Rent a room - 6 months only

SternMusik

Fire_Fox wrote: »

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.

I second this advice. I was a lodger a few years back, and all bills were included in the monthly rent. This is the way to do it. Yours is not a house share - lodgers have very few rights and very little influence on the amenities in the house. Service charge and insurance are your problem not theirs. In a freehold property you would have to maintain the roof for example; would you be charging them half the cost of that?

Set up house rules at the beginning (ideally in writing), which could cover guests coming over to stay, use of kitchen equipment etc, generally being a considerate housemate and keeping energy and water use to a reasonable level.

You can evict them with very short notice if they don't stick to the rules.

bodmil

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Fire_Fox

bodmil wrote: »

Goodness, sorry about the service charge, I wasn't aware. Yes of course I'm penny pinching and frugal, who isn't these days. Of course I'm trying to get as much money as is reasonably acceptable. If a lodger doesn't like it, they won't sign up to it!
As far as I'm aware no one is aware of where I live or the condition of my home so surely debating rental costs is unfounded...

And we are trying to communicate that we don't think you are being reasonable. Frugal and penny pinching are two different things IMO. What are you offering that is attractive? If you are going to have long lists of rules, you only want a short let you need to be competitive on price. Some lodgers can use the whole house as their own home, it's clear you won't permit that and every chance the lodger won't feel comfortable doing so given their landlord doesn't like sharing. So IMO see it as letting a bedsit not a half a house/ flat.

bodmil

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SternMusik

bodmil wrote: »

Goodness, sorry about the service charge, I wasn't aware. Yes of course I'm penny pinching and frugal, who isn't these days. Of course I'm trying to get as much money as is reasonably acceptable. If a lodger doesn't like it, they won't sign up to it!
As far as I'm aware no one is aware of where I live or the condition of my home so surely debating rental costs is unfounded...

Nothing wrong with getting a good income from your spare room.

Potential lodgers may be put off by signing up to rent excluding bills if they have no influence over the utility providers and your own usage.

If you want a friendly, professional and considerate lodger then they will expect to be treated in a reasonable manner, and that includes billing arrangements. As you said, it all depends on the person. I hope you find a nice person to share your home with, and that it all works out for you.

bodmil

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suze369

If, as you say you are in a popular area have you considered a Monday to Friday lodger?

I think you may limit your likely full time lodgers by restricting them to 6/9 month terms. Many want a longer term option - it will be their home afterall and they may tihnk they will settle in and then have to be on the look out again.

I agree with others regarding making bills inclusive, I have had lodgers for a few years now (Mon - Fri for preference) but all ads I have seen have wanted to include bills in their monthly rent - makes it easier for lodger to budget. A polite and frank discussion at viewings will help you establish who thinks that is fair and who may be more wasteful.

SavvyStudentSaver

bodmil wrote: »

Yes I appreciate that, I hadn't thought that a lodger would prefer bills inclusive, and as I say I would need to include a risk contingency into that cost if they turn out to be incredibly uneconomical, as I have previously found.
As I had planned to go via the rent a room scheme it made sense to exclude bills to lower the proportion of the rent liable to tax, or at least that was my understanding of it.

It's my understanding from reading these boards that if you charge extra for bills, that WILL count towards the rent a room scheme anyway. So saying £450 plus say £100 for bills is exactly the same as saying £550 including bills (when considering if your rental income comes in under the rent a room limit), so if you rented out for 8 months even, you'd go over.

00ec25

bodmil wrote: »

As I had planned to go via the rent a room scheme it made sense to exclude bills to lower the proportion of the rent liable to tax, or at least that was my understanding of it.

your understanding is fundamentally wrong

rent a room scheme means you cannot DEDUCT any costs at all, that is the same meaning as saying you cannot split the bills with the lodger because the share they pay is part of YOUR income and counts towards the RAR limit of £4,250 pa

you may well have had a bad experience in the past but the way you are coming across on here suggests you are setting yourself up for another one

Kynthia

As far as I'm aware you have two options when it comes to tax:
1) Record all of the monies you receive from your lodger, including money for bills. Then deduct all your bills and allowable expenses such as wear and tear, insurance, repairs, etc. Calculate your taxable profit and pay the tax on it.
2) Pay no tax as long as ALL of the monies you take from your lodger are under £4250, including money for bills. Or pay tax on any amount that exceeds the limit.