Lodger Advice please

cupid_s

If i had enough room i would definately do it.
My sister and her boyfriend have just bought a house and have three lodgers. They all get on really well.

However there is the issue about house insurance cos you need a special type i think if people other than you're family live there.

seven-day-weekend

If therre is a resident landlord, living in the house, and the lodger just has their own room, and shares kitchen and bathroom, then they are a lodger and have hardly any rights (if any at all). You don't have to give them any sort of contract (although it's sensible to give them a printed 'terms and conditions').

If the landlord lives elsewhere and the person has free access to the whole house (except other people's bedrooms!) then they become a tenant and have the rights and responsibilities of an assured shorthold tenancy.

skintchick

I've had a couple of lodgers and it's OK, but you do lose your privacy and they seem to have little respect for your home, so stuff gets damaged or lost.

But if money's tight then it's worth doing for six months - the cash does help a lot.

ms_london

Hi!!! To be honest, I would go for it. If its only 4 nights a week (assuming Mon-Thurs?) and its bringing in 70 pounds a week - what have you got to lose? It may be an invasion on your privacy, but even if it was for the short term, i.e. 6 months - calculate how many months it would chop off your DFD - it WILL be worth it!!

Obviously you need to meet him first & lay down some ground rules - do your neighbours just rent him the room or can he use the lounge too? Have a chat with your neighbour, see what they do, think about what feels comfortable to you, and then decide.

Unfortunately people need to make sacrifices to become debt free - sure its not all fun & games, but sometimes a little hard work is required? This isnt just aimed at you - but unfortunately it seems a lot of people want to be debt free but dont want to put the effort it, whether that be getting a lodger, getting a 2nd job, or even reducing their initial outgoings & cancelling sky (or the like).

I hated doing my 2 jobs (one for 2 years and one for 6 months) but it has been worth it and you dont need to go to quite such extreme methods as I did - but this 70 quid a week will go a long way, for little effort!!

xx

ms_london

skintchick wrote:

I've had a couple of lodgers and it's OK, but you do lose your privacy and they seem to have little respect for your home, so stuff gets damaged or lost.

But if money's tight then it's worth doing for six months - the cash does help a lot.

Hey skintchick - email me & tell me whats new with you? Job etc? Hope you're ok!

I dont agree that all lodgers have little respect for your home - it again depends on the type of person you get in. I have been a lodger in the past, and treated her home with respect, as I would have done my parents or my own home!!

I think that the extra money helps out more than people like to admit - its money for old rope afterall, it doesnt have to be forever!!

beanielou

Wow, £70 pw for 4 nights seems a lot.
Ive been thinking of another one and thought £45 was maybe a wee bit steep.
Why dont you give it a go-even if you only have them for 2/3 months thats a wee bit of dosh.
Best of Scottish

msArcher

Since moving to the new garden (there is a house attached) I've had a lodger (full-time) to help pay the bills. It's not too bad most of the time - but you do have to learn to live with irritating habits and so on. There is a loss of privacy, but having a couple rooms which are off limits to them does help solve that problem.

There is a lot of good advice on here that I wish I had followed to begin with (setting down rules about cleaning and so on being a big one), but the money certainly outweighs the other issues - and it's nice to know that someone is around when I go away...