Why Housemate Problems Need Addressing
Living with other people requires give and take. When everyone pulls their weight, shared housing can work well. When someone stops doing their part, it can make daily life genuinely unpleasant for everyone else in the property.
Common flashpoints include unpaid bills, persistent noise, neglected cleaning duties, and guests who overstay their welcome. Left unchecked, small irritations tend to grow into larger resentments. The atmosphere in the house deteriorates, and what started as a minor gripe can turn into a serious conflict.
The difficulty is that you cannot simply remove someone from a shared property. Your housemate has legal rights as a tenant, regardless of how frustrating their behaviour might be. So the question becomes: what realistic options do you have?
Tell us what went wrong and find out which ombudsman or regulator can help, whether it is worth escalating, and exactly how to take your complaint further.
Try our Which Ombudsman Do I Need? free, here on this site →Start With a Direct Conversation
Before anything else, talk to your housemate about the problem. This sounds obvious, but many people skip this step or hint at issues without being clear about what needs to change.
Choose a calm moment rather than bringing things up in the heat of an argument. Be specific about what the problem is and what you would like to happen instead. Rather than saying someone is messy, you might point out that dishes left in the sink for days attract flies and ask that everyone washes up within 24 hours.
Listen to their side too. Sometimes there are reasons behind behaviour that you were not aware of. A housemate who has stopped paying bills on time might be going through financial difficulty. Someone making noise late at night might not realise how much sound travels through the walls.
A house meeting where everyone can raise concerns works well in properties with multiple tenants. Ground rules agreed collectively tend to carry more weight than one person telling another what to do.
Many disputes are resolved at this stage. If the conversation goes well, you may want to write down what has been agreed so there is a clear reference point later.
Your situation may be slightly different. ask a question below ↓ and our editorial team will reply with our advice.
When Talking Does Not Work
Sometimes a direct conversation achieves nothing. Your housemate may refuse to engage, deny there is a problem, or agree to change and then carry on as before. At this point, you need to consider other options.
Check your tenancy agreement. The terms will vary depending on whether you have a joint tenancy or individual agreements with the landlord. In a joint tenancy, all tenants share responsibility for rent and obligations, and are typically jointly liable for any damages or breaches. This can complicate matters if a problem housemate is responsible for issues that affect everyone's deposit or standing with the landlord. Individual tenancies give each person a direct relationship with the landlord, which can make some situations easier to manage.
You can contact your landlord or letting agent, though it's worth knowing that they can only take action based on specific clauses in the tenancy agreement. Landlords generally cannot intervene in interpersonal disputes unless there are clear breaches of tenancy terms. Where breaches have occurred, they may be willing to speak to the problem tenant, issue a warning, or in serious cases begin the process of ending that person's tenancy.
Keep records of ongoing problems. Note dates, times, and what happened. This matters not only if you involve the landlord, but also if legal action becomes necessary later. A written record will support your account of events.
For issues involving antisocial behaviour, harassment, or threats, you can contact your local council. Many councils have teams that deal with antisocial behaviour complaints, though availability of services varies by area. If you are being harassed or feel unsafe, take this seriously. For criminal behaviour or immediate safety concerns, call 999. For non-urgent advice about ongoing problems, you can call 101.
Getting Outside Help
If you are unsure of your rights or how to proceed, several organisations offer free advice.
- Citizens Advice provides guidance on housing disputes, tenancy rights, and what to do if you feel unsafe in your home. You can visit their website or speak to an adviser in person.
- Shelter offers specialist housing advice and can help with issues involving landlords, eviction, and tenant rights.
- Renters' unions and tenants' associations can provide support and advocacy in disputes.
- If you are a student, your university or college will usually have a housing advice service.
For information on tenant rights, eviction processes, and legal protections, check GOV.UK, which has up to date guidance on private renting in England.
Mediation is another option worth considering. This involves a neutral third party helping both sides reach an agreement. Some local councils offer mediation services, and there are independent providers too. Mediation works best when both parties are willing to take part. If your housemate refuses, you may need to seek further legal advice or consider whether the situation has escalated beyond what informal resolution can address.
Living with difficult housemates is stressful, and it can feel isolating when problems drag on. There are steps you can take: start with honest communication, understand your rights, and seek advice when you need it. Some situations will remain challenging despite your best efforts, but knowing your options puts you in a stronger position.
After she eventually stopped she started up again at around 9am, screaming where is my money. It turned out it was the estate agency and she is around £200 behind on rent, i only know this as I spoke to agency that same morning. They told me to keep a record of all the times shes loud and to keep making the complaints.
