Discussions

Do u rent out a room to a student.  
When doing so, do u allow overnight guests in the home?  
It’s a shared accommodation situation  
with a single bed.  
All utilities i:ncluded for single occupancy.

When I rented- It was made perfectly clear no overnight guess.

I did it. The “occasional” overnight guest became 3+ nights a week, and family members coming to stay on my furniture without asking. I should have put my foot down as it caused me a LOT of stress...  
If you’re going to allow it, I would suggest very clearly outlining your expectations in your rental agreement.  
-where guests can stay  
-whether you want notice  
-how many days they can stay  
-parking arrangements for guests  
-whether guests have permission to be in your home when your tenant is not  
Etc... Do what makes you comfortable. If you live in the home, share a kitchen/bathroom, these can be considered “reasonable rules”.

Is it ok for my landlord to rent the stove to me by the hour? He says it costs a lot of money to use it (electric) so I've been trying to use teh microwave at 7/11 as much as possible. They kicked me out for cooking a chickin tho

Is it ok for my landlord to only allow me to flush the toilet after a numero 2? He says water is expensive. He is always telling me "if it's yellow let it mellow if it's brown put it down".

always flush the toilet I dont think they can say not too

We do say, no overnight guests as when we allowed it in the past, it was a problem. Late hours, noise level, etc.  
It’s set up for a serious student to study , not to party or entertain.  
When rent i:ncluded all utilities, I never had overnight guests out of respect for the others.  
Will now be i:ncluded in the signed contract

There are many well defined rules for tenants and landlords in the Residential Tenancies Act. Landlords cannot just make up rules as they go along, especially if they seem to change them all the time.  
 
https://web2.gov.mb.ca/laws/statutes/ccsm/r119e.php  
 
If something was i:ncluded in your lease it cannot be changed on the landlord’s whim. So if hydro was i:ncluded they cannot charge you incidentals because their hydro bill is higher than expected and cannot limit your useage.  
 
Always, always have a written lease. As a renter you should read the Act so you know what the landlord & your obligations are. The rules protect many rights that both sides have that many renters do not know,  
 
I have been a landlord for years and never heard of anyone limiting useage because of utility cost. I don’t know the legality if you have no lease, but if hydro & water were i:ncluded in the lease they cannot charge you extra for you using them. If they were not, then the bills will be in your name and you can use all you want.  
 
If the bills are not in your name & there was no written agreement to split or cover the costs then they cannot charge you for these services. All inclusions and exclusions MUST be listed in your lease.  
 
They cannot raise your rent because of higher bills and all raises in rent are regulated by the Residential Tenancies Act.  
 
(The Act does not go into overnight guests, but my advice would be to have this stipulated in your lease. It does allow the landlord to limit the number (their discretion) of people the tenant can have visiting at any given time but this MUST be stipulated in the lease. - My leases always say 6 guests per paying resident - otherwise I am allowed to tell the guests to leave without calling the police. 6 or less guests per paying resident and I have to have the police clear the party out if there are complaints). - This is regulated by the Act and larger groups are permitted if advance notice is given.  
 
Edited by OutinBrandon, 2019-04-26 01:22:31

There is no “verbal contract” for landlord / tenant. Everything must be in writing to be binding. Any changes to an existing lease must be signed and dated by all parties or it means nothing.  
 
So your landlord “saying” that you have to pay per flush or for using the stove is NOT binding unless It specifically states this in your written, signed, and dated lease.  
 
(Verbal contracts are primarily an American myth exacerbated by TV as they are nearly impossible to prove)  
 
Edited by OutinBrandon, 2019-04-26 02:00:51

They pay for the room. They live there. They can’t occasionally have an overnight guest? If somebody is there four out of seven nights of the week I would say they are now living there and you are allowed to charge for double occupancy. But really, if someone stays occasionally is it that big of an issue?

I rented out rooms to university & college students as well as working professionals. I would absolutely allow them to bring home guests, usually was a bar night or weekend ... but regardless none of the five people I rented rooms to in my home NONE of them caused any problems. Why? I had great tenants who I got along and I had carefully chosen prior to renting to them.  
 
You are right Viv, if that is considered their "home" the occasional guest should be allowed and I don't know why so many people have an issue with this.

When I was working in Brandon, I rented a room so I could stay in town during the week. One place I looked at, the landlady said there were absolutely no overnight male guests allowed - including my husband if he came to town! I did not rent there, LOL.

Unreal. People are incredibly ridiculous!  
When I rented out rooms it was decent money they were paying and a nice home so in my mind they most certainly were allowed to have guests just as long as they didn’t stay for days on end- which never happened anyway.  
So to the OP- there are a few things to consider before saying “no”.