Thinking of getting a lodger

PassedAtFailing

I'm hoping some of you might be able to share your experiences with me. I'm considering taking a lodger due to money being very tight and although I could probably just about cope with all bills without one, having one may put me in a better position.

I have no real qualms with sharing with someone. Have a couple of spare bedrooms. Understand the tax position, contacting the mortgage company, notifying my home insurance provider and other things. My real concern is I have two dogs. They get on fine with people, but am I being stupid worrying about a lodger leaving a door open?

I understand that I would meet prospective lodgers and vet them as best I could. Does anyone have any experience of having pets and lodgers?

lvm

Hey,

Sorry I've no experience with having pets however I am on to my 3rd lodger.

I would say...in my experience, lodgers have more respect for your property than they would for a normal rental property. To them, it feels more like they are living in someone else's house (which they are) so in most cases don't feel as "at home" as they would in their own house. I reckon this will make them a bit more aware of their surroundings and if you tell them not to leave doors open, chances are they won't. Just be careful not to get some young student who wants to go out every night of the week and come back bladdered (not that every student is like that).

Getting a lodger (or 2!) is definitely a brilliant idea and such an income boost - I just wish I had another room for a 2nd lodger!

Good luck if you do go ahead with it!

BitterAndTwisted

You don't need to contact your mortgage-lender if you're taking in a lodger.

Don't fret about the doggies: just find yourself a nice, pleasant and solvent lodger who like dogs. In your advert make it clear that it's a dog-friendly household so you're looking for dog-friendly lodgers. There are lots around. Concentrate on ensuring that you know how to take up references and find someone who you think you'll get along with.

00ec25

PassedAtFailing wrote: »

Does anyone have any experience of having pets and lodgers?

when i was a lodger last year the LL had 2 dogs, I got on so well with one of them that it was me who ended up walking it each day whilst the LL still had the liability for feeding it and paying the vet's bills. I thought that was an excellent trade off!

Brallaqueen

I have a lodger and although she is a very nice, clean and tidy person who always pays on the dot... it has not always been a smooth ride. Even the nicest people can have a bad day/ bring back a dodgy partner/ forget to lock the door behind them.

Badger_Lady'slong, long thread on the houses forum is a good eyeopener and covers a lot of the downsides of having a lodger in your home.

girleight@

You do need to talk to your home insurance though. Some ban lodgers. We found Axa were fine with it.

Yorkie1

girleight@ wrote: »

You do need to talk to your home insurance though. Some ban lodgers. We found Axa were fine with it.

True, just make sure it's very clear to the insurance that it is a lodger and NOT a tenant.

G_M

The important thing with lodgers is to be upfront about what they can/cannot do in your home, and upfront about any potential issues.

That applies to your dogs as well as everything else. As long as the lodger knows in advance that you have dogs, is relaxed about sharing with dogs, and understands the 'do not let them out' rule as well as the 'can't have girlfriend stay over 6 nights a week' rule, then everything should be fine.

ali-t

OP, as you have a couple of spare bedrooms you could do what I did when I had lodgers in. I converted one of the bedrooms into a second living room so the lodger always had their own living room so didn't use the main living room which was mine. Depending on the layout of your house (i.e. whether you need to go through the living room to get to the kitchen) your lodger may have no need to go into the rooms you use, therefore there is no chance that your dogs could be let out.

I have 2 dogs and have had lodgers for the last 6 years (the last one to leave 6 months ago put me right off them though lol). Some of them have been great and even the ones who weren't dog lovers were fine with the dogs. If it is still a concern to you, you could either crate the dogs or put them in your bedroom when you are out so even if any lodger left the door open,the dogs wouldn't escape.

blushingbride_3

I've had lodgers on & off for the past 5 years, its the main reason i picked my house because of the bedroom space and location.

I've had some strange ones but the majority have been nice, tidy & spent the majority of their time in their rooms which suits me

I did have rules about guests & cleaning & I think if you are up front about them then it makes them more comfortable as well. if they know before they move in @ least they have the choice of accepting the terms or not.

I also had some students which i found were the best.

THT

domcastro

I had lodgers when I had 2 dogs. Never had a problem. Also, you don't need to inform anyone about it (apart from council if you're getting single persons discount) The worst thing that happened, for some bizarre reason, one of my dogs went into the lodger's room, whilst he was in there, and took a big dump in the middle of the floor. lol This had never happened before and never happened again - so not sure what that was about. The lodger was a long time friend so crapgate didn't cause an incident. The only thing I found about lodgers was I was only happy with friends / friends of friends as lodgers. I once put advert in paper and it went wrong - didn't pay - had some russian woman who couldn't speak English staying all the time. I then had to write a "3 night maximum friend staying" contract. I never had problem with mates - one didn't pay but he painted the back of the house instead that month. Fair play I thought