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

blackboots · 04-03-2011 11:36pm

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 · 04-03-2011 11:45pm

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 · 04-03-2011 11:52pm

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 · 04-03-2011 11:58pm

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 · 05-03-2011 12:01am

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 · 05-03-2011 12:04am

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 · 05-03-2011 12:05am

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 · 05-03-2011 12:08am

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 · 05-03-2011 12:16am

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 · 05-03-2011 12:23am

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.

blackboots · 05-03-2011 12:29am

Kimia I did talk to her about keeping the house clean when she viewed, I told her that I like to keep the communal areas really clean and tidy but am not fussy about her room. I myself often have an untidy room, just never dirty!! I just never saw this coming.

And yes it's very hard to engage with her as she's always holed up in her room, as said of a weekend she will spend the entire time in her room - I've seen Single White Female, I don't want to have a row with a weirdo in my home. The smell crept up so gradually that by the time came that something had to be said it was early February - then I was away for a little while and then I remembered that she mentioned March as a possible move out date and thought I would ask her to move out then, she just beat me to it. Also tbh I was dreading the conversation of having to tell someone that their room smells like something died in it so could they please up their hygiene routine

Have I mentioned to her about the rubbish? eh I'm not supposed to know about that, that's the bad thing I did by looking in her wardrobe.

Costs - I'm kind of swaying towards having the pros come do it. Some websites say you shouldn't use a steam cleaner on a mattress. Also the hired version justs spits out steam whereas the things the pros use spit out steam and have a vacuum thing as well to make sure they really get rid of all the dirt.

Yawns · 05-03-2011 12:31am

/ignores post #61

If you have a receipt showing you just purchased it, then yes go ahead, have it cleaned. I certainly would. I would also assume as she's leaving the country she will not put up too much hassle if you deducted €60 from deposit for cleaning costs.

So she's paid rent up to date. has she paid bills up to date too? It's because she's leaving the country she will want to make sure she gets her deposit so I think you could do one last thing that would be fair for both parties.

Have a chat about how you would like the room to be left as it was found. Give her a chance to clean it. You never know, she might surprise you (and us). Have a look when she is moving out. If you are satisfied then give her the deposit back minus any arrears. If the mattress is badly stained etc then inform her soon you will need a proper cleaner in to do it.

Again, we can only sympathize with you.

Yawns · 05-03-2011 12:33am

Aye you did say you are not supposed to know about the rubbish. You could always ask her does she smell something funny when you walk near her door.

blackboots · 05-03-2011 12:43am

Yawns as I said the girl is tidy, if I took a photo of her room you'd say it was perfect, apart from the grimy look of the mattress which is quite visible and was like new when she moved in. I know that you're right, I should give her the opportunity to clean it herself before she leaves but I would hazard a guess that she would just maybe go at it with some soap and water, damaging the mattress further and then lay a load of Febreeze on it, which is not a cleaning product in my opinion. So couldn't I just say to her that the room has to be clean when she leaves, not specifying the mattress in particular......

Yawns · 05-03-2011 12:50am

Hmmm tough one. She is tidy but not clean. She's more a out of sight out of mind person. This will lead to akwardness as she will deny she is unclean. Perhaps your're right. Mention that it should be as clean as how she found it. Then hire a cleaner.

If she did decide to try to make a complaint her options are very limited. She hasn't got the usual tennant rights. If I were you I would prob get it cleaned and deduct but it's your call at the end of the day. Just get a receipt and then show her when she comes wondering why she got deducted.

GarRoIT · 05-03-2011 12:56am

Im no expert but from what I have heard before the deposit is to return the property/room to its original state including any damages but excluding normal wear and tear.

I wouldn't consider a bad smell normal wear an tear, and the smell was not part of the original state of the room so in my opnion your fully right to take the money to correct it from the deposit.

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

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