Taking In Lodger

Sand_Man_2

Hi All

I am planning to taking an two lodgers (probabaly for the next 2 years), one of which is a family member

I was wondoring if there are any legal impacts on my property. I was thinking about getting them to sign a rent-a-room contract but this seems a bit extreme as its a family member. i am not intending to get a deposit or any advance payment due to their financial situation. The rent i am going to charge is well under the tax backet for taking in a lodger so i don't need to report it to the tax man (according to their website)

i feel uneasy about getting them to sign an contract as this seems overblown but what i am specfically concerned about is the rights i may unintensionally give them towards the property in the future such as ownership, right to stay in case of dispute etc if i don't get them to sign it

CAN ANYBODY PROVIDE ANY FURTHER INFO

Cheers .

HouseHunter_2

I have had 4 lodgers over the last four years, one at a time and no, they are not buried under the patio now. In my opinion it is vital to have a basic contract and also some ground rules in place, with each tenant I have to say the list of ground rules became longer as I added one to get rid of annoying habits that the previous one had had! Your contract just needs to say they have no right to remain in the property beyond a certain date, the amount of rent to be paid, the amount of notice to be given from either side, the bills that are included/not included etc.

Rules: you need to be clear who buys what (loo roll, kitchen roll, food, milk, cleaning stuff, washing stuff etc), who cleans where and how often, is it OK to use the tumble drier/washing machine non-stop, who mows the lawn and how often, are overnight guests allowed and how often, what is acceptable in terms of music volume, if you only have one bathroom what time do people need to use it in the morning before work etc

That all sounds a bit petty, but if you lay it all on the table before the tenancy starts, everyone knows where they stand and hoepfully conflict can be minimised. I've really enjoyed having lodgers and got an extra £300 per month tax free, which we used to do up the house, keeping it in a seperate account so we didn't start relying on it for day-to-day stuff.

Lady_Lea

You should do it - it is far too risky not too. All it takes is a fall out, and you could have a massive break down.

I have had 3 lodgers .... one is now a house mate rather than lodger now, but even shifts in relationships can cause problems - and it doesnt work for us anymore.

I had a very basic list of house rules and on my agrement covered the following points

Notice Period
Rent
Deposit
House rules

house rules inc:
Access / shutting doors / using locks / duplicating keys
Guests
Laundry (washing / drying areas / products in machine)
Smoking
Damage
Privacy
Cleaning / Washing up

to be fair I am a bit weird and dont like lots of chemicals in the house, so had specific requirements. and I am veggie and didnt want my pans for meat (she has her own for that)

Hope this helps

Sand_Man_2

Thank You Both For Your Advice