Advice from Lodger Landlords please!

Supermop

I'm considering letting out my spare room to a lodger -- my boyfriend has just moved in with me and so I feel a bit more confident about having a 'stranger' in my home.

I've read advice sites and the like, but I just wondered if some lodger landlords would be kind enough to advise me on their practical experience in the following though:-

1. Do you have more success from advertising locally as opposed to spareroom.com etc?

2. Do you reference your lodgers?

3. On average how long do your lodgers stay?

4. Do you charge weekly or monthly? How quickly do you evict if they fall into arrears?

5. Is a shared bathroom a problem? (I don't have an en-suite room)

6. How do you keep security/guard against theft? (do you have a lockable room for example)

7. Did you find it awkward at first?

8. What kind of things do you provide? I was thinking: Double bed, bed linen, towels, wardrobe, chest of drawers, bedside tables, bedside lamp, 17" freeview TV. Is that adequate? Do you clean the room?

9. Do you take DSS lodgers? How did it work out?

10. How dis you work out how much bond to take?

11. How do you handle your lodger having guests over? I think it would be unreasonable to say that they can't have people over, but am wary of overnight stays and the like!

Thanks!

HappyMJ

Supermop wrote: »

I'm considering letting out my spare room to a lodger -- my boyfriend has just moved in with me and so I feel a bit more confident about having a 'stranger' in my home.

I've read advice sites and the like, but I just wondered if some lodger landlords would be kind enough to advise me on their practical experience in the following though:-

1. Do you have more success from advertising locally as opposed to spareroom.com etc?
Word of mouth...or if that fails..local paper.
2. Do you reference your lodgers?
YES!!!! They are probably just mates of theirs but you will get a feel if they are genuine or not.
3. On average how long do your lodgers stay?
3 to 6 months
4. Do you charge weekly or monthly? How quickly do you evict if they fall into arrears?
Weekly. Immediately. Sorry if they miss a payment I tell them they have a weeks notice but if they then pay up and an extra week for the following week then they can stay. I don't do late payments.
5. Is a shared bathroom a problem? (I don't have an en-suite room)
No
6. How do you keep security/guard against theft? (do you have a lockable room for example)
Do not keep valuables at home. Hard to do if you have jewellry but the loss of it will not be covered by insurance.
7. Did you find it awkward at first?
No
8. What kind of things do you provide? I was thinking: Double bed, bed linen, towels, wardrobe, chest of drawers, bedside tables, bedside lamp, 17" freeview TV. Is that adequate? Do you clean the room?
DO NOT PROVIDE A TV. You will then have to provide a TV licence. Don't provide bed linen or towels. It's not a hotel. Do cover the mattress with a mattress protector and insist on weekly visual checks to ensure the bed has a sheet on it. Do not clean the room....
9. Do you take DSS lodgers? How did it work out?
Yes. Rubbish. They take the P with gas/electric. Make sure they work and send them on their way if they are home 24/7. Your bills will go through the roof.
10. How dis you work out how much bond to take?
2 weeks. If anything has a value then you might want to consider 4 weeks but 2 weeks is sufficient. If any damage caused it must be paid for or rectified immediately and not at the end of the tenancy.
11. How do you handle your lodger having guests over? I think it would be unreasonable to say that they can't have people over, but am wary of overnight stays and the like!
Fine...Charge the lodger an extra £5 per night for the additional usage of electric/gas/water and toilet paper.
Thanks!

Charge an extra £5 a week for toilet paper and the like such as cheap hand soap. That is to go into a kitty along with you and your partners £5 and to be used by anyone who buys the toilet paper when required etc...ask for receipts if they buy some toilet paper and you agree to go thirds along with your partner too.

I collect rent fortnightly but charge it weekly. Such as £50 a week. It would then be £100 deposit and £100 first 2 weeks rent. If they fail to pay 14 days later then they get a weeks notice to leave using half the deposit and the other half returned to them if no damage.

HappyMJ

Another thing charge more in winter to cover the cost of heating fairly over the year. For example "any day the heating is on ther will be a charge of an extra £1 per day to cover the cost of gas consumed." That might encourage them to not turn it on.

katejo

HappyMJ wrote: »

Charge an extra £5 a week for toilet paper and the like such as cheap hand soap. That is to go into a kitty along with you and your partners £5 and to be used by anyone who buys the toilet paper when required etc...ask for receipts if they buy some toilet paper and you agree to go thirds along with your partner too.

I collect rent fortnightly but charge it weekly. Such as £50 a week. It would then be £100 deposit and £100 first 2 weeks rent. If they fail to pay 14 days later then they get a weeks notice to leave using half the deposit and the other half returned to them if no damage.

A couple of extra points to add to the first reply.

You must inform your home insurance. several of them don't allow it and those who do won't cover you for theft if there is no evidence of a break in.

If your lodger has their own tv, THEY have to buy a licence. You can't provide one for them. It has to be in their name.

Most of my lodgers have stayed 3-4 months but i have been lucky recently. i have one who has been here for over 18 months.

You have to decide whether to use the rent a room scheme or declare income to the tax man. Google rent a room scheme for more info. If the rent, including all bills, is more than £4250 a year, you have to pay tax on the excess.

Supermop

Thanks ever so much for your replies.

Just another quick question -- do you have to have safety tags etc on any furnishings you provide (like in a normal tenancy) and a gas safety certificate?

Cheers!

Opinion

Since I bought my flat I've let me spare room out to two different people, so here we go.

