UK Landlord Forum / Life

I have moved out of my home and there are two people renting out each of the bedrooms.  The rest of the house is shared between them.  Are they tenants or lodgers?

Also, one of them was already living with me when I was living there.  She had paid £400 deposit to reflect a months rent (this was all in at the time and she is now responsible for bills).  Now I have reduced her rent to £275 per month, should I be returning £125 of the deposit to her?  Or just leave it as it is? (I don't anticipate that there will be any need to deduct any from her on her leaving).  Thanks.

They are Tenants because you are not living in the property - they might be joint or separate, but they - in effect - have exclusive use of the property, as you are not the live-in Landlord, any more.

You don't need to return any portion of the deposit - the deposit amount and rental amount are not linked like that. Often they can be, but that's just common practice, nothing more.

If they are tenants, and you haven't protected the deposit in one of the approved schemes, then things could get a bit expensive. I'm inclined to agree with Hippogriff, that what you have is a couple of tenants, by virtue of the fact that they have exclusive use of the property. However, The Angry Landlord's comments about the difference between a lease and a licence on this thread are also worth a read: https://www.landlordforumproject.co.uk/landlord-advice-help/can-i-enter-my-own-home/