Change in type of clients (U.K.)

[Mark3465]

Been a supervise for over 3 years in north east England. Usually short term guests for work or holidays. After the first lockdown I reopened my single room and have had 2 long term guests, 1 for 3 months and 1 for 2 months and both have caused problems in both their behaviour (drinking , stealing alcohol, falling down stairs) and both leaving the room extremely dirty. It’s been a massive shock to have such a change in types of guests and I’ve decided to close the availability until next year. Has anyone else experienced this change ?

[Pat271]

Just do a search on this forum.  Lots and lots of similar complaints.

I highly recommend if you are renting your place out for 30 days or more, that you prepare a full rental agreement, check references, check credit, and collect a substantial security deposit separately, just as a normal landlord would do.  Also check your jurisdiction for eviction rules and possible eviction bans during Covid.

[Helen350]

@Pat271 In the UK, lodgers in the spare room of the landlord's OWN residence have NO rights. It is perfectly legal to ask them to leave at any time. The Covid no-eviction rules only apply to properties where the landlord does not live there. (Thankfully for @Mark3465 !)

[Andrew0]

@Mark3465  I would have some doubts about the people who choose to stay in a shared home with a stranger while a pandemic is spiraling out of control, but I do see plenty of posts from similar hosts who are still having positive experiences. 

One thing that has always been the case, though, is that longer-term guests treat the home much differently from short-term holidaymakers. Behaving more like a flatmate than a guest is common, though stealing alcohol is way out of line. What was your communication with these two guests like prior to accepting their bookings? What was it about their correspondence that made you feel confident that you could live with them for months?