House rules for lodgers?

asoe209

Talc1234 wrote: »

I wouldn't make a list of rules just have a chat at the start

1) As the landlord you are ultimately responsible for keeping the common areas clean and tidy. Follow this and no arguments

2) It is no longer 'your house'. You gave a part of it up in return for money

Point one you mention there im reasonable for keeping the common areas clean. I may just be miss reading that but are you saying I would do there washing up and clean up after them what ever they do in the home?

or do you mean just more or a general tidy up and clean.

G_M

shared costs?
Who provides loo paper? Cleaning materials? Do you share kitchen staples (tea, coffee, salt........), laundry stuff?

Guests seems a potentially problomatic issue on the forum. Girlfiend staysover saturday night. Next weekend it's Fri to Monday. Following weekend she's still there on Tuesday! etc....... Not only do you start feeling awkward in your own home but she's drinking the communal tea etc etc

You need clear boundaries agreed.

katejo

re. my last lodger:

We bought our own food/milk etc. but we sometimes shared things like cooking oil, stock cubes, salt and pepper. I provided loo paper and cleaning materials though he did occasionally buy loo rolls if we had run out.

re. friends staying over: One reason why i avoid a double bed is to put people off having a partner regularly. I have a pull out guest bed and a sofa bed in the living room. I don't object to 1 weekend a month but not more for 2 reasons. Firstly i would feel that I was playing gooseberry in my own house. Secondly my rent allows for included gas/electricity for 1 person not two.
My last lodger very occasionally had a partner here and his daughter also came to stay but only for a couple of nights at a time. He always let me know in advance and I did the same for him if I had invited anyone (infrequent).

scubaangel

When I was lodging my landlady asked that if I had my then boyfriend over I let her know if he was going to be staying over night, but she was happy for him or other friends to be in the house in the evening, mainly as she had shared custody of her children so wanted to be able to let us all know if there was likely to be a queue for the shower in the morning. That said she knew I'd moved down to be nearer him and that his place I gave us more privacy so she knew from the beginning I was more likely to stay with him.

We had entirely separate food but had a general agreement that if she/her family or I had run out of staples we could use the other's as long as we bought our own the next day and didn't use theirs up too. Loo roll she said was her responsibility, since she didn't think it would be fair for me to be subsidising her kids too if we both had to buy it. Laundry stuff was our own, but washing up liquid/dishwasher tabs she bought - again she was happy for dishes to be left over night (I worked strange shifts) but not to still be there when she got home the next day, although she had a dishwasher so as long as anything which fitted in there was put in there tended to be little hand washing.

Things like keeping the shared areas tidy was expected, but the only area of the house she wanted me to clean was my room which was entirely fair, though I often hoovered or mopped the kitchen if I was home during the day and I thought it needed a quick clean but wasn't expected.

I think alot of what you're wanting to set as 'rules' is the kind of stuff which will differ from person to person, so possibly just have a chat and see where you feel your boundaries seem to align with the potential lodgers and work from there. I know my landlady found some aspects of the way I lived slightly trying, but accepted that for those things I did she wasn't totally happy about there were other things I did which made up for it that other lodgers may not have been able/willing to do - like walking her dogs if she had an early meeting at work or hoovering and mopping if the weather had been bad and it'd got dirty in the house after she'd had the dogs out in the morning (and I guess putting up with the three kids for half the week).

katejo

Since having a new kitchen fitted, I have had a dishwasher so it has been fine to leave things in there until it is full. My last lodger worked long hours but only 4 days a week. On his day off, he often did a quick clean of the kitchen for me and I appreciated that but didn't expect it.
One thing which I find hard is that different people have a completely different idea of what counts as clean! I make it clear to potential lodgers that i don't spend my whole weekend cleaning from top to bottom and don't put everything away in drawers and cupboards. I don't want someone who will leave piles of dirty plates piled up in the kitchen but it is all very relative!

moneyistooshorttomention

jamie11 wrote: »

Whatever rules you decide to impose on your lodger(s) be prepared to follow them yourself also.

Depends which rules are referred to.

I followed the "wash up straight after meals" rule I had for lodgers myself. On the other hand, they had to (well.....should have anyway!) ask re overnight guests, whereas I (as the owner) just told them.

TBagpuss

It's reasonable to have some ground rules, and these should be discussed at an early stage with any lodger.

