Rent a room - 6 months only

katejo

Yorkie1 wrote: »

£110 a month for bills in a shared house? :eek:

Blimey that seems steep!

Sounds very steep. In my terraced house I currently pay the suppliers about £70 a month for gas/electricity and that is for myself and my lodger.

bodmil

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bodmil

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Fire_Fox

It's not a shared house because you are not equals, they are your lodger and you intend to kick them out within the year. Surely they are not going to have equal say in all household matters? You set the house rules, you decide which energy supplier and so on.

Just charge a single amount that covers all bills except telephone calls, make sure that is competitive. You can't charge a lodger for your service charge and buildings insurance, they are YOUR costs for maintaining and protecting YOUR property, absent landlords don't even pass that onto tenants it is covered in the rent! :eek: As homeowner you are ultimately responsible for the council tax under the hierachy of liability. A lodger with a television in their room needs their own TV license which will also cover the communal areas but not your bedroom.

LEJC

Dont forget that if you currently get a reduction as a sole occupier for your concil tax,renting a room will have an impact on that, you may need to figure the increase into your calculations

bodmil

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bodmil

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V_Chic_Chick

Don't forget that you have to make being a lodger look attractive relative to a studio flat - and at the rates you want to charge, you're in danger of making a room in your house more expensive overall than a studio flat - and if you do that, you won't be able to make a quick buck, you won't be making any bucks at all.

bodmil

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Fire_Fox

bodmil wrote: »

Yes fair enough about the insurance but the service charge covers cleaning and gardening which a lodger would benefit from? I've not included a share in the water bill which I have previously been charged in share houses. Would that be fair to include?

I'm wary of having a set bill in case they then abuse it and have lots of long hot baths, leave all the lights on etc and whack the heating up without having to deal with the consequences of increased bills.

You will have increased energy and water bills, there will be two of you! You will still be better off because there will be an additional income in the form of the rent, the utilities would have to double for you to be worse off. Service charges are for the maintenance of YOUR property, you never pass those costs on to a tenant even when they cover gardening and cleaning of the communal areas. Who says the lodger cares about cleaning and gardening especially given gardens hardly grow and remain unused in winter? Again this is a cost they have no say over.

Honestly you sound greedy at worst or penny pinching at best, I wouldn't want to live with you and I am frugal myself. What are you offering that someone couldn't get cheaper in a shared house or at least with more friendly and welcoming housemates? You are hoping to charge £450 a month just for a room and then you want to add a couple of quid for gardening and cleaning, really? It's clearly not going to be their home because you want them out well within a year, there is no mates in housemates you "don't particularly enjoy sharing".