I can’t bear living with my lazy housemate
DEAR DEIDRE: I share a house with the laziest flatmate on Earth.
He treats everything as a joke when I try to talk to him.
During the pandemic he lost his job and hasn’t worked since. He was in hospitality so why he can’t get something else, I don’t know.
He’s 38 and he plays on his Xbox until the early hours. He sleeps in, so when I leave for work is still not out of bed.
A few nights a week he cooks dinner, which was always our arrangement.
But apart from that he doesn’t lift a finger, not even washing his dishes from the day.
I’m a mechanic aged 29 and I work long days. But he still expects me to do all the housework when he’s home all day.
He says the agreement was that he would cook and I’d do the cleaning – and wants to stick with that.
He’s also using a lot more electricity and gas than me as he’s home alone, but won’t hear of paying more.
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DEIDRE SAYS: Rather than just dropping your concerns into the conversation, ask if you can have a house meeting.
Explain that as your circumstances have changed, it would be fair to reapportion the chores, although you still will want to play your part.
Ask your electricity provider for a smart meter so he can see how much the bills go up when he’s home.
My support pack Standing Up For Yourself will make sure he gets the message.
