Problem with flatmate

qwerty21

I rent a house with three others, its a non-smoking house but one flatmate smokes in her room, the smell is everywhere, including everyone elses room. Nobody else smokes, so its quite annoying. Also her boyfriend stays here every night, showers, cooks, etc. here. Lets himself in even when shes not here. He contributes nothing, and she does not pay more for electricity etc, though he appears to have moved in.
None of us want to confront her cos we are chickens!, and yet it seems sly to call the estate agents and ask them to deal with it. I dont know my flatmate well and have no idea what her reaction could be.
Please advise!!

Senna

You probably need to just come out and say something. Did anyone state that there was to be no smoking in the house or is it just coincidental that the rest of tenants don't smoke?
Also, if there is one extra person now in the house, the bills should be split to accordingly.
Maybe the Letting agent could intervene, especially if that person was let the room as a single.

qwerty21

its stated in the all of our contracts that it is a no smoking house and that not us nor our visitors are to smoke! thanks for the advice!

AcePuppetMaster

I agree with Senna, you all need to say it to her together (united front). tell her that it is unfair that you are all paying for his electricity, heating and whatever else he helps himself to (toilet roll, food etc). Bottom line is this is costing you money. It is unfair and inconsiderate of her to move him in like this and break the tennency agreement by smoking in the house.

At the end of the day, I'd give her the benefit of the doubt (might be young and inconsederate as we all were) but after that if she gave guff or is unwilling to rectify the situation amicably then the ball is your corner and if the landlord/lady gets involved, you are the guys they will stand by. You pay a larger share and are not the cause of the problem.

You sound like sound people so give it a go, but don't be bullied into conceding! Good luck. This is a very common issue.

Btw: He is not a visitor if he lives there!

eth0_

You SHOULD have said something about the smoking as soon as she started smoking in the house. I don't know how you can put up with the stench.

If smoking was the only issue i'd give her the benefit of the doubt, however...having her boyfriend over every day, him having a key to the house - that is NOT ok. You should all sit down with her ASAP and tell her things need to change and that you rented the room to a single person, not a couple. Tell her you'd be fine with him coming over 2-3 nights a week but if the situation continues you'll inform the landlord.

Cadiz

qwerty21 wrote: »

its stated in the all of our contracts that it is a no smoking house and that not us nor our visitors are to smoke! thanks for the advice!

If it's in your lease that it's a no smoking house then you've an ideal excuse to tackle it with her. Just say you're worried about hassle with the landlord so can she stop smoking in the house please.

Then when you're mentioning that you can throw in "by the way as x [her boyfriend] is here so much, can he chip in for bills?"

Try and keep it unconfrontational, don't gang up on her, it will make your own lives easier if you can sort it out pleasantly.