Brie asks :
Hi Lucy,
I live in a house-share with some other people, most of whom are lovely. Unfortunately, one of them is rather horrible. He never contributes to anything, never cleans, steals, lies, and invades other people's personal spaces, like bedrooms and other people's bathrooms. We've tried talking to him before about how he upsets us, but whenever we do he gets vicious and aggressive, personally attacking people for daring to say that he's upset them. So I've decided to talk to the landlord about possibly having him removed. I know this is extreme, but we as a house don't feel comfortable living with him, nor do we enjoy it. It's a horrible, tense atmosphere whenever he's around, and he leaves chaos in his wake. He knows exactly what he's doing, too. I've considered all other options, such as moving myself, but due to work commitments this isn't possible, and neither myself nor my other housemates want to be driven out by him. Do you think it's the right thing to do to talk to my landlord about the problems we're having with him? As I've said, we've tried talking to him ourselves on several occasions but he just gets worse. Thanks for your help, Brie.
Hi Brie,
Agony Aunts on Female First
You mention that you have talked to him in the past, have you ever talked about approaching the landlord? Perhaps if he knew that you are willing to take such extreme measures, he may start to pull his weight.
When you talk to him is it altogether? If not then it might help to speak to him two at a time, as he might feel ganged up on, which could be why he has had such a strong reaction in the past. It can be intimidating to have several people all accusing you of the same thing, so it might help to talk to him with fewer of you so he doesn't feel overwhelmed. I would suggest a minimum given his past behaviour.
Usually landlords only evict tenants in the event of not paying rent, causing damage to the property or doing something illegal on the premises. If it's more a clash of personality you might need to learn to live with it the best you can or be the ones to make the move. That said; if his behaviour is aggressive, there may be other rules for this too- it might be worth reading through your agreement thoroughly before approaching your landlord so you are well prepared on this topic.
You have said that you can't move due to work commitments- does your landlord have another property close to yours so it doesn't involve any extreme relocation? Perhaps you could work out your tenancy elsewhere? You could find another property close to that could house you all- it doesn't necessarily have to mean moving towns- possibly just a few streets.
If your landlord does get involved and finds no reason to evict him, then this could make the situation worse. Could you ask your landlord to put locks on the doors to your rooms and only grant him access to one bathroom perhaps while the rest of you use another one? If he steals, could you keep any non-perishable food in your bedrooms? Or invest in a mini fridge to house your fresh stuff? Although it may sound extreme, it might be a short term solution until his tenancy runs out- at which point you will all have more flexibility to move away from him.
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