UK Landlord Forum / Life

Hi all, looking for some advise around evicting a tenant/lodger. I've used the search function and had a look through the forum but haven't managed to find something quite applicable to my situation.

The annexe/property
The property is a self contained annexe to my property comprising of 2 rooms, a bathroom and kitchen (essentially a converted single width garage). The annexe is entered via a shared enclosed porch (with a front door), from which 1 door leads to my residence and the other door leads to the annexe. We also share a driveway and the rear garden.

The annexe has it's own electricity meter although it is billed from the household account. There is no gas in the property.

Background
The annexe was advertised on a popular open room letting website and let to the current tenant from September 2022. A draft 'Lodgers Agreement' template was filled and shared with the tenant via email (although it has draft written across it) however only now have we realised the agreement was never printed and formally signed. The agreement is titled 'lodger agreement, Excluded license agreement for letting out a room in your home' and explicitly states 'This license is an excluded license as defined in section 3A protection from evocations act 1977'.

The advert and lodgers agreement states the licence to occupy shall end in March 2023 (6month agreement) and we've never reviewed/renewed the agreement. Additionally the agreement states no smoking or pets.

We do hold a deposit/bond which is just over 1 months rent but it is not in any formal deposit scheme. Rent is via bank transfer and the bills are paid by cash.

Issue
Since he moved in he has been quite eccentric and often played the guitar loudly at night but not too late so it was never really a huge issue. He also was clearly smoking cigars indoors but it's proven difficult to get him to stop so we've essentially turned a blind eye to it to avoid having to engage with him constantly. His behaviour (while not aggressive, but very dismissive) essentially caused us to avoid inspecting the property regularly unfortunately.

However after months of him occupying the annexe, we finally managed to inspect it where we discovered he had a caged crow, several fish tanks and had installed several shelves to the walls to hold all his belongings. He eventually moved the crow to an outside shed for several months before finally releasing it around a month ago.

In the last month the tenant has lost his job (for reasons unknown) and his behaviour has become extremely erratic and he is often clearly on some sort of drugs. We often hear him shouting and screaming throughout the day and sometimes at night.

He still has several fish tanks which have started to cause mould on the walls which he is now trying to charge us to 'fix' himself. He is also trying to charge us £400 for labour for painting a 1m square ceiling in the bathroom in lieu of paying the January utility bill (which is half that amount).

All other rent and bills at this point are paid and upto date.

Unfortunately this has also coincided with our decision to try and sell the property and move, however we want to remove the tenant before selling the property.

We have tried to talk to him but he is more often than not on drugs and any communication has become increasingly strained. It's not a great situation especially sharing a front porch with him.

Looking online it is difficult to determine exactly what the best way to proceed is and I've spent hours reading conflicting information unfortunately so hoping for some advice on what the best way to proceed is.

Quote from: Dees on March 19, 2024, 10:08:17 PMLooking online it is difficult to determine exactly what the best way to proceed is and I've spent hours reading conflicting information unfortunately so hoping for some advice on what the best way to proceed is.

You can disregard the conflicting information by understanding that he is clearly a tenant, not a lodger, despite what is written in your 'Lodgers Agreement'. He has his own kitchen & bathroom and does not share living space with you.

It is likely that you will also not have fulfilled other requirements associated with having a tenant, so the Section 21 route will not be open you to.

Others forum members may be along to suggest what you might do, however given the errors you made in setting up the tenancy, you'll probably need the services of a professional eviction company to help regain possession of your converted garage.

As @Handyman says, what you have there is a tenant, and one that's going to be very difficult to evict.

The OP even refers to "tenant" multiple times in their post. I think they understand, but probably don't want to accept the situation they've created.

While difficult to talk to this person, I would be making efforts to do so and another hidden effort to avoid anything formalised (which is going to be a nightmare route by the sounds of it). I would be tempting the Tenant with silver, the intention of which is to get some kind of amicable departure... and hoping it works (I have many doubts it would).

Thank you all for your responses. When looking online I was confused about the various tenancy types, I wasn't sure if the agreement with the specific wording of excluded license agreement meant that I may not be subject to normal eviction processes.

And while I understand that the agreement had not been signed, there is clear intent as it was shared and rent/payments received demonstrating agreement to the contract.

It sounds like I'm in quite a mess but again thank you all for your responses and any help or additional advice is extremely welcome!

There's no requirement for a tenancy to have any written agreement. If the tenant(s) have exclusive possession of a dwelling house and are paying rent for it, that's a residential tenancy (if it's in England) and will be an Assured Tenancy and the chances are that it's an Assured Shorthold Tenancy.

The written agreement is a complication, which is why you need some specialist help. It might be helpful, it might be unhelpful (or a mix of both).

It' s possible that he is too stoned and chaotic to realise he could exploit all your legal mistakes, but I would not bet on it. In addition, if there is a psychiatric history, you will be way out of your depth. Personally I would not say a word about it to him until you get advice from a specialist eviction company . Good luck!   

Thank you all for your responses, I will definitely engage with a specialist company and hopefully have something positive to report back for anyone else who may find themselves in a similar situation.

Quote from: Dees on March 20, 2024, 08:53:09 PMIt sounds like I'm in quite a mess but again thank you all for your responses and any help or additional advice is extremely welcome!

...

I will definitely engage with a specialist company and hopefully have something positive to report back for anyone else who may find themselves in a similar situation.

@Dees, this is likely to be an expensive and protracted process for you - but you have no choice because of the way you set up this tenancy.


Do some homework before choosing an eviction company and be completely open with them so that they can advise you in the best way possible.

And please do come back periodically to update this thread with your progress (positive or negative). It will be helpful to people on this forum now and in future to understand the steps that the company takes on your behalf and the timescales involved.

Good luck.

I agree that he's a tenant and not a licensee, but he may be a non-housing act tenant as its sounds as though the garage is physically connected to the rest of the house. It would take a specialist landlord and tenant solicitor to tell you your chances of arguing this in court though.