Regulations check - coronavirus lodger

[wee quinnie]

Hi all,

My lodger has been staying with his girlfriend in North London since before lockdown. However he has just messaged me to say that he would like to come back and stay chez moi at some point this week. His belongings are here, and I haven't charged any rent in this period.

Anyway, I am not sure from the regulations if he is even allowed to do this. Can anyone advise, or point me in the direction of someone who can advise?

all the best

[n dulwich northerner]

From https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51506729 "Overnight stays are also still not permitted." And see https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus .

You should say no.

[wee quinnie]

Well that was my initial thought, but am I technically making someone homeless?!

[Psara]

if its his main dwelling then of course - he was breaking the regulations by going away not by coming back.

[wee quinnie]

He went away before the lockdown happened!

[Penguin68]

Since you cannot make him homeless during covid (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/complete-ban-on-evictions-and-additional-protection-for-renters) I think his position with you does not fall into the ban on 'overnight stays'. The fact that you have not charged him rent (good on you) does not obviate his contract with you.

I think you could require him not to use any 'common parts' (other than the entrance) he has with you for a period - perhaps 7 days - when he has come back to protect you from infection (I am assuming that you are not an at risk or shielded person).

This may be one for citizen's advice, but clearly his is an unusual circumstance for which general 'rules' cannot apply.

[n dulwich northerner]

Those are reasonable points, and we are supposed to be fighting the virus with "solid British common sense". But I think your first expectation should be for him to stay where he has been, unless there's a good reason otherwise. How practical is it to avoid sharing common parts? Maybe NHS 111 or whatever it is?

[Psara]

ok then no one broke any regulations then - but it's his main home so it would not come under the "overnight ban"

Also, you can if you wanted to, and hopefully not, evict him as lodgers do not fall under the protection granted by government regulations in halting evictions for 3 months due to the pandemic.

if you were to evict him you would just have to abide by the contract you have with him - written notice. As he is an excluded occupier you wont need to go to court.

short answer is that there is no regulation preventing him from coming back and it should be between you two to find an agreement on what is most sensible.

hope that helps

[n dulwich northerner]

There is a regulation on no overnight stays and after staying put for the last 2 months, moving now would seem to breach the spirit - and the intent.

[curlylocks]

Hi Wee Quinnie,

You don't say whether he is planning to come back to stay permanently or whether he just wants to stay a night or two and if so, why.

As far as the rules are concerned:

If permanently I think it is fine. He's essentially returning home rather than staying away. Moving house is also allowed http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/350/regulation/6/made (6L) and students are allowed to return to the family home for the duration of lockdown.

If just for a night or two it's different and really depends why he wants / needs to do this. I think there would need to be a very good reason.

How you feel about it is a different matter & I guess that depends on your own risk factors.

I think it would be fair enough to ask him to take extra precautions for a period of time before returning (median incubation period is 5 days but it can be up to 14).

Once he is back you might want to keep 2 metres apart for another period &/or ask him to do some extra cleaning. More info here https://www.germdefence.org/index.html

But that is very much down to your personal feeling.

[Psara]

i do not think you have understood the spirit or intent. that is for people staying over away from the main home.

even though he has been away from his home for a period - agreed by LL - his main home is still that. returning to your home is not part of the overnight regulation. might be wrong - but it would go against housing laws and regulations.

if he comes and goes, again when he goes away from his home then he is in theory breaking regulations, not when he comes back. but again how this is enforced, who knows...

it's about the relationship between you and the lodger, legally the only thing you can do is evict him by giving him valid notice, but hope it does not come down to that.

Hope you find an agreement anyway

[Rockets]

I think much will depend on your own personal feelings and aversion to risk. If you think the risk of him having it is low, welcome him back - if you're worried, tell him no or tell him if he does he needs to self isolate.

He hasn't been part of your household during lockdown and given people are being discouraged from being in anyone's house (the advice on BBQs is to stay outside and only use the toilet and then return outside immediately) you would be perfectly right to say you don't feel comfortable with it.

It's the same approach to second homes where people are being encouraged to stay put and not travel back and forward to a second home.

It is a difficult one as it is his main home but what was the reason he stayed in North London - everyone knew we were heading into lock down so it couldn't have come as much of a surprise - let's be honest it wouldn't have been difficult to get back? It wasn't like he was stuck on the other side of the world.

Is there any background as to why he wants to come back now - did he fall out with his girlfriend or will he be going back and forward to hers over the coming days and weeks? ;-)

[wee quinnie]

Rockets - am waiting for him to ring me for a chat - all will be revealed.

I have mixed feelings - I am very nervous about the whole virus thing, and am unsure to what extent he will be willing to meet my requests, but I will put all of this to him in advance. He is a lovely guy, but is one of these people who wanders around in a bit of a dreamworld, so I am anxious about him forgetting to wash his hands, also there is no way to be sure to what extent he will be social distancing outside my house...

If i had to guess, i reckon he thinks he will be able to stay over at the gfs a coupla times a week. I am guessing on all of this though. God, I hate being the one who has to crack down!!

BTW- thanks everyone who has contributed to the thread.

[KidKruger]

Bit of an awkward situation WQ, ultimately it boils down to trying not to get this nasty disease which can kill and even leave those who've recovered with damaged lungs/heart/whatever (we don't actually know full story yet).

[Sue]

Has he fallen out with his girlfriend?

There would be a difference between coming back to live at yours permanently, and flitting between yours and hers (not on in present circumstances).

[tomdhu]

There are so many imponderables here and many questions related to potential risk e.g.

Would he be going out to work every day with the potential to become infected? This could be an issue if he is a bit dreamy and forgets to observe guidance.

If not going out to work, is he likely to self isolate in his room for 7 -10 days?

Difficult to gauge but is he likely to go back to his lady friend?

Just a thought but she may have CV19and he is escaping before he gets it too.

[Sue]

tomdhu Wrote:

---------------------------------------------------

>

> Just a thought but she may have CV19and he is

> escaping before he gets it too.

If his girlfriend has CV19, he should be self-isolating, not "escaping" to potentially spread it to others.

[wee quinnie]

Just to update you all, Mr WQ spoke to the lodger. He didnt ask about the gf situation, but explained that ws are still strictly observing lockdown, not going out, no visitors, etc etc,and in coming back he would have to observe same, in order to minimise risk for all of us. Lodger then said, "So effectively i would be in strict lockdown with u? *Pause* I will get back to u in a coupla weeks...but i will look for other accomodation... "

Reading between the lines, i think our views on lockdown adherence do not coincide.Fair enough, when i was his age i wouldnt have wanted this situation either"

[KidKruger]

At least you know where you stand now, and have so far maintained safety/know that you'll be able to continue to do so.

Perhaps not surprising that he expected to be able to come / go whenever. People do seem to park the need for maintaining measures when it doesn't align with their social or other preferences !