Lodger Advice please

rog2

loopyloulou wrote:

I have been "offered" a lodger from my neighbour - never met him.

My neighbours have a 3bed house same as mine and have managed to squeeze 3 lodgers in (dont ask me how!!) and have realised that they have too many. The one that would potentially stay with us would stay 4 nights a week and we would get £70 a week for this.

Im undecided as what i should do. I have only ever lived with my OH (for 7 years) and before that i lived at home with my parents.

Me and OH are out for long hours all day and I am a little concerned about having a stranger in my house all day.

I need to talk to my OH about this, but he seems up for it. Any tips and advice would be appreciated. On the plus side it would help me and OH pay off £140 a month each off our debts.

I am sure that they will be offering you their best :rolleyes: lodger!
Don't do it!

seven-day-weekend

I have had lodgers on and off over the years and my son has two now. Some we knew beforehand and some we didn't.

Tips:
Take a deposit (I normally say two weeks) and write a small simple 'terms and conditions' including the amount of rent, how you want it to be paid, what is included in the rent, any houshold rules, and period of notice (I normally say two weeks - this is for either you to give them notice, or them to give you notice).

Rent to inclde all bills apart from telephone. Whether they have access to your telephone at all is up to you (ours have to ask permission).

Start as you mean to go on and keep your own sitting room private. If at a later date you decide you like them so much you don't mind them sitting in with you, you can then offer the invitiation. (You CAN'T do it the other way round without ill-feeling).

I do not (now!) offer cooking and washing. Part of your house rules can be that they must clear up after themselves in the communal areas and only use the washing machine e.g. twice a week.

Have a trial period of e.g. a month, before committing yourself.

Don't forget, you can give them notice at any time and they have to go, it's your home and they are lodgers, they are not tenants and have hardly any rights.

It's a good way to earn extra cash and you could make some good friends (we have....we are still in touch with several of our ex-lodgers and I am Godmother to the daughter of two of our ex-lodgers who married each other!).

Hope this helps.

caffeinehit

It's interesting to read that lodgers don't have many rights. At what point does a lodger become a tenant and therefore acquire these rights?

GingerSte

Hi Loupylou.

I would echo what most people have been saying on here, in that you should definitely meet them and get to know them before offering them a place. Even if it's just a trip to the pub. Also, find out if there's things either of you do which may be frowned upon by the other (I had a lodger once who was a vegetarian, and didn't like the idea of me having meat in the house. They didn't last long).

I oughtta mention that, as it's your home (assuming you live there), you don't have to pay any tax on the rent (as long as it's less than about 4 grand or something - I can't remember the figure). You do have to declare it to the Inland Revenue, though. For details look for their "rent a room" scheme.

I also strongly suggest that you make clear what you expect from them, for example you may expect them to keep the communal areas clean and tidy and maybe vacuum round once in a while. However, they are not your personal slave so don't go overboard. My lodgers and I tend to have a rota system for things like cooking and washing up, as it makes life easier.

Hope this helps!

Gingerste.

loopyloulou_3

thanks all
im still undecided! i am slightly concerned as to why my neighbours want to get rid of this one!! i understand it may well be the truth that they are short on space, but as rog2 says - they are hardly going to be offering me the best one!

OH is away for the week so i have time to contemplate it!

What if he did a runner with all of my worldly goods while i was at work?!

amosworks

What are the legal differences between a lodger and a tennant then?

Is it your house or are you renting it BTW? What's the stance on doing this if you're a tennant but are interested in sub-letting unused rooms out for extra cash?

ZTD

amosworks wrote:

What are the legal differences between a lodger and a tennant then?

If you live there, they're a lodger. If you don't - they're a tennant.

amosworks

I meant the legal differences though. I mean in a way if you have a loder I suppose you are their landlord. Can you just chuck them out without notice, unlike a tennant who you must give a month notice to. Also with tennants they must have a 6 month minimum assured shorthold tennancy agreement in place etc.

sarahs999

We had a lodger for years - she was my old flatmate before I got married, so that does make a difference (plus she worked very hard and was hardly ever there!). It's a question of whether you can get on with them. WHy not limit it to six months adn see how you go?

Also - not read whole thread, so apols if this has been mentioned, but there are limits to how much you can get in income from lodgers each year before you have to pay tax. I think it works out to something like £350 a month, but may have gone up since last year.

GOod luck!
Sarah

spud30

I'm not sure I could do it.

I couldnt give up my privacy to have a stranger here. Dont think it would feel like home anymore.