Housemate Putting Fellow Tenants In Danger

SiouxTrick

Advice Needed.

I’m having a very stressful issue with a housemate who is frequently making our rented property unsafe.

There are 3 of us in the house - I’m here just over two years. Another is here just over year and the problem housemate is here a year. We all moved in through another tenant finding them on Daft, not gotten by landlord/ homeowner.

She frequently leave keys in front door, brings strangers in the house she met in clubs without telling us, and MOST dangerously left the front door open about a foot on Friday night. I only discovered it was open when I got up in the morning.

The open door and keys in door are biggest security issue, but hanging club guys back at all hours once led to housemate #2 waking up to a random guy coming into her room when she was in bed. It was a guy problem-housemate had brought home…

Important to note our front door is on pavement or busy pedestrian road. So if door is open, you walk straight into our living room.

We are extremely stressed that she will do this again as she has not acknowledged the issue at all or apologised to us, even when I confronted her about the danger she causes to fellow tenants, the property and belongings within.

She just doesn’t speak to us now and seemed surprised and confused as to when I brought it up to her about finding the door open in Saturday morning (no one else had been up that morning yet, she was last one in night before). Really arrogant but strange behaviour. The fact she didn’t apologise is beyond childish.

I’ve told the landlord and flagged the fact she is putting other tenants and herself in danger with repeated drunken carelessness, however they are not responding. They are very difficult to contact.

I’m at my wits end now and even barricading my bedroom door at night in the event she leaves door open again all night when we’re asleep.

She is a trainee solicitor herself so I’m very aware she’s smug thinking there’s nothing I can do to have her removed and even the landlords probably can’t remove her. But this goes beyond the usual ‘housemate nuisance’, this is endangering us.

I really need advice from someone and am willing to progress to legal advice considering neither her nor the landlord have suggested any interest in removing risk.

Lastly, all three of us are named in lease though lease was never signed as it didn’t have our accurate move in dates. Landlord never sent us a correct one. Problem-housemate actually seemed keen to leave the lease unsigned, which makes a little sense now. Girl has no interest in responsibility.

I’m guessing I have to with tenancy solicitor here? And please no suggestions that I should just take the high road and move out. Not happening, I was here first and love this house. She treats it like a college dorm!

sydthebeat

A "Self closer" on the front door would solve the door issue.

chiefwiggum

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120513762#Comment_120513762

Not if she's leaving the keys in the door!

FishOnABike

Next time she leaves her key in the door it would be a shame if it went missing and neither you or the other tennant were willing to give her a key to get copied.

A row at the door with her every time she brings home an after club guest might cramp her style too.

timmyntc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120513762#Comment_120513762

Not if she leaves her keys in the front door

Locks on your bedroom doors instead would solve one of those problems - not much you can do about the common areas unfortunately

NattyO

Change the front door lock to a keypad and put a closer on the door.

Spear

This has nothing to do with DRP. Confirm your email address so you can post properly, then I'll move this to a forum that's actually related to the topic instead.

SiouxTrick

I thought that too but not if she continues to leave her key in the front door on the street side. Risk still exists.

SiouxTrick

Sorry about that but can’t find any email notification to verify nor a method to resend such mail.

SiouxTrick

Can’t take her key as would make me liable for legal action. Her name is on the lease (albeit unsigned) and I am not the landlord.

Also not gonna make my life miserable by staying up waiting for her to come in just to have an argument…

SiouxTrick

Highly doubt landlord would shell out for this

SiouxTrick

Exactly

Furze99

A "trainee solicitor"? Her employers mightn't be too impressed.

Flinty997

Lock them out a few times by accident. Make the situation untenable for them..

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120514870#Comment_120514870

Why would her employer be involved? What she does in her own time and private life is none of her employer's business.

OP if you don't have locks and keys for your bedroom doors, talk to the landlord and get permission to install a bolt lock on the inside of your bedroom doors so you can at least lock it when sleeping. Simple yet effective. They cost less than a fiver and you could do it yourself.

Install a security lock with chain or restrictor on the front door, and if she is not home by the time the last housemate goes to bed the chain goes on and she'll have to knock and wake someone up to get in. Which will take at least an hour or longer because you and the other housemates all wear earplugs while sleeping and keep your phones on silent.

After a couple of times of this she might cop about the door.

Not much you can do about her bringing guys home though.

Flinty997

Locks on a bedroom door isn't going to stop the place being robbed when no one's is there.

jamesd

Door closer on door - not expensive, also when she leaves the keys in the door outside just take them in and throw them under a sitting room sofa so she might take care where she leaves them the next time.

CoffeeImpala

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120514050#Comment_120514050

Why would you be liable for legal action if an "unknown" third party took her keys from the door the next time they're left there?

As you are all tenants there's not much you can do. I imagine the landlord will get tired of changing the locks after awhile.

Flinty997

Nothing will work if she keeps giving keys to strangers. She can't be trusted with a key basically. She'd give the key code away if it was a number pad.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120515044#Comment_120515044

No, but it may make the other housemates feel a bit more secure when she brings someone home.

