Case scenario

Shona buys ‘The Friary’, a four- bedroom house with a one- bedroom basement fl at below,
accessible via a separate entrance through the garden. She rents out three of the four rooms as
follows:

❖ Room 1 to Jade for Ј200 per month. Shona has said Jade can stay at the house ‘until the end of
the summer’.

❖ Room 2, which is a double room, to Hayley and Adam for Ј275 per month, on the
understanding that if one of them leaves, Shona can replace them with another person of her
choosing.

❖ Room 3 to her second cousin Carlton. She does not charge him rent, but asks for a quarter of
household bills as and when they become due.

❖ Shona keeps Room 4 for herself to live in.

Shona has retained keys to all of the rooms, and they are rented on the basis that Shona will
provide fresh linen and towels and toiletries in the bathrooms, and that she will take the rubbish
out on a Thursday. She has never done so, however. The basement fl at Shona lets to Byron. He is
a sort of ‘odd job’ man, helping out with general maintenance and gardening in and around The
Friary wherever needed, as well as carrying out maintenance at Shona’s two other properties. In
exchange, Byron pays Shona a nominal rent of Ј50 per month.

In November, Shona met the man of her dreams, Duncan. He is planning to move into The Friary
next week and Shona would like the occupants of Rooms 1, 2 and 3 and the basement fl at to be
gone before then. She is also planning on letting Byron go, as Duncan is quite handy around the
house. Can she do this and, if so, on what basis? Shona has agreed nothing in writing with any of
the occupants.