renting out a room m-f - what to include?

clippy_girl

Hi all

I will shortly be advertising to rent my spare room in my house for a mon-fri let. My friend currently rents it and as she was going to be there a while she brought her own bedding etc. She was also there at weekends as well.

In the room I have a double bed, bedside table, drawers and wardrobe. Was planning on buying a mirror and lamp as well.

As they will only be there during the week I was wondering whether I should be providing bedding and towels as well (and if so do I wash these?!). Assume I will do all the cleaning as well?

Just a bit unsure what I should be providing as I have only ever rented rooms in a shared house myself (where only furniture was provided) and as my friend was there all the time she was happy to sort the rest other than furniture.

Thanks in advance

DigForVictory

Call a lettings agency as a would be mon-fri tenant & ask what you will need to bring (other than references & chequebook)?

Should give you an idea without you having to spend money.

Then you can discuss the matter with prospective tenants, and nudge things to suit yourselves.
All the best!

Jenniefour

And adjust rent according to how much/little you're being asked to provide. Plenty of Mon to Fri lodgers will be quite happy to pay a little extra for room to be cleaned and provision of laundered bedding.

TBagpuss

look at other ads to see what they offer.

I would assume that most Mon-Fri lets are going to be people who are working and commuting - probably not going to be in much and therefore likely to appreciate not having to change and wash bedclothes etc.

If you do include towels and bedding then make sure you are clear at the outset how frequently they will be changed - you don't want to find your new lodger expects clean towels every day as if they were in a hotel, if your expectation is that they will be laundered twice a week, for instance.

Talc1234

Put a TV in their room so they will be less tempted to use yours. They will also expect WiFi.

G_M

Yup - discuss with applicants and be flexible.

But once you've discussed, make clear somewhere, in writing (lodger agreement, House Rules, whatever) what is provided, how often and at what cost.

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 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)

21 tips (Tessa Shepperson's Lodger Landlord website)

Twiggy_34

And of course the subject of what is supplied and what rate the room costs might be open to negotiation with individuals interested in the room. E.g. some people might not like the idea of using bedding which has been used by others. They may have some of their own personal possessions such as table lamps or mirrors. I would only think about buying 'extras' based on them actually being needed by the individual to seal the deal. It would be slightly annoying if you went out and bought stuff specially only to find half of it goes into storage because they had their own bits anyway.

dimbo61

Spareroom and easyroomate for finding tenants
Rent a room tax free £4250
So maybe divide by 52 for the weekly rent

clippy_girl

thanks for the advice will take a look at those sites.

would be looking at around £320pm so within the allowance

will def be drawing up some house rules and get a draft licence agreement from somewhere.

i dont currently have any spare bedding in there as my friend has her own so i would be looking to buy some anyway in case i have friends staying at the weekend but can stick in cupboard if they dont want to use it. i have spare towels already i am happy for them to use.

think i will do as suggested and offer to launder/clean for extra cost if they dont want the hassle of doing it themselves.

tv is a good idea but unfortunately i dont have a tv point up there or multi-room on the sky. i am only intending to have a lodger till nov so dont want the expense of installing these. i have unlimited fast wifi so they can watch tv on computer if they wish to do so in their room. im happy for them to watch tv with me downstairs if they want to. its a shame you dont have a separate sky id to just watch online or i could give them that but i obv dont want them having access to my sky account! just checked sky multiroom but its 12 month contract

dimbo61

Council Tax !
If you live on your own you get 25% single person discount!
Lodger moves in council tax goes UP!
Bills ? You pay now but how do you control WATER BABY MARY the dolphin who like 30 minute showers in the morning and a bath EVERY night.
Extra electric heater in the bedroom on 24/7, TV, Laptop, Sky box, Xbox, sp3 etc
Eats all the food in the kitchen and leaves the kitchen / bathroom like a Bomb Site every day!!!!!
House Rules and NO heaters in bedrooms. Set the central heating to keep the place warm NOT roasting.
Charge £350 to include bills for Monday-Friday

00ec25

dimbo61 wrote: »

Council Tax !
If you live on your own you get 25% single person discount!
Lodger moves in council tax goes UP!

incorrect
IF the occupant has another property at which they are liable for council tax then as it is a Monday to Friday occupation only the OP will not lose their single person discount since the lodger is ignored as it cannot, by definition, be the main residence of the lodger on only a part time basis and subject to the lodger being liable for CT elsewhere