If you want your lodger to move out
This advice applies to England. See advice for See advice for Northern Ireland, See advice for Scotland, See advice for Wales
A lodger is someone who lives in your home - either for free or paying rent.
A lodger can be your friend, a family member or someone you don’t know. You’re their landlord even if you don’t have a written lodging agreement.
If you have a problem with your lodger, you should try to find a solution before asking them to move out. If you want them to move out, you need to follow the correct legal process.
If your lodger refuses to let you enter your home, you should get legal advice.
If you’re in danger because of your lodger
Call 999 to report them to the police.
If you don’t feel safe but it’s not an emergency, call 101.
Giving your lodger notice to leave
The amount of notice you must give your lodger to move out usually depends on if:
you share ‘living space’ with them - for example, a kitchen, living room or bathroom
you can enter your lodger’s room without telling them first
Living space doesn’t include corridors, staircases, storage areas or entrances. You don’t share living space with your lodger if, for example, they live in your converted garage.
If you share living space with your lodger
If you only share space like corridors or stairs with your lodger
If your lodger refuses to move out
If you’ve given them the right notice, they usually have no legal right to be in the property any more.
If you share living space with your lodger
You can usually take action to make your lodger move out, as long as you don’t threaten or harass them. For example, you could change the locks while they’re out.
If you plan to take this type of action, you should get advice from a solicitor first - if you don’t follow the correct process to make your lodger leave, you might be doing something illegal.
You don’t need a court order to evict your lodger, but you can get one if they’re refusing to move out. This would let you use an enforcement officer to make your lodger leave.
You’ll have to pay the court costs upfront, so you should decide if getting a court order is right for you.
If you only share spaces like corridors or stairs with your lodger
Your lodger has to move out if:
you’ve given them the right notice
you have a court order to evict them
If they don’t move out by the date on the court order, you need to get a warrant from the court. The warrant lets you use an enforcement officer to make your lodger leave.
You’ll have to pay the court costs upfront, but you can ask the court to make the lodger pay the costs back to you.
If your lodger left any belongings behind
You should arrange a time that suits you and your lodger for them to collect their belongings.
You must keep the belongings safe for a reasonable amount of time. What’s reasonable depends on the situation - for example, if your lodger is unwell and can’t travel you should give them more time.
If your lodger owes you rent, you’re not allowed to keep their belongings to recover the money they owe unless you have a court order that says you can. You’ll need legal advice from a solicitor to get an order from the county court.
If your lodger hasn’t collected their belongings after a reasonable amount of time, you can get rid of them. If you don’t give your lodger reasonable time to collect their belongings, they might make a money claim against you in the county court.
If you paid for the storage or removal of their belongings, you might be able to get the money back from your lodger in the small claims court.
If your lodger paid a deposit
You’ll need to give your lodger’s deposit back to them.
If you protected the deposit in a tenancy deposit scheme, you need to contact the scheme and ask them to send the deposit back to your lodger.
You can take money from the deposit to:
pay for any repairs - this doesn’t include wear and tear like worn carpets
pay for something your lodger has damaged or taken - you should look at the condition and value of the original item to work out how much money to ask for
cover any rent your lodger owes you
If you need to use their deposit, tell your lodger why. You should only use the money to pay for the problem and give them what's left from the deposit.
If you keep more of the deposit than you need, your lodger might take you to court to get the money back. You might have to pay the court costs too.
If the deposit doesn’t cover the amount you need or if your lodger didn’t pay a deposit, you should ask them for the money. If they refuse, you can take them to the small claims court.
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Page last reviewed on 10 January 2024