Renting a room

Bob_zodiac

Just wondering what rent you would get in a flat in the north east if you rented out a room?

Do you also split bills?

Do you take a bond?

If anyone has rented a room out,what was your experience like?

zzzLazyDaisy

I can't tell you about the North East, but by way of general info:

Lodgers have no legal right to stay in the house. You don't need to have any written agreement, but it is quite a good idea to put down in writing the basics (how much rent, when and how it is to be paid, anything they must / shouldn't do etc). This doesn't have to be a formal document, a simple letter will be fine.

It is a good idea to get a refundable deposit up front for breakages/ damage.

If the lodger has their own TV in their room, they have to get a separate TV licence, so you should put that in the written agreement.

Mostly (round here at least) people charge a rent that is inclusive of bills, apart from the phone. This avoids the potential situation of the lodger leaving just before the bill is due to be paid. The down side is that they may not be as careful with the heating etc if it is all in.

Remember also that, if you live on your own, you get 25% reduction on council tax which you lose if you take a lodger.

It is worth asking around or looking at the small ad's in the local paper (or even responding to one or two as a prospective lodger) to see what the going rate is, and what you are expected to provide for that. I have a friend in Stoke-on-Trent who takes lodgers and the going rate seems to be about £50 per week. But another friend in a nice part of Manchester gets £70 per week. So there can be a big differential depending on where you live.

zzzLazyDaisy

Oh, I should say, the experience of both friends with lodgers who leave the kitchen in a mess/ don't take care of the place/leave owing rent/who have got very bossy and on occasions downright abusive/who have left taking stuff that doesn't belong to them/etc with them etc etc has put me off EVER having lodgers, but maybe they've just been unlucky.

Oh and don't forget to let your insurers know. Having lodgers can invalidate your insurance, and you almost certainly will have to pay an extra premium.

lynzpower

I understood that you only have to have a seperate TV licence in the room if you have a lock on the door applied from the outside ( ie hallway) if you dont,which I havent with my lodgers ( although they have been close personal freinds) then my understanding is the TV license isnt an issue. Which is why in student flats in halls tpye thing everyone has to have licenses as they are different dwellings in respect of the locks.

Also my insurance with the CIS accepts lodgers as standard, I specifically chose it for this reason. 21. odd per month.

zzzLazyDaisy

Sorry, but that isn't correct. If you have a lodger who watches TV in their room, they need a separate licence, unless they have a relationship with the home-owner (eg are a member of the family). See the TV Licence site for details (url below)


http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/information/landlords.jsp

lynzpower

thanks lazydaisy, I'll bear that in mind when my new lodger comes in... I had no idea

Cheers x

HGLTsuperstar

You need a separate TV licence if the room with the TV has a lock on the door, which is advisible so no false accusations can be made!

never_enough

I used to rent a room to help my finances when I was a student. It was (on the whole) a good experience.

I'd take a months rent in advance, plus a months rent as deposit against breakages/bills which I returned once they left. I always tried to have just one person rather than a couple, just made life easier as there was only one bathroom. Split all bills as found when they were included there was no incentive to turn heating down etc Came home to tropical temperature in the flat & all the windows open once too often! :rolleyes:

Think it's still running, but you need to check. If you rent a room out for less than £X you don't need to declare it for tax. Was called something like the 'Rent a room Scheme' [sooo clever!!]

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/individuals/tmarent-a-room-scheme.shtml

I always found people through Loot, most were pretty good & I never had any real problems. Mess in the kitchen & hogging the bathroom were the biggest niggles for me, but you work those things out. A friend ended up with a lodger that used to sit watching tv naked, which was very disconcerting!

I never took up references, just trusted my judgement, but always got the names of people to contact had I wanted to. Also was advised to get a parents address/tel no (or next of kin) & work number in case of emegencies.
[Also means if they skip off owing money you have a fall back contact(s).]