Taking in a lodger

cornishinfens

As i am financially up poop creek with the paddle heading off in the poop rapids - i have decided to take in a lodger...

So i have phoned Northern Rock to seek their advice as per the contract and i get this response.

"What you do that we dont know about is up to you, so long as there is no contract in place - should we have to evict God Forbid we wouldn't want a sitting tennant"

Certainly doesn't sound legal to me!

Where would i stand if i had a lodger

(currently not in a position where i am going to be repossesed - but things are very tight and i'm whittling away at the savings each month)

What else would i need to consider.

Thanks

Cazza

Nope, that sounds about right to me. Taking in a lodger is very different to letting out your property. If you have a private arrangement with a friend, who happens to live with you and give you some money towards bills, then then providing there is no legal contract in place Northern Rock don't care.

The reason is that if you move out of the property and rent it out, your tenants will have a contract, so if Northern Rock want to repossess your house, they have the hassle of getting rid of the tenants too. If you have a private arrangement with a mate who happens to live there, they have no legal standing an Northern Rock don't have to jump through hoops in order to evict them.

poppysarah

look up rent a room scheme for info on how much you can have tax free

Premier_2

Don't ya just love nationalised companies?

If you take in a lodger, you can almost make up the rules you want to apply. Lodgers have very few rights. Stick the rules down in writing and that's the basis of the contract. You decide on what notice is given to evict at the start of the contract.

Notice periods of a week or less are very common.

PasturesNew

They're saying you're OK to take on a lodger in your own home. Where you/they share some common facilities (kitchen/living room) and they pay you rent.

They would NOT want you to move out and rent the whole place out to a tenant on an AST.

If you have a lodger, then they have no rights to stay there, so if they annoy you then you can pack their bags and see them off. Of course, under normal circumstances you'd actually give them an appropriate amount of notice (say up to a month). But if they stopped paying their rent you can change your locks, do what you like really. You can't do that if you have moved out and got a tenant.

Google for the Rent a Room scheme - you are allowed about £4200/tax year from a lodger without paying tax on it.

You should inform your insurance company. You might have to change insurance companies. Also, expect your home contents insurance to remove the Accidental Damage cover from your policy.

You will also need to let the Council know as you will increase Council Tax if you're claiming the 25% single occupant discount at present.

You might like to read this (not scarey) story of somebody trying to get rid of an annoying lodger earlier this year: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=917993

Step by step as it happened.