I would try to keep things to a relatively small number of rules - decide what is most important to you.

Things you might want to think about:

- overnight guests - it's reasonable to set a limit about how many nights per week/month guests can stay over

- cleaning - I would expect it to be fairly standard to require a lodger to up after themselves / their guests in the kitchen and bathroom. Bear in mind that different people can have very different ideas about what constitutes clean so discuss this and be clear about your expectations.

- non-overnight guests - It's reasonable to ask for a 'heads-up' if the lodger is expecting guests (and to give them one, if you are) Discuss things like your normal routine - if you normally go to bed at 10.30, do you want any guests (other than overnight guests) to be gone by then?

-smoking / drinking / drugs Be clear about what is OK and what isn't.

I would also recommend discussing with any potential lodgers what their routine is. If you love peace and quiet and they like to have constant loud music (or vice versa) you're likely to have problems. Similarly, if you are a night owl, and they are a lark, there may be issues - there aren't any right answers, but it is worth discussing.

I had a lodger who was on a very different schedule to me - I would get up at around 6.45 and go to bed by 10 - she'd get up around 10 and go to bed at 3. We had agreements about not having loud music/TV late night or early morning, and not running the dishwasher or washing machine while the other was in bed (noisy plumbing).

I think the key is communication, and ensuring that it goes both ways. It may take a little while to 'bed down', and you may find that there are some things which don't occur to you until after you have someone living with you.

asoe209

the point about beds, I have not got one in the room yet and do need to get one of course.

Will it be bad if I got a single bed rather than a double bed? does having a singe bed put people off?

and seems that talking things over may be the best idea and moving forward from there.

some shared things may be funny, some mentioned tea, coffee, milk etc there all things I dont drink so there for dont really by or use. but i guess things like loo roll salt pepper cleaning products etc could be shared. what the point in buying 2 lots of every thing.

katejo

TBagpuss wrote: »

It's reasonable to have some ground rules, and these should be discussed at an early stage with any lodger.

I would try to keep things to a relatively small number of rules - decide what is most important to you.

Things you might want to think about:

- overnight guests - it's reasonable to set a limit about how many nights per week/month guests can stay over

- cleaning - I would expect it to be fairly standard to require a lodger to up after themselves / their guests in the kitchen and bathroom. Bear in mind that different people can have very different ideas about what constitutes clean so discuss this and be clear about your expectations.

- non-overnight guests - It's reasonable to ask for a 'heads-up' if the lodger is expecting guests (and to give them one, if you are) Discuss things like your normal routine - if you normally go to bed at 10.30, do you want any guests (other than overnight guests) to be gone by then?

-smoking / drinking / drugs Be clear about what is OK and what isn't.

I would also recommend discussing with any potential lodgers what their routine is. If you love peace and quiet and they like to have constant loud music (or vice versa) you're likely to have problems. Similarly, if you are a night owl, and they are a lark, there may be issues - there aren't any right answers, but it is worth discussing.

I had a lodger who was on a very different schedule to me - I would get up at around 6.45 and go to bed by 10 - she'd get up around 10 and go to bed at 3. We had agreements about not having loud music/TV late night or early morning, and not running the dishwasher or washing machine while the other was in bed (noisy plumbing).

I think the key is communication, and ensuring that it goes both ways. It may take a little while to 'bed down', and you may find that there are some things which don't occur to you until after you have someone living with you.

My last lodge had a thing about my kitchen. In his view it wasn't big enough for 2 people to work together. He hated it if I hadn't finished before he got back from work. I didn't entirely agree but I did make an effort to complete the cooking in time but he didn't notice my efforts. I only found out that he hadn't noticed on the day when he left. He was however my most successful lodger. Stayed 3 years

thegirlintheattic

asoe209 wrote: »

the point about beds, I have not got one in the room yet and do need to get one of course.

Will it be bad if I got a single bed rather than a double bed? does having a singe bed put people off?

and seems that talking things over may be the best idea and moving forward from there.

some shared things may be funny, some mentioned tea, coffee, milk etc there all things I dont drink so there for dont really by or use. but i guess things like loo roll salt pepper cleaning products etc could be shared. what the point in buying 2 lots of every thing.

It would put me off, I haven't had a single bed since I was a teenager! I suppose it depends on the person though.