She has continued to do this on multiple occasions the worst of which was last night where she started at 4am, stopped when i knocked on the wall and then started up again an hour later. It's at the point where is really affecting my sleep and mental health, and the complaints im making do not seem to be working at all.
If anyone has any advice id really appreciate it.
I am really in a troubled state right now my flatmates are very noisy even after talking to them about this they are the same , I am not able to sleep it is affecting my health they don't clean the house either it's only two of us who always have to clean no matter what, they have made our life stressful, it's becoming living hell I already have stress and anxiety issues on top of this these people are only adding to it. Please guide me what to do
This girl has has her boyfriend staying for Christmas from Scotland and lied. Made out my daughter is the animal and is the caused. When she is touching my daughters things. And moving them.
Can we call the police or evict him earlier than the notice, or, not give him his share of deposit back? it's a joint lease.
They use the toilet and don't wipe off their pubic hairs, same with the shower.
If this person cooks anything in the kitchen, they leave it in a mess, the cooker full of grease, spillages not wiped up.
They throw food in the bin without wrapping in newspaper, the bin has no lid so flies start gathering there. This is a grown man in his 20's but he's very loud, talking loudly on the phone and laughing hysterically every 5 minutes. His room is right next to mine so I hear everything. Even with my headphones in, I still hear him.
I just want to go, can I terminate my tenancy early? I don't enjoy listening to noise.
Myself and my partner moved into downstairs room in a 5 bed terraced house in mid October with two other couples living upstairs. At the start of December we were told by our agency that a new tenant was moving into the other room downstairs.
This tenant turned out to be a family of 3 - mother, father and a child no older than 4 years old. He screams and cries for hours most evenings. I’ve heard him up until 1am on some nights. We thought he was just getting used to living in a new house etc but it’s been over 2 weeks now and we’re starting to lose our minds listening to it!
Can you recommend anything we can do about this? We’re not sure if we have the right to complain. Any help would be SOOOO appreciated!
Thanks in advance,
Shannon
Currently am living in a shared house in East London for 3 years. The house was fine but the landlord moved one guy very dirty and loud I came to him and I asked him plz do a favour for me plz clean the toilet and the kitchen after use but no common sense. I complained to the landlord but he didn't improve and ha had a hate against me. He became rude and aggressive when he see me in the house he starts threatening me in a knife and says you fuc** gay go to the he'll. I called the police but the police didn't make anything just took our details and told look for another property.
Unfortunately,am not finding somewhere better and cheap coz am on a low income and I can't afford to live with 6 people am tired from that.
Best Regards Nikolay Pugev
My question is what can I do legally about this, beyond talking to him about it? he and I and our other flatmate are all on the lease but his girlfriend is not, so do I have any rights to have her removed from the flat if necessary? and if so how do I go about finding out what they are? Our agency has not been very helpful and i thought they'd say she has to be added to the lease but they don't seem bothered so i don't know what to do now
One of our housemates has damaged a lot of our belongings to the point where we'll have to replace them for them to be useful again. They also still owe us for cleaning charges done months ago due to mess they created (they agreed to pay for this but are hardly in the house so getting money off them is hard and we've sent them one of our bank account details for a transfer but we're still waiting for the money!)
Is there a way the landlord would be able to use their deposit to reimburse the other 4 of us? We all have evidence that would prove beyond reasonable doubt that the damage was cause by the 5th housemate
I previously rented a property with someone else and I was lead tenant.
The housing situation got complicated as we fell out and bills were racking up debt. Me and my housemate tried speaking about this several times, once agreeing and after not so much. The bills have been left chasing just me as I initially set them up however were in both names, I have struggled to get most payments off of her throughout, one time leaving me overdrawn. My housemate decided she didnt want to pay either much of an electric bill or nothing at all, since then I have received the deposit back and took it upon myself to pay the debt off in the amount we first agreed on. This was never in writing. I have agreed to pay her the left over money from the deposit but since the electric company have only been chasing me and upped my direct debit and affecting my credit score I thought only fair.
The tenancy agreement stated that if the bills were left unpaid, the deposit would be witheld to pay this off, however this did not happen. She has been messaging me non stop about the deposit yet would ignore my
Messages from before or bully and harrass to try and get it her way, I have been more than fair in paying more than her.
She is now threatening legal action if I do not return the full amount, even though this has now been spent on the bill to close the account, where do I stand in this?
I am the landlord and owner of the house.
My Scottish lodger gets drunk regularly and stays up until 3/4 am and a couple of times up until 6.30am. He sings, talks to himself and makes lots of noise. He also leaves the house a mess (which we have to clean up) and has poured wine on the walls, spilt it on the ceiling, leaves the front door open all night so anyone can walk in as well as leaving the lights and cooker on all night almost causing a fire. When we try to bring it up, he feels no remorse and is angry that we bring it up and brush it under the carpet. His usual response is that it’s in the past now so forget about it. He will then bring up petty things to point the finger straight at us.
