Can I rent my house out just as a holiday home for 1 month.

ditchfield69

Advice required please. I live in lovely whistable, two minutes walk from the sea side and station. I live in a three bedroom family home with south facing garden. I want to go aboard with my family next year in April for a month and was thinking about renting my home out to someone who is keen to have a holiday in a home environment. I don’t have any idea where to start and what i need to facilitate this notion. I could really do with the extra cash.

I know there are enormous risks involved having strangers in my home. Ideally I would like to advertise amongst my friends or maybe deposit flyers on my road. My neighbours may have family aboard who would like to come over. How much should I charge, bearing in mind all the utilities and wear and tear or my property? Also, i am the legal owner of this property am I legally allowed to do this?

Thank you,

BitterAndTwisted

Too risky. If you're offering a commercial let then you would have to adhere to lots and lots of H&S requirements, never mind getting a tenant in and then finding you can't legally evict them for six months if they're not willing to vacate.

Are there any agents in Whitstable who do holiday lets who you can ask for advice from?

tbs624

To qualify as a holiday let your property would have to be available to the public for a minimum of 140 days in the year*, and not be let to any one third party for any longer than 31 days during the year.

* for at least 70 of those it has to be at a market rate rent,not "mates rates."

You may be better using a house sitting company, but obviously you have to pay them rather than them paying you.

tbs624

Just wondered if the OP is intending to call in to South America......maybe drop in to Spain?......

ditchfield69

How about an informal arrangement with a friend of a friend or maybe someone who lives on my street (like their family member or friend) It would be cheaper for them and they would have the percs of being in a fully functional home (bicycles, enternet ect...

I suppose I could really do with the money, maybe i am alittle blinded.

ditchfield69

Whats an OP?

BitterAndTwisted

If you could do with the money that badly I would respectfully suggest that you can't afford this month-long family holiday at all.

An "informal" arrangement could work UNTIL you find that they're not willing to leave once you get back. Then the nightmares truly begin as you wouldn't even have the legal right to enter the premises. Just read up about what happened to Suzy Butler in Hove when she did the same thing without understanding the risks she was taking. it's possible that you're not quite as photogenic as she so you won't be able to get a GMTV camera-crew round to the property to harass your tenant to leave.

jac29

I went on holiday last month to Looe staying in someone's house whilst they were away travelling. They advertised on ebay and looking at their feedback it was apparent they had done it before.
We paid £525 inclusive for the week which I think was approx half of what we would have paid if we had booked it through a holiday letting agent.
This arrangement involved trust on both sides as we paid upfront a couple of months before going and she trusted us to respect her property. I was prepared to take a gamble with £525 but I have to say i would never take that gamble with my own house x

tbs624

ditchfield69 wrote: »

Whats an OP?

Original Post(er)

Sorry, the destinations are those in the Ms Butler scenario, to which BitterandTwisted refers.

Svenena

jac29 wrote: »

I went on holiday last month to Looe staying in someone's house whilst they were away travelling. They advertised on ebay and looking at their feedback it was apparent they had done it before.

If they've done it before they may fulfil the definitions of a holiday let that TBS mentioned (eg min 140 days, etc), but the OP won't meet those criteria.

PasturesNew

There are some house swapping websites about. You go and live in somebody else's house and they stay in yours. If you've not booked your holiday already, you could do that and get your accommodation free where you're going to.

Often in those deals the car's included too.

I'll find one to get the official name....

Here we go: http://www.homeexchange.com/
More if you want a trawl yourself: http://www.google.co.uk/#hl=en&source=hp&q=houseswap+vacation+&aq=f&aqi=g-sx1&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=&fp=2b38767f5e770f58

As to the original question, can you do it - yes, but there are risks involved and new insurances to be purchased. A lot of people do short-term rentals of their home, e.g. people near Newport, South Wales, for the big golf thingy that's going to happen ... and a lot of people near Weymouth will be taking bookings for the Olympics. One offs, to benefit from some local event or reason.

Where I live, a lot of people move into a shed in their garden in the summer - so they can rent out their house entirely, or if a B&B, so they can rent out their bedroom for an extra £500/week for the summer season.