Buying a house and renting a room

oljomo

Hi

Ive read up a few things regarding buying a house and renting it out, but that all seems to correspond to buying a property and letting the whole thing out. Is there anywhere some information on whether its viable to for instance buy a two bedroom house, and rent one of the bedrooms out to make it a houseshare - would i need a buy to let mortgage/gas safety check etc if i was living in the house myself as well?

(Ive lived in quite a few houseshares recently and have found they are mixed results - however if i could pick who i would be living with then i feel it would be a lot better, and it would allow me to buy a more expensive house, and not necessarily need to upsize as soon.

GAH

If you buy a house to live in, then you can rent a room out to a lodger, tax free up to £4250. No restrictions gassafeties etc.

If you buy a property for the sole use of letting the whole property, you will need a buy to let mortgage and all documents such as safety certificates etc.

Brallaqueen

GAH is mostly correct - however even live in landlords need to provide a gas safety certificate. No other restrictions that I know of.

http://www.hse.gov.uk/gas/landlords/safetycheckswho.htm#lodger

BitterAndTwisted

As a home-owner you can take in a lodger if you choose. No need to inform your mortgage-lender and you don't have to declare the income for tax-purposes if it's under that £4250 figure per annum.

Lodgers have few rights and they have no security of tenure. They can be asked to leave whenever you decide they need to go. You don't even need a written lodger's agreement if you don't want to draw one up but it's sensible to make it clear exactly what it is that you're supplying and what you're expecting from them in return for their rent.

G_M

LODGERS (Licencees)
A lodger (broadly) lives in the same property with their resident landlord, and shares facilities. Unlike tenants, lodgers have few rights.

The Housing Act 1988 (above) provides definitions of 'Resident Landlord' and 'same property'.

There is advice for landlords considering taking in lodgers here:

LodgerLandlord (General information site)

Landlordzone (General advice)

Rent a Room Scheme (Government info on tax-free income from lodgers)

rentergirl

I would have thought a gas safety check would put your own mind at rest? Also: remember that the tenant/lodger pays rent, and that even if you choose them, they should be treated with respect. So many new landlords resent the people who subsidise their property.

Yorkie1

A gas safety certificate is a legal requirement as previously stated, it's nothing to do with 'mind at rest'.

The person would be a lodger and not a tenant.

Sweeping generalisation there from rentergirl about new LLs' attitudes...

Sharkie994

I've been looking up information about landlords and lodgers as I'm soon to be a lodger so I would recommend checking out the Landlord Zone website. Sorry, I'm not allowed to post links as a new user so the guide you need is very thorough and is called 'Lodgers and Rent-a-Room'

One of the things it says is "It's a very good idea to have a written agreement, so that you both know where you stand: rent, deposit, notices required, payment method, payment dates, house rules."

The 'Renting out rooms in your home' guide on the DirectGov website is also very useful.