Updating post from Reddit.
Hi all, I'm really hoping that you might have some knowledge or advice relating to my current circumstances.
I (23M) moved house in April. I am sharing this house with a colleague of mine (64M). We are both written into the tenancy: 6 months thereafter moving onto a monthly rolling contract.
This man is a nightmare to live with. Initially for noise disturbance and lack of cleaning, but now he has begun to threaten me with violence when I clean, and I have no doubt he would follow through as he is totally unstable (copious use of speed in the past) and has been in many physical altercations before. I have reported his threats to the police and they are in the process of attempting to give him a community resolution.
I have been the point of contact for the landlord. If I explain the situation to him, is it likely to result in my housemates eviction? If not, is it reasonable grounds to request that the landlord end this tenancy and allow me to resign on my own, so that my housemate may then be removed?
TIA
If its as bad as you are saying I would focus more on getting yourself out of there rather than getting him out of there.
I totally understand that, but the issue is I simply can't move without a great deal of help. I don't drive, and I have a large dog. This house is incredibly close to work so when I'm working odd hours -think being at work for 48hrs- I can bring my dog, whereas if I lived elsewhere I couldn't drive him, there is no public transport, and I can't really afford a sitter on such a frequent basis.
No your landlord is under no obligation to do either so if he says no, you will have to move out in accordance with your tenancy agreement.
I respect he has no obligation, I was hoping to find opinions on whether yourselves as landlord may do so. Also, I assume I have no obligation to move out, provided I adhere to the agreement?
No if you decide you can continue living with him that's your choice. We can't guess what your landlord will say.
Ooof, Sorry you are in this situation.
I think your number 1 concern has to be your own physical safety, so if you have anywhere else to go, then I would get out asap and don't worry too much about the tenancy - your physical safety should always come first.
If you do report to the landlord and they begin eviction, it will take many months to come to pass (if the co-tenant is not co-operative), and those would be very uncomfortable months to live with! Is a better option to tell your housemate a lie and say that you are struggling to pay the rent / found a new partner that you want to move in with, anything that means you aren't renewing the lease at the end of 6 months.
If maths are correct you have 2 to 3 months left on the lease - this will go quickly in the big scheme of things. Be out of the house as much as possible. Don't push the cleaning angle - just keep your room clean and tidy & sleep there.
If you want to have a better chance of getting your deposit back at the end of the tenancy, you could contact the landlord once you have an agreed a move out date. Tell them that your housemate is a violent slob and ask if you can come back the day after moving out to clean. I would definitely agree to this as a landlord.
This is a really lovely and thought out reply, thank you so much. The one caveat to the situation is my dog. I don't drive, and work strange hours where I may be away two days at a time, and this place is close enough to work that I can walk him to and from. If I move, I can't afford to sit him overnight three or four times a month on top of paying for a whole house or flat. My odd hours occurred after I got my job and were made possible by the house's location, I didn't anticipate this may happen. Essentially I am trapped here until I pass my driving test in November, IF I pass. It's a mess! Thank you again for the thought and time you took
If you’re still in the fixed term, you’re at the mercy of the landlord’s decision.
If you’re not in the fixed term, I would ask the landlord if you pass affordability checks by yourself and if you do, serve notice to quit. That’ll end the contract for both of you and you can then sign a new one by yourself. The landlord will likely appreciate a seamless transition.
The landlord cannot evict early - he doesn't have the legal power to evict someone, nor will a court or the police do so whilst the tenancy hasn't been running for a year.
The landlord could speak to the other tenant and ask that he find another house - but in most cases that just makes everyone more pissed off and doesn't work.
You’re constraining yourself a lot here. You’re in potentially a situation where you may be attacked and incapacitated. What happens to your dog then? Find some, a friend,a relative to take the dog for sometime. Get yourself into safety.
Talk to your landlord as they won’t want a tenant like this and start looking for alternative accommodation nearby.
I fully appreciate that this would be the best course of action and I really appreciate the advice, but I find myself quite isolated at the moment. To say, I don't have many friends and my family lives much too far away to take my dog. I am relatively sure that my housemate will not assault me to a degree that leaves me unable to care for my dog, but even as I type that I am unsure. In terms of alternatives for myself, prior to moving here, I had been house searching for 18 months. The market for buying and renting here is absolutely insane, and with a dog, I am very low on the list of ideal tenants. Rehoming the dog for any length of time is simply not an option.
As for the worst case scenario, if the police intervention does not work, I am buying a small trailer from a friend who has lived in it for months at a time. It is not ideal, but I may have somewhere to store it, and can use that if I find that I am in serious danger.
Thank you so much for the time you took to help, though!