1. Do you have more success from advertising locally as opposed to spareroom.com etc?

I've used SpareRoom and EasyRoomMate. SpareRoom was definitely the better- found one there, one was a friend of a friend.

2. Do you reference your lodgers?

No. I think you can get a reasonable idea as to what someone is like by chatting for a while.

3. On average how long do your lodgers stay?

One year for the first, current one has been since March.

4. Do you charge weekly or monthly? How quickly do you evict if they fall into arrears?

Monthly. I've had both tell me they were short one month but I personally wouldn't evict someone for that.

5. Is a shared bathroom a problem? (I don't have an en-suite room)

Nope. My current is a 19 year old girl who spends hours getting ready and it's never been an issue.

6. How do you keep security/guard against theft? (do you have a lockable room for example)

Gut feeling. I wouldn't let someone move in that had a dodgy vibe, and it helps if you know where they work etc.

7. Did you find it awkward at first?

The first morning, yes, when she came and sat in the lounge wearing TINY blue hot pants and a tank top. I've somehow grown used to this now...

8. What kind of things do you provide? I was thinking: Double bed, bed linen, towels, wardrobe, chest of drawers, bedside tables, bedside lamp, 17" freeview TV. Is that adequate? Do you clean the room?

Double bed, two sets of bed linen, chest of drawers, wardrobe, 22" Freeview/DVD TV, lamp. If you had a student I'd imagine a desk might be a bonus. I have a weekly cleaner, but I would expect them to clean their own room if I didn't.

9. Do you take DSS lodgers? How did it work out?

I wouldn't, no.

10. How dis you work out how much bond to take?

I've never taken a bond. Refer to #2.

11. How do you handle your lodger having guests over? I think it would be unreasonable to say that they can't have people over, but am wary of overnight stays and the like!

My first flat mate had her girl friends over an awful lot and in the end it did grow tiresome. I had a quiet word with her and it got better. My current flat mate is much better, and we generally txt each other if either of us is going to have company over.

I'll also add that I hate living on my own so having a decent flat mate(I don't like the term lodger) is very handy for me. My current flat mate is a 19 year old German... we cook for each other, tidy up after each other, hang each others washing up(my dog likes to play with her thongs), meet up in town for drinks if we're out etc. I'd hate to have a flat mate that sat in their room all day/night; can't imagine anything worse. I want someone that feels comfortable living in the same space as me else it's going to be a pretty horrible situation.

Supermop

Thanks for taking the time to respond, it's so much better to get experienced advice first hand.

I think it's maybe better to be safe than sorry with references so I will be taking them up from anyone who is potentially interested.

I don't know how busy the lodger market is though. I'm not particularly close to any contractors/colleges/big employers which is why I asked about DSS as I can imagine that's my source.

ETA: What about getting a gas/electric prepayment meter installed? I currently pay monthly by DD; is it easier to monitor by prepayment if the lodger does start to rip the pee?

seven-day-weekend

Another tip I would say is decide if you want them to share your sitting room or not. Our policy was 'by invitation only', so that we had a bit of space.

katejo

Supermop wrote: »

Thanks ever so much for your replies.

Just another quick question -- do you have to have safety tags etc on any furnishings you provide (like in a normal tenancy) and a gas safety certificate?

Cheers!

You do have to have a gas safety certificate but not the tags as far as I know. I don't have them

minimor

Hi Sorry to jump in but I am new to this. I am thinking about doing B&B over the summer to generate a bit of extra income. Can I still use the rent a room scheme? And if I can what records do I keep. Thanks

heretolearn_2

We used to have lodgers but our house was well set up for it when we bought it compared to most (we already had one lodger when we moved in!)

1. Do you have more success from advertising locally as opposed to spareroom.com etc? Put cards in local newsagent window and local paper - had lots of calls. this was a few years ago. I suspect it might depend on who your target lodger is - the websites are more for younger people I think?

2. Do you reference your lodgers?
No

3. On average how long do your lodgers stay?
Around 6 months.
4. Do you charge weekly or monthly? How quickly do you evict if they fall into arrears?
Monthly. Never had an arrears problem. Would probably give them a couple of weeks, would depend on their overall history and how reliable normally.
5. Is a shared bathroom a problem? (I don't have an en-suite room)

6. How do you keep security/guard against theft? (do you have a lockable room for example)
All our bedrooms are lockable. Well worth it just for the feeling of privacy if nothing else, if you provide a lock in their door as well as yours it isn't a mistrust/theft thing and doesn't come across as nasty, it's for their privacy and benefit as well. Our lodgers appreciated having their own secure room.

7. Did you find it awkward at first?
Not really but we were lucky with plenty of space, only met them in the kitchen!

8. What kind of things do you provide? I was thinking: Double bed, bed linen, towels, wardrobe, chest of drawers, bedside tables, bedside lamp, 17" freeview TV. Is that adequate? Do you clean the room?

We only provided bed and a built in wardrobe and bedside shelf and lamp. Curtains and carpet. The rest was down to them. Most people own a TV these days, linens/towels I think are too personal, it isn't a hotel.

9. Do you take DSS lodgers? How did it work out?
We didn't, no.

10. How dis you work out how much bond to take?
Month deposit, month in advance.

11. How do you handle your lodger having guests over? I think it would be unreasonable to say that they can't have people over, but am wary of overnight stays and the like!
None of ours did. Maybe they were sad no-mates, I don't know. They had double rooms. I wouldn't mind the odd night but no regulars unless they wanted to upgrade to a 'couples' agreement.