Renting out a spare room

Joanne123

Hi - not sure if this is the right place, if not, could someone move the post please.
We have a spare room which I would like to rent out to help with clearing our debts. We are in the AL3 area which we understand is quite high demand
We are a family of 5 - 2 adults and 3 children and have a spare room on our ground floor.
Can we ask for CRB - for what they're worth!!!
Can anyone advise how we get going, any websites etc?
We would prefer a Monday to Friday rental but not essential
Many many thanks in anticipation

Jo (and Co)

Fire_Fox

Welcome! Do you have sufficient bathrooms to accommodate six people? Is the downstairs room peaceful of an evening? Not sure too many professionals would be keen to share with three children. Could they have an upstairs bedroom with their own bath/ shower and someone in your family sleep downstairs?

Advanced search function is worth getting your head around, change 'search entire posts' to 'search thread titles' http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/search.php?f=16
You can look for someone who already has an enhanced CRB check, don't think private individuals can have them done only companies/ organisations. Are you near a hospital? NHS staff all have CRB done.

phill99

With respect I think many lodgers would be put off living with 3 children. Plus you limit yourself by only wanting Monday to Friday. Then there is an issue of trust. I think many people would raise objections to asking for a CRB check. It seems like you want all the financial benefits of letting a room without the inconvenience if having someone live in your home.

G_M

LODGERS (Licencees/Excluded Occupiers)
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 on taking in lodgers)

Renting out rooms in your home (Government info)

Rent a Room Scheme (Government scheme for tax-free income from lodgers)

Forget CRB:

ParagonAdvance (Tenant referencing provider – there are others. Use Google) Letsure

Joanne123

Thanks - we have an upstairs bathroom and a downstairs bathroom - our kids are averse to washing so they're not used much!
We could actually offer exclusive use of one bathroom but cannot offer restricted entry as children do not understand no entry signs!
As I understand it CRB checks are 10 a penny, me and OH have so many for school outings church etc etc so not really as essential as they would be if they were meaningful,but why would anyone object to a CRB check unless they had anything to hide?
Downstairs room is very peaceful as it is away from the main part of the house and has it's own door to the garden so no problem with smokers, animal owners etc (mind you, no anacodas etc or anything which would eat a 5 year old).
I'm beginning to think this may be a non starter.
Perhaps I should go with plan B....
Jo

Joanne123

GM - thank you

That is what I wanted all along

I'll put plan B on hold for a day or 2 while I check it out

Jo XXX

PasturesNew

It's not just the bathroom and kids ... it's the noise, their toys in the living room, sticky residues, cr4p programmes on the telly, cluttered kitchen/possibly full of kids.

It'd be a rare lodger that'd want to rent with a family with one kid, never mind three. If I were so desperate that I'd consider it .... the additional, unusual, CRB hurdle/hassle would put me off.

Fire_Fox

Joanne123 wrote: »

Thanks - we have an upstairs bathroom and a downstairs bathroom - our kids are averse to washing so they're not used much!
We could actually offer exclusive use of one bathroom but cannot offer restricted entry as children do not understand no entry signs!
As I understand it CRB checks are 10 a penny, me and OH have so many for school outings church etc etc so not really as essential as they would be if they were meaningful,but why would anyone object to a CRB check unless they had anything to hide?
Downstairs room is very peaceful as it is away from the main part of the house and has it's own door to the garden so no problem with smokers, animal owners etc (mind you, no anacodas etc or anything which would eat a 5 year old).
I'm beginning to think this may be a non starter.
Perhaps I should go with plan B....
Jo

I don't think (and I might be wrong) you can perform an enhanced CRB on someone who doesn't already have one. If the downstairs room is peaceful and there is a bathroom close by that they could use exclusively that would certainly be attractive to someone if the price was right. You might consider a high external bolt so that the kids cannot get in but adults can easily open it?

barnaby-bear

Joanne123 wrote: »

Hi - not sure if this is the right place, if not, could someone move the post please.
We have a spare room which I would like to rent out to help with clearing our debts. We are in the AL3 area which we understand is quite high demand
We are a family of 5 - 2 adults and 3 children and have a spare room on our ground floor.
Can we ask for CRB - for what they're worth!!!
Can anyone advise how we get going, any websites etc?
We would prefer a Monday to Friday rental but not essential
Many many thanks in anticipation

Jo (and Co)

Might you be better off with a local language school student, a nice quiet 14 year old whose parents want her living with a family for three weeks, your kids can pick up a bit of french / spanish -
http://www.hertsad.co.uk/news/st_albans_language_school_in_search_of_host_families_1_1418950
http://www.stalbansschooloflanguages.co.uk/homestay.htm
http://www.oaklands.ac.uk/courses/international.aspx

- a lodger who would welcome staying with a family as a cultural bonus!

Werdnal

An enhanced CRB check costs £44 (would you expect the lodger to pay this?), and TBH I don't think they are worth paper they are written on. All they really prove is you have never been charged with a criminal offense, not that you have never done anything wrong! They are also misleading as they give the CRB status on the day they are issued, and even if they then go on to get a criminal record the following day, you won't be informed unless you check them again.

I don't think your Monday to Friday requirement would suit many, unless you can find someone who works in the area and goes home at weekends. Even then, they would probably want to stay on Sundays for work the next day.

anotherginger

I don't see how this would work. As others have said, 3 kids would put most people off. If they won't understand that the downstairs bathroom is not to be used, how will they understand that they can't go into your lodgers bedroom? What will happen at dinner time? I found it bad enough getting space in the kitchen when I lodged with adults!

I don't think a CRB proves that you can trust someone, you just have to go on your instincts for that. If your lodger was in the living room, would you be happy to leave your kids with them alone?