Lodgers Agreement and insurance for lodgers??

[feebs77]

Hi all,

I will be lodging with someone on a temporary monthly rolling basis, while I am waiting for a property purchase to complete.

The landlord wants me to use a NLRA Lodgers Agreement while I stay with her.
She wants to amend the agreement and cross off things like notice periods.

The landlord is a live in landlord, and she wants an informal arrangement set up more like a house share.

So we agreed all utilities are included in the monthly rent, and we would share buying some cleaning/sanitary products etc and I would share with cleaning the house and my room ( which is fine as I have a dog).

I am concerned about a few things in the Lodgers Agreement as it is really set up to protect the landlord and not really the lodger :

1) the deposit can be kept, and the landlord can demand even more compensation from the lodger, if things like utilities aren't paid and damage is done to the property.

The house has been used as an airbnb, and is very 'lived in' and not refurbished to 'guest house' standards for some time - so it would be difficult to distinguish any damage I had done from general wear and tear.

What do people do when the house/room hasn't be refurbished for some time?

2) The lodgers personal possessions aren't insured by the landlord, in the lodgers agreement.

The bedroom - where I had planned to leave all my valuables - needs to be kept accessible to the landlord at any time!

So what insurance can I get as a lodger for a room that needs to be kept accessible?

Should I lock things in the boot of my car, while I'm outside the lodgings, and get my mum (where I have my correspondence address) to amend her house insurance to include my personal belongings outside her home?

3) The lodgers obligations after the agreement has ended.
What does this mean?

After I leave the property, can the landlord try to come after me to pay for further damages if noticed later on after I've left? As I said, there's alot of wear and tear in the property already.

Any advice most welcome!

[AndrewDod]

1. That's normal. Of course you will contract to sort stuff you mess up, and to do so beyond any deposit. Arguments about how that is assessed/valued is a different matter.

2. Can't insure stuff that doesn't belong to you. Being accessible is the nature of the agreement. You can get your own insurance.

3. Not sure what you mean.

[theartfullodger]

https://england.shelter.org.uk/housi...enting/lodgers
&
https://england.shelter.org.uk/legal...luded_occupier

or 'phone Shelter 0808 800 4444

[amy131]

I think you either agree to what the landlord is asking or find somewhere else, it doesn't sound like there is flexibility to change anything in the agreement you are not happy with. I personally don't require lodgers to clean communal spaces, just to clean up after themselves, and I hire a cleaner when I don't live at the property where I live currently. I expect one months 'reasonable' notice from a lodger and this is what I would give if I give notice to a lodger, since rent is paid monthly, if rent is paid weekly then the notice period may be 1 week.
Take photos of the room upon moving in and moving out. Ask if there can be an inventory, and notes made of the condition of furnishings when you move in.

[jpkeates]

If you're a lodger with a dog, your choice of accommodation is going to be so limited that I'd not be that picky about the small print of the lodgers agreement.

[feebs77]

Fair comments.

I actually just wanted to do Airbnb as I am buying a house and need temporary accommodation, and so airbnb would be permitted during the pandemic.

But my landlord really wants to avoid the airbnb fees.

I'm wondering if this Lodgers Agreement is really appropriate to what I need, as it really protects the Landlord and not really me.

E.g. I can't get travel insurance - like I would if it was airbnb.