renting out a spare room

nanadotty

Could anyone help please. My daughter recently got onto the property ladder and has found the joys of being a home owner not as much fun as paying board to your mother. The nights out, the new shoes, (god forbid she has to go to work two weeks in a row with same shoes on.) holidays ect,.
She has thought about renting out one of her spare rooms, she has two but one is full of shoes. Is there a safe and reliable way of doing this or is she taking a risk. She lives about six mile away from a police traing school and she seems to think they need rooms to lodge in.
Any advice would be greatfully acepted.

Thanks a concerned mother.

clutton_2

one is full of shoes !!!!!!!! her middle name is not imelda is it ?????

why not ring up the police training school and talk to them. there may well be a constant stream of officers coming for one/two/three weeks courses and this may be a good source of income for her.

nanadotty

I might have gone over the top when i said full of shoes. She couldn't fill it with shoes she would have knowhere for her spare cloths. Thanks for your reply.

bristol_pilot

A 'lodger' does not have any rights like a tennant (where the landlord does not live on the premises), so she can kick the lodger out in the event of non-payment of rent, so no risk from that point of view. She can charge up to about £350 per month all-in without any tax implications. The main risk IMO is that the lodger will steal something (or everything!) and this may not be covered by her household insurance.

Browntoa

it's also tax free up to £4250


If you already have a lodger or are thinking about letting furnished rooms in your home, you can receive up to £4,250 a year tax-free (£2,150 if letting jointly). This is known as the Rent a Room scheme

http://www.direct.gov.uk/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/Taxes/TaxOnPropertyAndRentalIncome/TaxOnRentalIncomeArticles/fs/en?CONTENT_ID=4017804&chk=mGasop

seven-day-weekend

We have had lodgers on and off throughout the 35 years we have been married. A good way of making money. (They have no rights whatsoever, but ours have all been fine anyway).

https://www.easyroommate.com

Interview everyone you are intersted in. Take references,

https://www.Landlordzone.co.uk

seven-day-weekend

Our recent lodgers (two found from easyroommate.com) have been fine. The one we have at the moment has been no trouble whatsoever and he pays his rent on time with no hassle, so did the last one we got from easyroommate.com). Although it is always a risk, you can chuck them out whenever you like. (Only had to do it once in 35 years - and that was a friiend -s hould have known better!).

(At the moment, our son has the lodgers (in the family home) as we don't live in the UK).

seven-day-weekend

A police training school seems an excellent way of getting decent lodgers.

If you live near a University, that is also a good source of lodgers. You can also do short-term placements; I asked our local University about lodgers in July 2004 ;As well as being posted on the Uni website I was offered (and accepted) a Japanese girl for a month until I went to Spain - although this was more than a lodger, my son and I had to be a 'host family' for a month ..i.e. mum and big brother. The University paid her rent (I think it was about £250) upfront. The University will check you out though, either for lodgers or placements. They obviously decided we were suitable.

On September 7th 2004 I joined my husband in Spain and my son had to enlarge his role as 'Big Brother' to Miyuki until the 12th. I know he took her to the Carvery and showed her Coronation Street!


But, police or fire brigade training schools, Unis, hospitals...if you live in a city you have a good choice of lodgers. (The Uni will require a Gas Safety Certificate authotised by a CORGI gas engineer).

BT_man

seven-day-weekend wrote:

A police training school seems an excellent way of getting decent lodgers.

Providing you're not growing weed in the loft...:D

tanith

Just because they are potential coppers doesn't make them certainly trustworthy IMO ...... she should treat them with as much suspicion as anyone else..... I am not sure I would want to share my house with a male stranger especially as she is a lone woman. Maybe she could specify females only.....

I'mcomingbackasaman

Tell your daughter she'll need a tenancy agreement and rent book for payments received. You can get tenancy agreements from W H Smiths.
Also she would have to pay the Inland Revenue when she's received a certain amount of rent, she'd have to go to the Inland Revenue website to find out.