Weekday lodger, reduction for less nights?

frugal2013

Hi All

I am looking into renting a room to a weekday lodger.

I have had a few enquiries and one person has asked me if I would be prepared to reduce the rate when she is on holiday.

Also, I have been asked if the room is only used say 3 nights a week rather than 4 would I be prepared to reduce the rate.

There are very much two sides to this. Should I expect a lodger to pay for the room when they are not using it? But then I have to pay my mortgage and bills whether I am at home or away.

What do people think here? Is there anyone who has a weekday lodger currently and can offer some assistance.

Also, what about locks on doors? I don't really want to put locks on my bedroom door or the lodgers and I would prefer everything to be based on trust, but I will have far more valuable stuff lying around then a weekday lodger who only brings clothes and toiletries for the week.

Thanks in advance

daisygirlmac

Have you had a lodger before? I've had ones that were full time and weekday ones and I must say I 100% preferred having the weekends to myself. I dropped the rent from £375 to £300 for a weekday lodger.

We didn't have locks on any doors (apart from the bathroom ) and nobody (out of 5 different lodgers) ever asked for one. It is very trust based but I suppose we were lucky nobody ever abused it. I wouldn't have dreamed of going into their room or even their cupboard in the kitchen and they were very respectful of our space. I did say no to a few people as I didn't feel comfortable with them, nothing I could put my finger on but they didn't feel "right" if that makes sense. Trust your instincts and make sure you have a good chat with them first!

Guest101

If your advertising for a weekday lodger then no reduction, as you can't rent the room out seperately for the other days. If it's just a lodger, then I would reduce the rent proportionately. You have the benefit of having the house to yourself.

Locks are personal preference, usually not needed.

moneyistooshorttomention

One of the lodgers I had in was a weekday only one and the thought didn't even occur to me to charge less, as I recall, for this. The room had been advertised, as normal, in the expectation of a lodger who would be staying throughout the week and she just paid that rent without any query about it. If she had queried it, then I would probably have thought "Better take someone else instead of her then...because my plans are to have a full weeks rent each week".

I learnt to have a lock on my bedroom door in the event to protect myself, when I found that a particular lodger had been going into my bedroom in my absence and thieving from me (I wont identify what she tried to steal from me...but she would have hoped the theft wouldn't come to light until after she moved out). The theft did indeed not come to light until after she had gone, but I made her pay up for it anyway and she was unable to dispute it because I had evidence she had done so:)

G_M

If your aim is to maximise your rent, and you don't care how much time your lodger is around, then charge full rent.

If your 'week-day' lodger is unhappy with this, choose another lodger who is happy to pay full rent.

If you are less concerned about maximising your income, and would actually appreciate having weekends to yourself, then price your rent to attract a week-day lodger!

phill99

If your potential lodger wants to rents room by the night, she needs a hotel. It looks like she wants exclusive use of a room but to only pay when in use. It's not like you can rent the room out on the nights they aren't their.

I would be reluctant to reduce rates on the room simply because it suits them.

alwaystryyourbest

phill99 wrote: »

If your potential lodger wants to rents room by the night, she needs a hotel. It looks like she wants exclusive use of a room but to only pay when in use. It's not like you can rent the room out on the nights they aren't their.

I would be reluctant to reduce rates on the room simply because it suits them.

I agree they need a hotel.. Bit cheeky I think..

frugal2013

Thanks for the replies.

I pretty much agree with what everyone has said, I should charge the full rate because, as has been said, if they want to pay on a 'usage policy' then they should use a B&B.

Has anyone found a good weekday lodger agreement online (preferably for free download)? I have searched and searched online and only found standard full time lodger agreements or ones that charge.

Thanks

gozaimasu

Having lived as a fully independent tenant for years, I have recently been in the unfortunate position of having to become a weekday lodger. I hate the situation I'm in, and really sad to see that most people on this thread want to treat us like dirt.

I hate the lack of privacy, lack of space in the fridge, and the fact that the other lodger I live with pays less than I do per night because I'm here less. I hate that I can't put a lock on my door and the homeowner can come in my room and rifle through my drawers, go into the wardrobe and pretty much whatever they like. It's demoralising and depressing to be stuck in this situation. I am also paying to live somewhere else at the weekends. That is double rent!

I saw about 5 or 6 other places before I "chose" this one, so it's the best of a bad bunch.

I don't have a written agreement but there were some basic rules agreed at the start. If you've got a heart, at least allow your new lodger to pay weekly. If they are going away on holiday for 2-3 weeks over christmas then I don't think they should have to pay. They could officially move out, then contact you again in the new year and see if you still have the spare room. What's the difference?

Chances are you won't find a lodger so quickly at this time of year, so it's better to only lose out on a couple of weeks whilst they're away, than potentially a lot longer if they protest and officially move out. With no rights as a lodger, I'd be a lot more likely to completely clear my room and move out and ask again if the room is still available after I come back from holiday. If you want the money, you'll let them come back!

Mojisola

G_M wrote: »

If your aim is to maximise your rent, and you don't care how much time your lodger is around, then charge full rent.

If your 'week-day' lodger is unhappy with this, choose another lodger who is happy to pay full rent.

If you are less concerned about maximising your income, and would actually appreciate having weekends to yourself, then price your rent to attract a week-day lodger!

This describes the situation well. If you would prefer to have your weekends free, offer the room as a weekday only rent for less money and enjoy your privacy. You charge less because you know you won't be sharing your home at weekends.

If the extra money is the priority, go for a tenant who will pay the higher rent however many nights they stay with you.

You can check out the difference in price offered by other LLs on the rental websites.

RobertoMoir

gozaimasu wrote: »

Having lived as a fully independent tenant for years, I have recently been in the unfortunate position of having to become a weekday lodger. I hate the situation I'm in, and really sad to see that most people on this thread want to treat us like dirt.

I've not seen any evidence of plotting to treat people like dirt. I've seen people take hard-nosed positions based on the money the home-owner was hoping to make from letting a room, but as this is a business arrangement when all's said and done, I don't see anything wrong with saying "sorry, I can't reduce the rent, because I was planning on £x income from this arrangement" or "sorry but I think I'll look for a more suitable room if you can't reduce the rent, because I was only planning to spend 80% of £x".