He also invites friends over drinking after his night out and will wake us up from 5am onwards and refuses to go to sleep.
He works in a bar so doesn’t have to wake up early like us. He is very aggressive when drunk and I don’t feel safe with him in the house. He has threatened me before. Should I call the police?
Where do I stand in this case, yes I live in the house but I didn't cause any further noise, am i still liable for my housemates actions ?
My housemate talks on the phone non-stop, from the moment she arrives from work until after midnight every day. When she had a boyfriend, they stayed awake until 2am almost every weekend. I lost my sleep countless times; I'm not a heavy sleeper and also wake up naturally early. When she broke up with her boyfriend, she brought a man in her room and talked very loudly until 3am, then the same the following week. the week after they returned at 3am slaming doors, trooping down the stairs without any care and talked until 5am on a weekday ignoring my text messages. None in the house slept that night and I went to work very tired and angry in addition to all the other times she kept talking on the phone. I talked to her, explained how it affects me a few times, texted her too, knocked at her door, because she said she prefers to talk face to face, but she doesn't open the door to talk. Also, she doesn't take the rubbish out because she "doesn't really uses it", which is not true. She leaves her take-away packages on the floor in the kitchen next to the recycling bin as well as her big amazon packages, which i pick them up because i can't live like that. It's been more than half a year living like this and she's very rude, lacks empathy or consideration, also lies about cleaning and other things. Unfortunately, the other flatmates have their rooms further from her and they are not bothered that much by her phone verbosity. I can't count on them.
Trully, I can't stand her behaviour and how it affects me. I talked nicely with her and a couple of times I rose my voice as she wouldn't open the door to talk about it. When we do talk, she more or less agrees to compromise, but keeps her word for maybe a week or less. She is entitled an arrogant too.
I don't want to move because I've been here the longest, it's convenient and i like the house. I also deal with any issue that might arise or need to organise in the house such as, a cleaner or if the heater is not working or the fridge; I contact the landlord and he strives to solve it immediately or I find a professional to fix it and the landlord pays.
In any case, I don't seem to be able to reach a compromise with her.
We all have individual tenancy agreements and I haven't yet talked with the landlord, but it looks like I have to, though the girl's mother is very assertive and confident; she will take a worthy step against me.
I'm not sure if the landlord is strong enough for her. Is there any legal step I can take against the tenant or even to persuade the landlord to evict her?
I am living in a student house with 2 other female students. One of the girls has a boyfriend who abuses her physically and emotionally. We often hear arguing,screaming and banging coming from her room at all hours of the day and night, she often has bruises and injuries from his assaults. We have spoken to her and tried to help her but she has no intention of ending the relationship even though she is extremely unhappy about it as she says he'll never let her go. We have shown her compassion and encouraged her to get professional help but she won't. We are now beginning to feel threatened having this man in the house as their rows have intensified and are becoming more frequent. We feel very sorry for her but this is now starting to have a massive impact on us too. What can we do?
Oh and she also doesn't understand that she can't leave raw meet uncovered in the fridge. She's taken over majority of the freezer and fridge, and we've had to defrost the freezer twice in the past few months despite only having to do it once all of last year because she doesn't shut the door properly or leaves it open while she's doing stuff in the kitchen.
She hardly showers too. Nor does she wash her hands after using the rest room. It's really unhygienic and we're also worried for our health as well as being extremely stressed and tried on her dirt and inconsideration.
HELP!!??
The last month her boyfriend has moved in our flat without my approval. He is also using our flat's address for his mail - since October at least (when I fount out about this accidentally) when he was even living abroad at that time. He is not working in UK and not sure if he has a NIN.
What process should I follow to stop him from using our address and have him out of the flat? I have discussed this with my flatmate and she is ostentatiously ignoring my complaints.
Thank you!
I live in shared accommodation and been here since 2013. The house is a non-smoking place. The landlord moved a tenant in 1 month ago and the tenant refuses to stop smoking as i have told him that the smell is entering my room and i dont want it in my room. I have told him that in future to go outside. I have informed the landlord about this but i feel he is ignoring the situation.
What can i do to take further action?
Like how is this evev fair?
I would like to take advice about a housemate living with me at the same house. I can explain the problem further if i can speak to someone. My landlord is not supportive as well, as he is not sorting the problems and asking me to leave the house..
Please contact me to discuss further.
Thank you
Yaman
07809182340
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