Renter allegedly slugged with extra fee for letting girlfriend stay over

A renter in the UK has allegedly been slugged with a financial penalty for letting his girlfriend stay overnight a few nights during the week.

The tenant, known only as Cameron, claims his landlord, known only as Rita, informed him in an email he would need to pay a 25 pound ($52) per night for the nights in question.

Perplexed, Cameron shared the email with Jack Rooke, a popular UK TikTok property strategist, who aired the exchange on his platform.

“Dear Cameron, it has been brought to my attention that your girlfriend has stayed overnight on multiple occasions this month,” Rooke said in a video.

“As outlined in the House Rules (section 3), overnight guests must be pre-approved and are limited to two nights per calendar month.

“Beyond that, a 25 pound per night charge applies to cover shared space use and utilities. This will be included in your next invoice.”

Rooke then shared Cameron’s reply. 

“Hi Rita, I’ve read the tenancy agreement. There’s nothing in there about guest charges. No mention of pre-approvals either,” he quoted Cameron as writing.

“Also, who exactly is keeping tabs on my bedroom?”

Rooke then shared Rita’s claim that the house rules were shared with Cameron in a welcome email and are “clearly displayed on the hallway noticeboard”. 

“Excessive overnight visits put pressure on the household,” Rooke said, quoting Rita’s email.

“I’ve had complaints. If you want to avoid future charges, please limit stays or register guests in the log book provided.”

Cameron then attempted to clarify Rita’s position.

“Let me get this straight. You’re charging me 25 pounds per night because my girlfriend stays over a couple of times a week?” he wrote.

“That’s 200 pounds [$414] a month, Rita, For someone sitting on a sofa and using the kettle.”

Cameron then accused his landlord of inventing the guest log system as it isn’t in the tenancy agreement.

“There’s no approval process in the contract. No mention of fees. I live here because it’s what I can afford,” Rooke quoted Cameron as writing.

He said Cameron would not be paying the extra fees and if he was charged the extra amount he would be seeking advice about a formal complaint.

Rooke shared the email exchange with the caption “Most Toxic Tenancies”.

Cameron and Rita’s stand-off received mixed response from Rooke’s followers.

“Oh my god,” one person wrote in response to the situation.

“I had this in my last house share, my [boyfriend] stayed once a week and apparently that was too much. Landlord used to watch us on the ring doorbell to monitor,” a second person wrote.

“No, she has a point. Extra electric, water etc and also often house shares are limited on how many people can stay at a time,” a third person wrote.

“If this is a shared house and he’s renting a room, I’m actually with the landlord. It’s not fair to his other roommates to pay extra for his [girlfriend]. If he’s renting the place solo, he’s in the right to invite anyone he likes over as often as he pleases,” another person wrote.

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