Should a landlord tell her tenant to save water and power?

Well, i don't expect such small things can bother me that much. I have a room for rent in my apt, a Japanese American just moved in after a French girl had finished her 8 months in Vietnam. I normally finish my work very late, abt 7 or 8pm and somedays when i arrived home, i found my flat being a mess, full of dirty dishes, pots and pans on the counter and dining table. And sometimes lights and fan and air-conditioner were on in the kitchen and living room while she was in her room.

The first time, i reminded her abt saving power as i pay for all bills. The second time, i talked with her about keeping the kitchen clean because our maid just comes twice a week and i can't cook in a mess. But she doesn't seem to change. Today i was home, tired but had to tidy up my kitchen. I definitely couldn't smile to her and i found her acting similarly to me. She even showed her difficult face to my sister when she dropped by my flat to give me some food. I was a bit confused and disappointed. What should i do now? talk to her again or suggest her another place?

hmm Should a landlord tell her tenant to save water and power? In my opinion is " NO "
As long as they pay their bills, who cares how much they spend.   But, they should be more considerate about washing dishes after themselves.  Nobody wants to walk in or cook in a dirty/messy kitchen.

Hope you get his matter solve.
Good luck

Thank you for your advice. When i offered her the room, i didn't ask her to pay bills as she lives with me in the same flat. I pay for all. But perhaps next time i will ask my tenant to share, around one third sth. But not for now as i don't want to ask her for more money out of the agreement. I just need her to use things economically :(

You shouldn't waste your time trying to change your room-mate, it's not going to work. You should suggest that she find another place to live, since it's just not working out for you anymore.

Unfortunately many of us North Americans (I'm Canadian) have become very spoiled by the fact that we've got terrific infrastructure, and public services. Electricity is extremely cheap compared to other countries so many Americans and Canadians don't think twice about leaving lights on and operating appliances, air conditioners, etc,, when they're really not necessary. Many are the same way with water, since in most places in North America the city supply of water is part of the property taxes and you don't get a water bill, so people really don't think about conserving and re-utilizing water as much as they do in countries that don't have ample supplies of water or have extremely high water bills. Your roomie sounds like one of these for sure... just a spoiled child.

Regarding being messy, that's pure laziness and a lack of respect. If you've already told her how you feel about it then repeating it won't do anything either.

If you don't want to ask her to leave then you should think about telling her that you're going to increase the amount she must pay for rent in order to cover the extra expense of the increased electricity, water and maid to come one or two more days a week. That will either get her attention (some people only pay attention when it hurts the wallet) and she'll change her ways or move out voluntarily.

Cheers,
William James Woodward, Expat-blog Experts Team

Thank you wjwoodward, you seem to be very experienced and know the reason why my roommate doesnt care about utility bills. I was taught to save water and power when i was a child as my parents were always struggling with bills so maybe i don't understand her situation.

But i will not ask any extra charges from her because if she is sensitive, she will think all i need i just money... and she will think Vietnamese ppl just raise troubles to make more money. Well, but i will think further about this...

Thanks a lot, your advice is very valuable to me.

I think you should forget what so called her sensitiveness and be straight to her. Sensitivity often comes along with regard, which lead sensitive people often care much about how to show respect to themselves and other people.
Btw, she's American. American love fairness and playing it straight, especially regarding to money. :)

While we all like to abide by agreements we make, things often change and make that impossible. When she moved in you had no idea how her ways would effect you and how it would cost you extra money, which you probably don't have lots of.

Why should you suffer the consequences for the WASTE and MESSINESS of another person, just because you made an agreement? Have you ever actually shown here your electric bill? I'd suggest that you find one from BEFORE she move in and when the next bill arrives show her the difference. You should show her in black and white just how much the difference is. Ask her if she would be happy with that situation were it HER? Certainly she would not!

Regarding the mess, if she won't pitch in and clean up after herself the only other thing you can do is just leave the mess pile up and instruct the maid not to do it either. If she doesn't notice that you've gone on strike and aren't going to be her willing servant anymore then you should point that out to her. What I would say to her in this situation is this... "I have not cleaned up the mess you've left behind, hoping that you would notice and do it yourself. I also don't think that it is fair to expect that the maid should do it either."

To my way of thinking it appears that she doesn't think of the maid as a person or employee (of yours, because she isn't paying the maid), but rather as a servant or slave. The - she's paid to clean up so I don't have to - attitude is not only arrogant, but also quite rude.

Thank you very much Scarlet :)
And many thanks to wjwoodward. I will take a chance to talk to her tomorrow or next Monday when she has more free time at home as she works at weekend. And sure i will notice her about the bills, they are all much higher than before. Let's see how she will change.

Nip it in the bud...
It bothers you... tell them to leave!
See it before, when a friend need the rent money and went through misery with her tenants.

This is the main drawback of sharing rooms  :D
At the time of contract you should talk very clearly about everything.
In this case you can ask her to vacate the room. But you should give back her deposit and allow till she get another.
People are different but personal hygiene and tidiness  is a must especially when live with other.

Hello, my name is Ricky, [Moderated: No free ad on the forum.]. You should do these steps:
1. LISTING all the things that YOU must change for peace on a paper, ask the tenant about that, ask her for any complain about YOU.
2. LISTING all the things that the TENANT must change for peace, on a paper.
3. Have a SERIOUS conversation with the tenant about the lists in a COMFORTABLE scene, tell her how you feel about your problems, ask her change for HELPING you about problems, . ( exp: "we waste a lot of money for air cond, fans, etc so could you help me ....", or "how tired I am when Icome home and tidy up our apartment",... use "our", "we" as much as you can).
4. Make a commitment with each other on a paper, not oral.
5. If you can't do any steps above, fire the tenant.
6. Find another one, make sure the new one matches your needs.
Goodluck.