Take in a lodger... official MoneySavingExpert.com discussion

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  • halia wrote: »
    hi all, whats the situation if you let a room to a lodger and give them their own 'mini kitchen' so its more of a bedsit but with shared bathroom?

    If it is furnished in a shared house you are fine.

    It is has seperate access / locks / bills then it becomes more complicated
  • What are the different ways of finding someone who is willing to take in a lodger?

    This is a good site as it shows who is looking and who is offering.

    http://www.spareroom.co.uk/

    It helps to show the "competition" and equivalent costings
  • ITtim
    ITtim Posts: 437
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    I assume that if you have a lodger you would have to declare them on the electrol roll? I have someone who wants to rent my room but he wants to keep his address listed at his parents (no idea why) I assume that if i let him stay and do not declare him on the roll i'll be in trouble. If i put him on it i assume he'd be in trouble?
    kicking squealing gucci little piggy.
  • ITtim wrote: »
    I assume that if you have a lodger you would have to declare them on the electrol roll? I have someone who wants to rent my room but he wants to keep his address listed at his parents (no idea why) I assume that if i let him stay and do not declare him on the roll i'll be in trouble. If i put him on it i assume he'd be in trouble?

    Lots of people cannot be bothered with changing their address. It means hassle for them if they move out, and it may effect car insurance if stored on the street in a different area, and they may want ot avoid having loads of different addresses for job application forms or credit checks.

    Not sure where you stand legally on the electoral roll register but if he is still registered with his parents as his "home" but he chooses to stay with you during the week, and weekends, then I doubt it will be a problem unless you're getting the 25% council tax reduction.

    Best to ask him why he does not want to - he probably wants to see how it works out first, which is fair enough.
  • ali1972
    ali1972 Posts: 599 Forumite
    Anyone looking to rent out a room who lives near to a theatre (or on a good public transport link to one) might look into letting out a room via the theatre digs list. Theatres which have touring shows are always looking for good digs. Actors, technicians and musicians rent these rooms on a weekly basis. They get paid weekly and so pay rent weekly. They are out all evening and are very self sufficent. Put a kettle and a tv in their room and you will hardly see them. I can guarantee some cities and towns are very low on good digs!
    Yeah, whatever. I'm a grown up, I can take it...
  • Mac_Sami
    Mac_Sami Posts: 277 Forumite
    ali1972 wrote: »
    Anyone looking to rent out a room who lives near to a theatre (or on a good public transport link to one) might look into letting out a room via the theatre digs list. Theatres which have touring shows are always looking for good digs. Actors, technicians and musicians rent these rooms on a weekly basis. They get paid weekly and so pay rent weekly. They are out all evening and are very self sufficent. Put a kettle and a tv in their room and you will hardly see them. I can guarantee some cities and towns are very low on good digs!

    You read my mind beautifully. I was just this morning trying to remember the name of the site! Just going through buying a flat opposite Symphony Hall / the ICC / NIA in Birmingham... could be a nice little money earner :)
  • ali1972
    ali1972 Posts: 599 Forumite
    Contact admin at Birmingham Rep, The Alex Theatre & The Hippodrome Theatre and enquire about going onto their individual lists. The theatres are a better bet than the concert halls as musicians playing the concert halls usually commute from London or elsewhere (1 or 2 shows at the venue as opposed to a whole week of shows).
    Yeah, whatever. I'm a grown up, I can take it...
  • anyone living near a hospital has a good shout at getting health workers to stay, especially students on short term placements.

    most hospitals have their own accommodation service you can advertise with.
  • One thing to be aware of is overcharging. Say you want to rent a room out for £350 and no one takes it for 2 months then you have lost out on £700!! Dropping the price after a week or two is not a bad thing. Dropping to £300 a month will only loose out on £600 for the full year but gain £3600!!

    Because you believe it's worth more does not mean it is!!
    I used spareroom and found it benificial to pay for bold advertising (under £8 for a week) as people could contact you for free.
    Lets get this straight. Say my house is worth £100K, it drops £20K and I complain but I should not complain when I actually pay £200K via a mortgage:rolleyes:
  • wolvoman
    wolvoman Posts: 1,173
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    Not sure if I should put this question in this thread or in the Cutting Tax forum.

    I have a lodger moving in tomorrow and he will be paying £550 a month inclusive of all bills (it's a big room in London with an en-suite bathroom).

    Now this is well above the tax free allowance for rent-a-room.
    If I have to pay tax on the £550 then I will end up keeping just £330 per month (I'm a higher rate taxpayer). This seems ridiculous - charge him £550 and receive £330, or charge him £350 and receive £350 (using rent-a-room exemption).

    Am I missing something here? Can I offset expenses against this income, such as mortgage interest, wear and tear, council tax, utilities etc.?
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