Problems with housemates

Your options depend on what the type of problem and the type of tenancy you and the other people have. In serious cases you may be able to ask the council or police for help.

• What is the problem?
• Talk to your housemates
• Ask the landlord for help
• Help in extreme cases
• What are my rights?

What is the problem?

The type of problem that you have influences what you can do. If the problem comes from a personality clash, try to discuss things. It can be difficult to change the situation if you're unable to talk to the other person.

The council or your landlord may be able to take action if:

• other tenants are making excessive noise
• other tenants aren't paying the rent

If someone is breaking the terms of your tenancy agreement the landlord may be able to evict everyone in the house.

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Talk to your housemates

The first step is to talk about the situation. Set up a discussion where each person can say what they want. Do this as early as possible before the problem gets too serious.

Many problems in shared accommodation are to do with day to day living such as:

• the washing up
• the volume of music
• smoking in shared space

If talking doesn't help the only options may be to put up with the situation or move out.

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Ask the landlord for help

If you can't resolve the problem by talking to your housemates you may want to ask your landlord for help. Your landlord might be able to resolve the problems in your household. Your landlord may be able to take action against the other people although you can't force them to do this.

Your landlord's options depend on the type of tenancy you have and the particular problem in your household.

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Help in extreme cases

You may also be able to get help from the  council or the police. This is only likely to be possible in situations where:

• another tenant has threatened you with violence
• the noise or damage caused is very severe
• there is racial or sexual harassment
• you are being harassed because of your religion

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What are my rights?

You rights will differ depending on if you have:

• a joint tenancy
• separate tenancies
• one main tenancy with subtenants

Joint tenancy

If have signed one tenancy agreement with all the other occupiers when you moved in you probably have a joint tenancy. All the tenants have exactly the same rights. You are all responsible for paying the rent and keeping to the terms of your agreement. If one tenant is not paying rent the landlord could hold you all responsible for paying the arrears or evict all the tenants in the property.

Your landlord can keep your deposit if you owe any rent or the property is damaged by the end of the tenancy. This applies even if you did not cause the damage yourself.

Each joint tenant is responsible for sorting out any problems between themselves. The landlord will only get involved in extreme cases.

When a joint tenancy ends all the tenants must leave the property. The landlord cannot evict one joint tenant without evicting all of you. However, the landlord may decide to offer a new tenancy to you after the eviction.

Separate tenancies

If each person in your household signed separate agreements with your landlord you are likely to have separate tenancies. You may have separate tenancy agreements with the same landlord even if:

• you share a kitchen
• you share a bathroom
• you have self contained accommodation in the same building

Each tenant is only responsible for the rent for his or her part of the accommodation.

You may have a different type of tenancy to the other people in the accommodation. Some tenants may have more rights than others. This may be the case if:

• you moved in at different times
• your landlord found each tenant individually.

Your landlord may be able to help you if you have separate tenancy agreements and one of the other tenants is causing problems. Your landlord may be able to evict the tenant causing the problems. You can't force them to do this. If this does happen it won't affect your tenancy.

One main tenancy with subtenants

In some properties, there may only be one person named on a tenancy agreement even though several people live and pay rent in the property.

If this is the case, only the named person is a tenant. The other people are licensees and will have fewer rights than the person named on the tenancy agreement. If you are a licensee you could be asked to leave the property without much notice.

The person who is named on the tenancy agreement may be able to decide who should stay or go if there are problems. These situations can be very complicated.

If you want to move and you're not sure of your rights contact a local advice agency.

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