Lodger found!

Jagraf

:eek:

OK as per thread a while back, my elderly mother in law has found a lodger.

We vowed not to get too involved but we want to make sure she does all the right things ....

So.

She's will have smoke detectors fitted
We need to amend her council tax
We need to amend her house insurance
I'm presuming the letting agent will draw up a contract and deal with the money (we've not spoke to them. Also I'm presuming they will get references
She needs to show her gas certificate

Does she need carbon monoxide alarm?
What electrical products need PAT testing?

Anything else I've missed?

Thank you. X

G_M

House rules.... most important.

Have you decided on notice period? And please (PLEASE) don't tell us you are thinking of giving a fixed term contract to a lodger......

Leting agent dealing with contrat and money? ........ Why?

And whether she has a lodger or not, as an elderly person she should have both smoke alarms and CO alarms - just common sense.

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' (S31 & Schedule 1 (10).

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)

phill99

Nothing at all has to be PAT tested. Sweet mother of God.

She wont need a CO alarm, although having one is a good idea regardless.

In terms if insurance, there aren't many companies that insure you if you have a lodger so you will have to do some research.

gazter

Jagraf wrote: »

:eek:

OK as per thread a while back, my elderly mother in law has found a lodger.

We vowed not to get too involved but we want to make sure she does all the right things ....

So.

She's will have smoke detectors fitted
We need to amend her council tax
We need to amend her house insurance
I'm presuming the letting agent will draw up a contract and deal with the money (we've not spoke to them. Also I'm presuming they will get references
She needs to show her gas certificate

Does she need carbon monoxide alarm?
What electrical products need PAT testing?

Anything else I've missed?

Thank you. X

Pat testing is just a large scam. Not necessary.

Jagraf

Thank you all. Looks like my OH will be busy

I'm going to print out a load of stuff and give it to her to read.

booksurr

phill99 wrote: »

In terms if insurance, there aren't many companies that insure you if you have a lodger so you will have to do some research.

disagree, most household insurers don't bat an eyelid over the policy holder taking a lodger. You may be confused with a tenant where you would need to switch to a specific landlord policy

Pington

Regarding insurance, I always found Aviva very straightforward when it came to insuring with a lodger. They always had it as a specific question when filling in the form online, whereas other companies had to be phoned up and questioned individually.

Jagraf

Pington wrote: »

Regarding insurance, I always found Aviva very straightforward when it came to insuring with a lodger. They always had it as a specific question when filling in the form online, whereas other companies had to be phoned up and questioned individually.

Thank you. That may save some time.

Jagraf

G_M wrote: »

House rules.... most important.

Have you decided on notice period? And please (PLEASE) don't tell us you are thinking of giving a fixed term contract to a lodger......

Leting agent dealing with contrat and money? ........ Why?

And whether she has a lodger or not, as an elderly person she should have both smoke alarms and CO alarms - just common sense.

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' (S31 & Schedule 1 (10).

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)

Thanks for the info. I don't think she's even contemplated a contract yet ....

She is likening it to when her mum had evacuees in the war, which she remembers. It might be a bit of a shock.

whitewing

Here's hoping that it works out brilliantly!

AFK_Matrix

Here is some advice that spareroom.co.uk give for live in landlords:

http://www.spareroom.co.uk/content/info-landlords/advice-landlord/#LILs

As for insurance you will find that a lot of insurers are fine with a lodger but that they will not cover the lodger if they break things etc.

Spareroom recommend this company: EmberJD Lodger Insurance

Also I am confused if your mother has a gas certificate or not as its not usual to have one as a homeowner. This is not the same as a boiler service certificate etc, it is a specific certificate that costs £60 a year and checks the safety of not only the boiler but any gas appliances in the property.