Advice on New Housemate Pissing Me off and Using Too Much Bills

Hi guys.
I m new to this house subletting thing. I got a new housemate who seems to behave outofplace and just annoys me. The day he moves in, I wated to quickly pick something inside and didn't have my key on me as it was in the car on the street, I then ask him to open the door while entering then he says somelittle off things about opening the door for me which I snooged off. I traveled for work nd come back a week later and coincidentally we (him, me nd my gf) were trying to enter the house. He got to the door first, so he wanted to open with his key, puts the key into the keyhole then retracts saying he wants to be sure I live in the house I rented, and asks me to open it. I felt smugged on the face, but he then says it is a joke after I opened it.

Also, the day he moved in, he calls me on the phone asking me to call my neighbors to take away their dog. The dog harmlessly sneaks into the compound once in a while, but this new guy just wants the neighbor to take it out, and goes to their door knocking which I found really annoying(as the neighbor is my landlord)

All these have past by, however what may now be a problem is his cooking all the time.
I came back from travel and found out he used the oven too many times a week. Too much the smoke goes to activate the smoke alarm. I told him about it the next day I see him do it, nd he says he told me before moving in that "he cooks everyday" which I do not have problem with. When he said that I said "no problem, but its a fair usage of the bill otherwise, its capped".

I was assuming he is a normal person like my previous housemate who I perfectly went along well with, and we didn't have to be too strict with rules. He also did cook everyday and we were just mature about using up stuff. I even remember when he did use the heater, we never agreed prior, but I felt it was ok since those days were quite cold, and it was just for a couple of hours before he turned it off

What I really do have problems with is this new guy making burgers or other fast foods with the oven too many times a day, The rent is pretty decent and a very good deal, but I did it on the assumption of fairness. I just think he wants to eat his cake and have it. He should just go and rent his one room apartment and pay bills if he wants to enjoy using up utilities.

I ve told him to limit it to cooker use and very limited use of the oven, but I think he still uses it often. What I am saying is that he just cooks every little thing all the time, but wants to pay little rent for it. We didn't have any written contract, just casual verbal agreement.

He hasn't really stayed long, but I am not finding him comfortable again to live with. Are my annoyances out of place, can someone help me see what I am not understanding, as I am relatively new to the housesharing concept
I do feel he is taking advantage of the fact I like things casual and not too strict, especially with someone you share same house with, and in turn expecting people to behave maturely.

Edit.
I ll add that the only clause he significantly mentioned before moving was that he cooks everyday, and in hindsight, I am wondering who really mentions that to a prospective subletter unless they ve had that as a problem with previous subletters

Comments

  • +60

    Tell him it isn't working out and he should leave.

    • +10

      Or, tell him it's not working out and leave yourself.

      • +3

        Or, tell him it's not working out and get a second job.

  • +176

    The hell? Do you not eat every day? I think cooking every day is fine. Except fo so much smoke, I kinda think this is all reasonable. I wonder if he told his story, it'd be very different and his version would be "stingy housemate is a dictator who wants me to limit how many times I cook"

    • +56

      "I've told him to limit it to cooker use and very limited use of the oven"

      "No soup for you!"

      • -1

        The entirety of this Website checks out

    • +85

      wait where's that guy that cooked 99% of his meals in the free picnic bbq in the park behind his house and used his neighbours pool electric outlet?!??!!

      We need to hook him and OP up. Housemate Perfection

      • +10
      • +13

        "I came back from travel and found out he used the oven too many times a week"

        You were travelling and he used the oven. HTF does this affect you in a negative way?

        • +5

          Using too much bills!

        • +2

          @hooyn: Dollar bills baby.

        • -1

          @hooyn:
          So if he bought all of his meals every day instead of cooking, would you ask him to pay half the bills ?

        • I feel snooged and smugged off!

  • +127

    Maybe you shouldn't share 'your' house then if you are uncomfortable with people living their lives.

  • +20

    I like spending less than I have to so I like the idea of house sharing, and sharing the cost of anything for that matter.

    But I hate squabbling. No, I loathe squabbling. The best relationship you can have with somebody is a simple "How's it goin'? Not bad!" on the street. And then when you get home (whether you live in a house, van or cardboard box) you retire peacefully to bed without thinking about all the ways that somebody has transgressed you.

    I hate hateful people. And it makes me hate myself.

      • +26

        Have you heard of the saying, "You don't know someone until you live with them"?

        If you knew this guy from work or school you'd probably see him in a completely different light and vice-versa. The fact that you sing too loud in the shower or he clips his toenails on the couch wouldn't affect your relationship and if it miraculously ever came up you'd probably joke about it.

