassle / trouble you could get into. But if she has to replace the mattress due to stains or something (yuck) then I'd take that out of the deposit.

Bloody hell, this girl sounds manky. OP, did you ever talk to her about the smell and the rubbish? If so what was her response? I have read the thread but it appears that she's not engaging with you or has she?

Yawns

Just a quick quote from Treshhold. Not the law & they are aimed more at the full tennant than some1 renting a room but just a quick look revelaed this:

When you leave, your landlord must promptly return your deposit. The landlord may only keep some or all of the deposit to cover rent arrears or the costs of repairing any damage above normal wear and tear.

I found that on this page here. http://www.threshold.ie/page.asp?menu=70&page=244

Yawns

Agree with Kimia tbh. If you can get away with a steam cleaner for €60 and consider it a very hard learned lesson. Which is to always have the clean talk with tennants

Communal areas are a must clean after use. You can do as you like in your room providing you don't damage things that are there already and you don't horde refuse in any part of the room.


Oh btw have you tried putting a swing bin by her door each night? She might get the hint eventually

blackboots

The room was not advertised as having an en suite and I did say to her when she viewed that it was the main bathroom so she would not have exclusive use of it so I'm all right there. And to be fair she does keep it tidy, she is a filthy whatever you want to call her, she keeps everything tidy, she just seems to have no concept of the difference between clean and tidy. I will say to her about the drain when she comes back, though probably just mention to her that I unclogged it and what was in it, not much point in laying down any more ground rules now that she's leaving so soon.

As regards the mattress, it's one year old and was expensive. As I said I had another lodger before her. That lodger was there for six months (I kind of like the short term lets) and she kept the room immaculately. I don't have any proof of the condition of the mattress before smellycat moved in but I do have a receipt for it. And I would have no problem getting a letter in writing from the first lodger about the condition of the room when she moved out. I think that would cover me.

I think you're right though, this girl will hopefully and probably not chase me if I make the deductions I've outlined, she's leaving the country and it's not a large sum of money. I think it would be too much hassle for her?

ricman

I,M not a lawyer ,but i think shes causing material damage ,eg you are probably gonna have buy a new mattress, new sheets, new curtains, new carpets, thats not normal wear and tear ,thats at least 150 euro.ITS quite reasonable to take x amount from the deposit ,thats what deposits are for, to insure against damage caused by a tenant ,or a shortfall in rent.YOU may not wish to get into an argument about this, you may just be happy to get rid of this person and get your residence back to normal.
I,M giving my opinion , i consider trolling ,insulting someone or trying to cause a row,by being rude or sarcastic,or taking an extreme position on a subject to get a reaction from other forum users.
if shes says shes leaving on day x, make sure theres a friend there to back you up,i would not trust this person.
I know people are always complaining about landlords, but sometimes they can be the victim too, they can be taken advantage of by weird people like the tenant in this thread.Thats why a proper tenancy agreement is vital,
and interviewing tenants properly is very important ,ie if you get a sense this person is strange or antisocial, dont take em on as a tenant.
I KNOW a landlord ,he asks for 6 weeks rent as a deposit ,about 450 euro.
HE only takes on people who are on a good wage ,and he never gets ripped off , he probably talks to 7 people before he takes 1 on as a tenant.They are happy to pay a deposit, they get a full refund when they
leave ,unless there s like 1 weeks rent due.