Host Family- good or bad idea? Any experiences?

lindsaygalaxy

Hi

I need to make some more money as having big problems with sorting out tax credits.

I was looking at being a host family as there was an ad in the local paper as we have a language school near by, recieving £100 a week.

I wouldnt do it very often maybe one week ervy couple of months, as i dont have a spare room, so my little girl would need to come into my room for that week.

Would i need to declare this money? All i have to do is give them breakfast and dinner.

Has anyone else had any experiences doing this, if so what was it like and was it work it?

Thanks

Conor_3

Well you're allowed to rent out a room in your property/take in a lodger, which is basically what you're doing, and as long as it's under about £4500 p.a, you don't pay any tax on it. You should really notify your mortgage company though.

lindsaygalaxy

I dont have a mortgage i rent, but my landlord is fine with it as long as they are only a for a few weeks at a time.

ukdickie31

I rented out a room to a lodger for two and a half years, to International students.

I had people from China, Spain, Lithuania, Sweden, Canada and France.



Things to consider...

Money. How much to charge and what for. Be clear on use of phone etc, but generally, try to make it affordable for them or they won't live there ! I charged £55 a week, all bills included, apart from telephone calls which were itemised.

Trust has to be there on both sides. You are as new to them as they are to you.

Privacy. You do lose your privacy to some extent so make the ground rules clear from the begining, ie on smoking, friends, alcohol etc.

I may have been lucky and the experience was a good one. I now have several 'invites' of accommodation if I ever decide to travel abroad.

Would I do it again. Yes, but not sure my wife of 2 years would appreciate the Swedish girls staying here again !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:):):):)

Hapless_2

You would have to declare the money to the benefits agency (if you were getting benefits) the council if you are getting housing benefit, the tax office as it will be classed as an income.
I had students myself and we had to agree to do all that before having them. You may be subject to CRB checks if the students are under 18.
You will normally have to provide breakfast a packed lunch and dinner each day. Normally if they are with a language school your home will be inspected first. They will be on a curfew and are expected to behave.

badmumof1

if you are only doing this to make money then you are doing it for the wrong reasons.
we want to do it because we want to give a foreign exchange student a brief look into english life ( which is what it is about ) and share our way of life with them as much as they can show us a few of their customs. NOT just to give them breakfast and out and then dinner and bed.
if they want a bed and breakfast they can get one cheaper at a hostel

impecunious

badmumof1 wrote: »

if you are only doing this to make money then you are doing it for the wrong reasons.

What a load of rubbish! :mad: Quite a lot of people these days make some extra money by renting out a spare room. I think what Lindsay was saying was that she had found a way of making a few quid without sacrificing too much and was asking for our own experiences; not to become judgemental! Besides, it's easy to be moral when your assets far outweigh your liabilities:p

seven-day-weekend

Being a Host Family to a foreign student is totally different to having a lodger. (I've done both).

You have to do what it says on the tin; be their host family. This involves being mum/dad/brother/sister for the duration of theitr stay.

I had a Japanese girl for a month just before I came to Spain. The University paid. For the first few days I had to meet her from Uni so that I could show her what bus to get, I had to help her buy a buss pass - basically I had to give her the same care as I would expect my son or daughter to be given by a host family in another country. She had to be treated like one of the family, not like a lodger or tenant. She socialised with my son and his frioends. And throughout all of this, she spoke very little English.

It was a rewarding experience and I may do it again if I am ever in the UK long enough. But NOT the same as having a lodger.

I'm sure if you are on benefits you will have to declare the income.

badmumof1

impecunious wrote: »

What a load of rubbish! :mad: Quite a lot of people these days make some extra money by renting out a spare room. I think what Lindsay was saying was that she had found a way of making a few quid without sacrificing too much and was asking for our own experiences; not to become judgemental! Besides, it's easy to be moral when your assets far outweigh your liabilities:p

no its not rubbish

a host family means you are a host to your guest.
you can just feed them and that be it.
As seven day weekend says they are NOT lodgers
As for declaring the money then YES you should

jobbingmusician

I have done this. Yes, you should declare the money, but I think you will find that you get very few deductions from it. This is because you are normally expected to provide 3 meals a day - send them off with a good breakfast inside them, give them a packed lunch, and an evening meal. The 'disregard' for these meals is reasonably high, so it is unlikely to affect any benefits you may get IMHO.

If you get on to the old style board, I'm sure there will be loads of suggestions as to how to feed guests cheaply (in fact, I think it would make a very interesting new thread! )

I did it for the money, but learnt a lot as well, and thoroughly enjoyed it!

Hapless_2

so it is unlikely to affect any benefits you may get IMHO.

It does affect benefits, they class half of the money as "earned income" and deduct it from income support, housing benefit etc. Been there done that! They are also classed as "paying guests" for income support reasons as they are staying overnight. We did it while on income support and found the paperwork was horrendus as while they are not classed as lodgers they are paying guests.