        But humans have an instinct to get precious about their "personal space". You have a conflict of emotions because on the one hand you want to come off as "cool" and "easy-going" but on the other-hand you want to handle frustrating issues in a more business-like manner ("we should divide the bill based on usage").

        So I don't really have a point, other than I hate being forced to be around people I don't like. I hate going to work when Sally or Jim are going to be there. I hate leaving my room and having to face that house mate with "resting b*tch face". I think a lot of anxiety in modern society comes from being forced into unnatural relationships with people.

        • +6

          It's just the absolute worst when Sally AND Jim are both in the tea room and you get stuck in a 15 minute conversation about Sallys "uhh-maazzzinggg" weekend on the south coast, or Jim's totally uninteresting children. I don't give a crap if your 8 year old won best and fairest for his soccer team, It's bloody under-8's soccer.

          God I hate them so much.

        • I hate other annoying people too, but I love misanthropists ;)

  • +46

    From a neutral perspective your annoyances about him cooking too much seem beyond ludicrous. Imagine paying rent to live with someone and being told that they are the creator and enforcer of all rules. You are both paying equal? shares of rent, neither of you is the landlord - don't act like one. If he wants to cook, he can cook.

    You seem like you have no experience living out of home and are too focused on money, have you checked out how much $ the oven is using?

    http://energyusecalculator.com/electricity_oven.htm

      • +12

        I have looked at my energy data. It costs me 25c in electricity to cook a full Sunday breakfast, electric oven and two stove tops for 30 mins

      • +2

        Bull crap, I checked my electricity usage pattern and found the day I used the oven the reading only about 1-2kwh difference. And that was cooking for a family of four with meat roasted from fresh.

        • -4

          You do know ovens are 2500-5000kw right… that one hr of useage would mean at least 2.5kw, more likely the max 5 or more depending on your oven

          I'm not a meter reader so I can't explain your meter reading

          I'm just stating how much energy ovens use, if you don't believe it, thats your choice. Google is there for a reason…

        • +8

          @Baghern: If it were to operate continuously at its maximum power consumption that would be accurate. Good thing ovens have thermostats to maintain a constant desired heat… Not to mention the likelihood of a separate grill element.

        • +2

          @Baghern: no oven runs continuously unless you're smart enough to open the lid while baking or it's broken. And yes I'm well aware of my household electricity usage pattern before making the statement. Do you think someone pedantic enough to go outside and check meter readings in between AND not knowing their appliance'capacity?

        • @Baghern:

          I assume you mean 2.5kWh (not kW)?

          You're assuming that the oven is on all the time and using peak electricity draw. Mine has a light on it when the element is actually heating, and once it gets up to temperature, that light stays off 90% of the time. It also has multiple elements that can be turned on and off depending on the mode it is in, but we just use the rear fan element.

          The peak load would assume all elements are heating at once, and that the oven is heating the entire time. If you need to do that, then the insulation is shot in your oven and you need a new one.

      • +9

        he will probably mention it in future too if you kick him out because he used the stove too much.
        how often do you need him to eat out to save you money in electricity/gas?

        but setting off the smoke alarm is silly - he can't cook (or the oven is faulty somehow)

        • +7

          When an oven is very poorly maintained and is not cleaned regularly, grease and other food fragments tend to pool on the floor of the oven. Subsequently, when the oven is switched on, the grease and other scraps start burning and produce a ton of smoke.

          I've actually experienced this when I was staying at a sharehouse during my uni days. I promptly went to the supermarket and bought some cleaning foam and some scrubbers to clean that filthy oven. This fixed the issue completely.

  • +4

    I just think he wants to eat his cake and have it

    Sounds like your new flatmate might be Boris Johnson. who is Pro Cake and Pro Eating it.

    • +1

      looks like they will get their cake taken from them now so no eating and having it at all, they will be lucky if France will every now and then share a bit of Brioche crumbs

  • +3

    I had boarders once. Wasn't worth the extra money it brought in.

    • Disagree, you just need to meet lots of people and assure your values are similar, then it can be quite nice

  • +73

    Limit his cooking? Please go see a psychologist.

    • +4

      It does sound psycho, but sometimes you get flatmates that cook real filthy smelling crap and smoke the whole house up.

        • +11

          I'd befriend them and hope to be invited over for dinner!

        • +2

          @idonotknowwhy: Yeah, just come over mate. :)

        • +4

          @idonotknowwhy: We had Indian neighbours. The mum assumed that as a male I was completely incapable of cooking - and so would cook the most delicious banquets for us. Good times :)

        • @AddNinja: Is that you, Brendon? :)

        • @CocaKoala: Nope - I must be some other guy taken in by the Indian family next door :)

    • -7

      Im assuming the op dosent use utilities much, so would b understandable. Oven use makes a big difference in bills.

