Liability of living with lodger

[Stan]

Hi,

I jointly own an appartment with my parents and have previously had an informal 'verbal agreement' with a flatmate/lodger to help contribute to mortgage repayments/bills. This has always been minimum stay of 6 months with 2 months' notice if either of us wants out, with no deposit since they have always been friends or friends of friends. If I had a written agreement stating this, am I under any legal obligations for maintenance of the flat, deposit, using a deposit scheme?

Thanks for any advice anyone may have!

Stan

[Melboy]

If you are a co-owner of the flat I would say Yes you have joint and several liability with your parents for maintenance and anything else that should arise with that property.

A word of caution though........

Never but Never have a verbal contract. Written contracts are the only way forward in this business.

Personally I would avoid letting any of my properties to family or friends, too many cases of falling out big-time when a dispute arises.

A landlord has no friends in tenants.

Mel.

[Carryon Regardless]

I can see why Mel makes his comments but,

as lodgers have pretty much no rights a tenants I would be reluctant to chance giving them any rights due to a contract.

Writing a list of house rules may serve purpose but detailing notice periods can only be to your disadvantage as none are required by you.

Your points around 6 months lets and 2 months notice suggest you have some confusion as to requiring an AST agreement, you don't need any contractual agreement for a lodger where you share facilities such as bathroom and kitchen.

[Melboy]

Yes I did wonder about that fact also about lodger's COR.

You don't require anything for a lodger, verbal or written but I don't think we have the whole detailed story from the OP

Mel.

[Carryon Regardless]

Your probably right Mel, it's common for us to try and advise on a part story.

Stan if you clarify your situation we will be better placed to know the best advice for you.

[Caffiend]

On reading OP, I assumed that he was a live in LL as he said 'flatmate'. Shelter website has good overview of definitions of different living arrangements.

If you do NOT live in the flat, then you must absolutely protect the deposit and should have a written agreement as an assured tenancy exists - I'm not an expert in this scenario.

However, I've been a live in LL for a few years now: if you live in the flat yourself, then there is no legal obligation to put the deposit in a protected scheme, but I'd personally recommend keeping it in a separate bank account as a matter of good practice and ensure you give a receipt (just a regular additional personal savings account, no need for anything special). As other posters have said, there is also no legal requirement for a written contract, but just to avoid any misunderstandings it's best to have a lodger's agreement (WH Smith sell them) which makes the ground rules clear (for example, absolute clarity on what's included/expenses that will be shared, can they have friends/partner stay overnight, etc).

Two months notice is way too long to live with someone you might not get along with. One month is the 'norm' for a live in LL/lodger situation where rent (or strictly speaking, fee relating to licence to occupy!) is paid monthly and if lodger behaves really unacceptably, LL can give shorter (or even no) notice period.

Apart from health & safety obligations (gas safety, electrical safety etc) you have no maintenance obligations as such. For example, I haven't had a door between my living room and kitchen for a couple of years (folding door needed owing to awkward location + lopsided frame = tricky job to fix) as there's always more important things to spend a couple of hundred quid on (it had to be a new washing machine last month after my 8.5 year old one gave up the ghost ...). If lodger doesn't like the absence of that internal door, well, they can move out - they have no means of "making" me do that repair.