Maybe she was counting on using the money she was saving on parking to buy a wardrobe and internet? Now, with the parking gone it’s a deal-breaker.
I suppose it depends on how formal your agreement was two months ago. If you mentioned that a room was available but did not commit to leasing to her, then conditions have changed in the interim and if she’s going to agree it should be to the current terms without parking.
However, if two months ago you came to a verbal agreement that she would move in on some future date and that she would have access to parking, it’s fairly reasonable for her to expect the space.
Really, couldn’t ever suggest you rent out a portion of your home without a rental agreement drafted by an attorney licensed to practice in your area. As a landlord, you assume a lot of responsibilities that you’re only beginning to see the outline of. I know attorney’s fees would eat into a large portion of that AUD160/m, but you should protect yourself with a real contract.
You give her the car space because you are going to be living with her and your goal should be to make this as smooth & enjoyable as possible. Putting this between the two of you before she even moves in is setting this up for tension & failure. Maybe give your friend one month notice that you can no longer offer your space for free.
From post #16: “5. I ended up giving the car space to another friend that lives nearby as I have been waiting for her to move in for 2 months so it was vacant for a while in the beginning and also because my friend pay $60 per week for it.”
I’m missing your point. Enlighten me please.
My bold.
Au contraire, the prospective tenant should have as **her **goal to make this as smooth and enjoyable as possible. The landlord has something SHE wants, not the other way around. And just because they had an agreement, it doesn’t mean the landlord is locked into an arrangement with someone who is likely to be a PITA in the future. Now’s the time to get out of the deal.
Agree to disagree I guess. When you let someone into your home you make yourself vulnerable. Therefore, my opinion is that you try to make the best of things.
By wardrobe do you mean closet? As in the room does not have a closet?
I’m obviously not the OP, but I understand it’s common in some countries for bedrooms not to include a closet.
I’ve rented several rooms and I would be surprised if they didn’t come with internet. Typically my rent included utilities, and I think it’s fair to consider internet as a utility.
What exactly does the “etc” here cover if not a wardrobe?
Au contraire, they both have something the other one wants. The OP has a space, she has “eagerly awaited” money to assist with the bills. Both of them should have making this smooth and enjoyable as a goal. Neither of them wants the extra hassle of looking for a new place to live or a new tenant.
The fact that finding a new tenant would be enough of a hassle the OP would be “disappointed if this doesn’t work out” makes me think maybe the room’s not such an amazing deal as he’s letting on. I mean, that huge a discount on rent? People ought to be lined up around the block, the OP can have his pick of tenants and start collecting rent pretty much immediately.
For future reference, OP, when someone tells me I can have/use something, I take that to mean that I can have/use it. Not that I might potentially maybe possibly be able to have/use it if they don’t change their minds. Be more clear, then if things change you don’t look like you’re double-dealing or pulling a bait-and-switch when you rescind the offer. And yes, that’s exactly what the deal with the parking space looks like to your prospective tenant, and if I were her I’d be wondering what other unilateral changes you were going to abruptly going to make to our agreement.
Another vote for yes, you’re being unreasonable and need to give her the parking space you promised her. And yes, when you say “Thus-and-such is included in this deal,” I consider it a promise even if you don’t say “absolutely” or “I swear.” (If she had disappeared for two months without a word I’d be inclined to say you’re right, circumstances change, but given that you talked it out beforehand and agreed that she could move in once she returned to the area, I would interpret your behavior as you going back on your word.)
Moving in friend is going to pay $160/week for the room/parking space.
But other friend pays $60/week for the parking space.
So FAL01 will be losing $60/week and gaining $160/week, for a total income of $100 more than before.
I can understand why FAL01 would rather sell the parking space and the room separately.
Your friend is going to be fired, or this charity is going to be raided, and she will not be able to make her rent. What will you do now? She will be very difficult to get out of your house after she’s already living there.
Are you emotionally ready to live with another person? Who will be using your stuff?
It makes no sense to tell him that he can no longer get it for free when he is not getting the space for free but is paying for it.