      The flatmate did say he cooks evreyday though, op mistake in not changing the bills agreement the

      Enrgy bill threads show the hugh difference in users

      • +12

        Are you the OP as well?

        • +14

          Spelling and grammar says yes.

        • No, I'm just bamboozled by the lack of foresight of people here, who are exactly here to save money

          Not knowing that Ovens are a heavy cost appliance is staggering. It does explain though the energy thread where people costs are miles apart.

          Not being able to comprehend that a house share environment, is an extreme cost saving measure people take

          And my typos are from old dying laptop keyboard which for this post I am not on.

        • +4

          @Baghern:

          Limiting the oven to 1 day a week is insane - and if you've genuinely going down that path, make sure it's something you advertise to prospective sub letters. I've never given a seconds though to how much energy the oven uses.

          • @Randolph Duke: Sandwiches only from M-F
            Salad and outdoor BBQ on Saturday
            Roast may be cooked in over on Sunday, as long as it has been par-boiled in the shower first

        • +3

          @Randolph Duke:

          I never said anything about 1 day a week, I'm just reading the situation not applying my inapplicable position on it, which is what a lot of responses has been.

          If we were in the op's position… the fact that its a share house should have been enough to tell everyone, costs are to be kept down

        • @Baghern: "keep costs down" within reason, absolutely.

          Issue here is OP is completely OTT about it all, as you all can see.

        • @spillmill:

          Hes not over the top at all. Oven use can be very expensive, especially when used for multiple meals in a day.

          If I were OP i'd change the arrangement, there's nothing more motivating for unreasonable people to save than it is to make them pay for half the bill.

        • +2

          @fuzor: No matter what your opinion is, if 99% of people think something is over the top and you don't - it probably is…

  • +4

    You should return any and all money to them and ask them to leave peacefully before they claim squatter's rights. If you are only going to play at being a landlord, then you need to follow all of the rules or be prosecuted for failure if you don't. These rules include having a written rental agreement that outlines the things covered by the rent and the things that are excluded. The rules also include lodging the 4 weeks bond with NSW Fairtrading. I hope you learn the lesson of looking at the rules before becoming a landlord in the cheapest way.

    • +1

      Rules for boarders and tenants are different

      • +3

        and by having provided exclusive use to a room and not providing meals or other ancillary services, they do not have a boarder, but a subtenant. They should also have asked for written permission from their landlord to sublet which cannot be reasonably refused. The Residential Tenancy Act certainly applies to subtenants and the head tenant is obliged to follow the rules just like any other landlord.

        The fine for not lodging the bond within 10 working days of accepting it with NSW fair trading or keeping it in a trust account in the tenant's name is about $2200. It will take at least 3 months of notice to vacate for the subtenant, and then there is the time taken to obtain an enforcement notice that will be another few months. This is one of the few times where a subtenant should use their squatter's rights to the full imho.

        • +2

          Doesn't the room has to have a lock for the person to be a tenant? That's the impression I got from uni's accommodation services from years back so I could be wrong.

          On the note re bond, I've been advised by a tenant advocate group that NSW fair trading wouldn't do anything if it's eventually returned.

  • +40

    making burgers and other stuff with the oven

    Steamed hams?

    • +18

      Too much the smoke goes to activate the smoke alarm.

      It's just the Northern Lights!

      • +14

        The Aurora Borealis? At this time of year? At this time of day? In this part of the country? Localized entirely within your kitchen?

  • +41

    he cooks every day? god forbid, what an a$$hole.

    • -6

      he's objecting to his use of the oven which takes longer to cook and costs more. if the guy is making burgers in the oven then he's just being very lazy.

      • +52

        the bloke pays rent, he can use the oven as much as he likes. how is he lazy, and plus why is it the OP business.

        next you will be telling the guy to not sh*t as much as it uses to much water.

        glad i am not house sharing with bellends any more

        if someone told me not to use any oven, because i use it to much, they would end up in the oven.

        • -2

          split bill.

          Th op should have changed the rent agreement on energy bill, from 50/50 to maybe 30/70…

          Then again those kinda agreement might mean the flatmate abuses electricity even more

        • +7

          @Baghern: what if the OP uses the aircon more whilst the other guys sits around sweltering cos he loves heat, where do you stop with this we are talking $50 or less a quarter.

          maybe the other person could pay 60%, but no one can tell you to not use the electricity in the first place. the bloke likes to cook, so he cooks.

          if it were me id offer to pay more electricity given the other guy is away, but if he told me i could not use the oven every night, id tell him where to go.