I don't know why the bedrooms don't have locks already, any shared house I ever lived in always had doors that you could lock.

hayrabit

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120515182#Comment_120515182

indeed; what's she gonna say? "It must've been one of my housemates, because I've got form for that sort of thing (leaving keys in door) ! "

hardly !!

I second that taking her keys out the door idea, and hiding them offsite (or some better plan) . not seeing the downside tbf

there's enough crims out there without giving them a veritable invite into your house OP

Flinty997

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120515198#Comment_120515198

Fair comment. But most interior doors are not much more than cardboard.

I couldn't live with some one this careless with my safety or my belonging or my "home".

Furze99

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120515004#Comment_120515004

If I was her employer, I'd be interested to know in this behaviour.. wouldn't you?? But maybe you live a sheltered life away from the real world of work?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120515359#Comment_120515359

No I wouldn't. Why would I? It's none of my business what employees get up to outside of the workplace and on their own time.

Maybe you come from a time when jobs came with "morals clauses" attached?

However in modern times, employees are entitled to private lives, and that includes getting drunk and having people stay overnight if they want too.

The Continental Op

Wouldn't locked bedroom doors be an issue for the Landlord in that they would be a risk in a fire?

Flinty997

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120515398#Comment_120515398

I seriously doubt they'd care.

Flinty997

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120515388#Comment_120515388

The safety of others is being effected.

Beasty

Closing this thread until the OP gets their email confirmation sorted

Spear

Re-opened and moved to Accommodation and Property.

Bricriu

I shared a house with one like that for a while.

A nightmare! I don't know how she was brought up or how her childhood home was managed, but she hadn't a clue.

There was no malice in it; she was just naive, innocent and stupid.

You will have no peace with the one you're sharing with; get rid of her - in any way you can.

sprucemoose

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120515004#Comment_120515004

she is the last roomate so you cant basically lock her out, unless there was some sort of agreement for this when she moved in

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120515194#Comment_120515194

who said she gives keys to strangers. leaving them in the door has been mentioned but i didnt see anything about giving keys away

Flinty997

Ask yourself. Who has access to the keys left in the door, on a busy street.

Mrs OBumble

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120515388#Comment_120515388

Riding whatever she picks up in a club - fine. An employer will only care if she screws a client, unwilling colleague or some other professional connection (judge, guard etc) - and then only if it brings the firm into disrepute.

But lack of basic cop-on with regard to premises security is absolutely something an employer would care about. Particularly from someone who will likely be handling confidential materials and have access to secure areas.

Next time she leaves her key in the front door, I reckon it just goes missing. None of the housemates took it (honest!!!) - it just disappears.

It's just another wind-up job. And also maybe cultural appropriation cos I doubt they're Sioux.

FledNanders

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120525105#Comment_120525105

You're saying an employer would be concerned with an employee mistakenly leaving their keys in the front door of their private residence once or twice?

Half the country should be out of a job so

Flinty997

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120526802#Comment_120526802

They said "frequently leave keys in front door"

Can't be much of a job if they don't care about accuracy, attention to detail, security or GDPR. Because these things are ingrained habits.

growleaves

Trying to interfere with someone's employment as a third-party outsider can leave you open to being sued under tort law.

Stay away from their employer.

It also could start a serious feud since people don't appreciate having their livelihood taken away.

Flinty997

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120526968#Comment_120526968

Feud lol. That ship has sailed.

People don't appreciate to having their belongings stolen or waking up to a stranger in their room.

Make an official Complaint to the LL. If they don't do anything. Report them to the RTB for antisocial behaviour.

https://ipoa.ie/anti-social-behaviour/

spaceHopper

If she leaves the keys on the door take them and don't say anything let her stew. She'll have to fess up that she's done it again. She's not going to take legal action. 

Your LL is not a social worker or mediator, they don't want to hear complaints from you and if they get involved in kicking her out she could take them to the RTB. 

Give her a warning that if the keys are left in the door or the door left open again by her she'll be kicked out by you and the other tenant and replaced. You'll need to have enough money to cover her rent for month and you'll need to email the LL that you've given her the warning as it's simply gotten out of hand. 

If she does it again tell her she either accepts that she's gone or comes home to find her stuff in bags ready to go into the street - she's a week to find somewhere. 

Look for keys in the house to see if there is one for her room so that you can either lock it you can open it if she locks it.

If you do kick her out, what's she going to do about it. Go court, appeal to the RTB, both would take time and her name would be in the public domain. Any future employer could google her and the legal profession is a small world in Ireland, she won't want to get a name for herself. 

Flinty997

If a complaint is made to the RTB about antisocial behaviour its the RTB that will rule on it not a court. A court would be unlikely to overrule the RTB. A Landlord is not going to ignore the RTB.

spaceHopper

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120528531#Comment_120528531

It will never get that far, she won't want her name on record. All LL's and employers will search her name on google, if anything from this came up it would simply be next please.

Flinty997

Maybe not. But she sounds arrogant, stupid and stubborn. Not all that rational.