This is the way I see it. She needs a relatively low-cost place to stay, and your place doesn’t fit in the normal rent range (no wardrobe, no internet, etc.). You need extra money, she can provide you with this extra money. She gets the room, utilities, no wardrobe, no internet, and parking. You get 160 per week in exchange for this. This is a mutual business arrangement which you have both agreed to. Jesus has nothing to do with it.
Somewhere along the line you decided to take away the parking space that was included in the deal you made. That’s wrong. If you wanted to rent it out until she got there, no problem. The day she gets there and starts paying rent, it’s hers. How would you take it if you entered into a business arrangement and the other party lopped off a part of the deal? Don’t you think it would lead to trust issues? Would you trust someone who did that to you?
You say you feel as if you are * subsidising her living a great deal*, and presumably it is this feeling has led you to believe that you can make changes to business arrangements at your whim. This is not good. You can’t be top dog in a mutual business arrangement. You are both supposed to get what you agreed to in order for it to work.
Is this unfurnished room with no internet and no wardrobe worth what other people are getting for rent? People have a tendency to overvalue what they have and devalue what others are paying for. Have you seen these rooms? Are these tenants long term with stable jobs? Or do these tenants stay a few months and then the room is vacant for a few months while another tenant is found? Have you talked with some of the people who rent these rooms about their experiences?
Are you really ready to do this? I don’t think so. I think you want the extra money, but you don’t want to give up some of your rights in exchange for extra money. When you agree to exchange x, y & z for 160 a week, you give up your right to x, y & z. You don’t get to say “I’m still going to take your 160 per week, but I’m only going to give you x and y.” That’s exactly what you did when you decided your friend could keep renting the parking that was already included in the package deal you had agreed to with this woman.
Clearly there was a miscommunication between you two on the parking space. I think most of the blame falls on you, though, since I don’t know what the substantive difference is between those two statements is.
Here’s how I imagine that conversation going:
“Can I use the car space to park my car?”
“Yeah, I don’t have a car full time so you can use it.”
<later>
“So, about that car space?”
“Whoa, I didn’t say you could absolutely have it.”
“(to self) WTF?”
Now, you’re not obligated to give her the car space in a legal sense. You haven’t signed a contract. But you should probably come up with a better reason than “I didn’t say the magic word”. You definitely need to have a serious and clear discussion with your prospective tenant about what the deal will be, and write down exactly what is expected of both of you.
Here are some other things you should hash out and write down in the agreement:
- Access to common areas. How do you work it out when both of you want to use the living room? Is there a bathroom for each of you? What happens when you both want to take a shower at the same time?
- Social visits. Can she have friends over for dinner? How often? What happens if you both want to do so on the same night?
- Utility usage. She’s not paying extra for utilities. Who gets to control the thermostat (I know that I prefer a much greater amount of climate control when I’m not paying the bill. Most people are similar)
- Overnight guests. Regardless of whether celibacy is included in her concept of Good Christian, this may come up (maybe her sister comes for a visit). Is it allowed? How many nights a week? In a row?
- Your overnight guests. Will the rent change if you get a live-in significant other?
- Pets?
I’m still a little fuzzy on the parking space issue. You claimed that there is free street parking in the area somewhere, but people are willing to pay ~$260/mo for a parking space? That price is what you’d pay in an urban area with very limited parking, and implies that there isn’t really an easy replacement for her having her own space.
You may want to refer to my threads on my SIL to know what a mess you’re going to have eventually. Here’s my problem with your thought process on this. You start by saying you are helping her out but it turns into a financial issue with the $60 for the parking space and helping with bills. In my experience with the SIL, you can do one or the other but not both. If you thought is to help her out then give her the parking space. If your thought is to get money out of the deal, keep renting the space (and if your friend stops renting it, give her right of first refusal at $60/mo) and have her on a month-to-month so you can kick her ass out as soon as someone willing to pay full market value comes around.
Can’t you just find her a Christian parking space?
Zoinks, I’m silly! Replace ‘free’ with $60. Thanks for pointing that out.
I personally have not a silly mistake in the last, oh, ten minutes or so. 