        • @unclesnake:

          Well we don't know that, thats kinda a useless issue

          Its the op choice/decision to update/change the agreement, thats what we both saying here

          But it sounds like the op is energy conscious and also working away from home… I imagine his energy bill is going to skyrocket 300%+

          There are threads regarding energy bills on the forums, people confused why their bills are 800+ while others are at 100. Looks like the two have meet

        • @Baghern:

          Its the op choice/decision to update/change the agreement,

          Op can’t unilaterally change the terms of the rental agreement without first consulting with the other party.

        • +2

          @whooah1979:

          Thats why its called an "agreement"…

        • +1

          it's more efficient and cheaper to use the cooktop but this requires a person to be there to actually cook the food.

          the op probably needs to worry more about the state of the oven and if it's being cleaned regularly if he wants to keep his bond.

    • +1

      It's worse… the selfish jerk probably dares to EAT every day too!

      I'm confused what this thread is even about. Guy #1 rents a property, guy #1 rents spare room to guy #2, guy #1 is irritated because guy #2 cooks his meals.

      It sounds like the real problem here is guy #1 is an upcoming candidate for heart bypass because he eats far too much takeaway.

  • +29

    Next thread

    Advice on new housemate pissing me off and not letting me cook food

    • +13

      First comment

      use the BBQ at the park.

  • +2

    Just kick him out. You don't need us to tell you to do it.

    • +1

      This, I'd end the rental agreement, assuming there isn't much more to what you've said you two are a bad match.

      Some people will never properly connect energy use and electric bills, other threads on this forum shows that

  • +2

    Member Since 2 hours 13 min ago.

    New member, new drama.

    • +14

      Zero relevance. It's normal to lurk until there's something to share.

    • @Yummy, No need to be rude to new members. Let's be respectful to others.

        • +10

          What a waste of 17 precious neg votes

  • +4

    The housemate is probably doing what he thinks is normal.
    His cooking habits are increasing the bills. The problem is the housemate doesn't seem to have the same ethos of an Ozbargainer.
    In my home we deliberately don't use the oven too often, and when it's used we try to cook a couple different things to get the most out of it.

    The question here is how do people with conflicting ideals get along.

    • +1

      The problem is the housemate doesn't seem to have the same ethos of an Ozbargainer

      Not sure it makes sense to conflate the meaning of 'Ozbargainer' to being excessively frugal.

      There are a fair few people who are financially comfortable here who don't really have to worry about using an oven as much as they like.

      PS: That said, if one's financial condition necessitates it, well more power to you/them.

      • +1

        I was about to say the same thing. I don't excessively alter how I live my life, but if there's a way to get the same result a bit cheaper then perfect!

        I'm here because I want to get that laptop I would have bought anyway $500 cheaper than I'd be able to otherwise, not to do things like limit my use of the oven to save $1.

  • Was the listing advertised as having a working oven?

    • I don't normally advertise that as I never really used it and previous housemates also hardly use it

      • Normally no, but was the oven advertised this time?

        • No, it wasn't

        • +7

          @Bluebutton:

          That makes it easy for you. Unplug the oven.

        • +2

          @whooah1979:
          That is not how it works, it's not how any of this works!

  • +3

    Maybe you should discuss with the new flatmate about him finding somewhere else to live. Otherwise you could show him your last utility bill and discuss if he is willing to pay the excess on the next one. House sharing can be a nightmare of negotiation. The expected levels of cleanliness, security issues, the partner staying over. For my 2c if I was sharing and someone was complaining about my oven use I would be looking for the next share house, given what else the disputes could be about.

  • +28

    Buy your housemate an airfryer.
    I personally think you decided early on you didnt like this person, so now everything that they do annnoys you. I dont believe your housemate's behaviour is unreasonable.

  • whose name is the electricity under?

    • Mine

      • -5

        so tell him to pay 60% of the elec bill due to excessive oven usage, or stop using electricity all together.

        if he is have intelligent and oven indeed does use alot of electricity (i don't know) then he/she will agree.

        who is on the tenancy agreement? if its you and you sub let it to him, boot them out. if they are both on it then cut off the electricity in protest. you are not home that much any way, living with out elec would be funny to watch him

        • I am the only one on the tenancy agreement. I have spoken to him, and want to see how it goes for a couple of days. Thanks

        • +5

          @Bluebutton: does your landlord know your renting his property further?

        • -5

          Not yet

        • +3

          @Bluebutton: it’s good if you take his advice as he own the property and may better decide

  • +1

    I'm extremely anal about some things (actually most things….actually all things), I feel your pain. Ultimately your house, your rules. May be best to suggest to the flatmate he moves out and make the move easy for him by offering a refund as others have suggested above. I'd think he's probably on another forum telling his version of the story right now, so he might appreciate the easy out.

    The sharing economy isn't for everyone.

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