I feel like a complete arsehole. Riko and I went to meet Sebastian, the guy who thought we’d given him the room, at the Youth Hostel he was staying in. He was ready to leave. Riko tried to explain that we had not agree to him moving in. He couldn’t see why he was not allowed to move in, as there was a room available, and he wanted it. We explained to him that there had been a total misunderstanding and lack of communication on our part. I explained that when he introduced himself to me as ‘your new housemate’, I understood that Riko and Nigel had already agreed that he could move in, and that I was going along with this. Then I explained that subsequent discussions revealed this not to be the case at all. I feel really, really bad for him. I can’t explain how bad. I think I would have gotten on quite well with Sebastian.
We have now instituted a strict house mate vetting policy. It will be made clear to all potential room mates from the beginning that before accepting them, we all need to have a chat together first. The documents need to be signed, and only then can the person move in. For some reason, both the potentials that Riko has brought to our house have automatically assumed that they can take the room on the spot. Riko says that it must be because of the way he is telling them about the room.
