Do you charge less rent when the tenant is away?

martindow

It sounds as if you are happy with your lodger. In this position I would offer 25% as you have as fixed costs continue whether he is there or not and his room presumably will be full of his stuff.

I would also make it clear that this is being offered because he will be away for several weeks. You will not be giving discounts for weekends or odd days when he happens to be away.

LEJC

Kua wrote: »

My lodger is going away for three weeks over christmas and asked if rent could be waived. I agreed to lower it by 25% for that month but he seemed quite disappointed!

Am I obliged to do this? To be honest I'd rather he be around and I get the extra rent...

well if you dont ask you dont get....


Personally I wouldnt but I guess its up to you.


Does he have friends round whilst he's lodging with you...just a thought you could charge for each one that visits.


I assume that whilst he is away his possessions will still be in your property and his post will be delivered etc etc...

fairy_lights

If all of their belongings will still be in the room then it's not like you can use the room for anything else while they are gone, so I don't see why they shouldn't still pay rent on it. Maybe a slight discount for bills would be fair.

user1168934

I remember a couple of years ago a friend of mine tried to play this game with the person he was renting from, for the simple reason to see if he could get it. In the end he was told to either pay the normal rent or remove his stuff before going for a holiday. Further more he was told that there is no guarantee that the room will be available when he comes back and even if it is he might not get it for the same rent :-)
Needless to say he decided to pay the full rent and stayed :-D

Calon_Lan

Hi

I think a reduction of the rates such as electricity/gas etc would be fair as he won't be using those utilities while he is away but he should still be liable for the basic rent for occupation - basic use of the room whether he is there or not.

If I had my own place and went away I'd still have to pay the mortgage/council tax etc so as long as you're happy the 25% discount covers those all is well

Kua

Well my conscience got the better of me and I lowered it to £250 but he says he will still have to think about it! I tried to explain that he's incredibly lucky to get this offer from a miserly Yorkshireman but he didn't seem to understand

Bogof_Babe

As a lodger, do you provide him with any meals? If so I'd deduct the approximate cost of these, as obviously you won't have to buy so much food.

Kua

Bogof_Babe wrote: »

As a lodger, do you provide him with any meals? If so I'd deduct the approximate cost of these, as obviously you won't have to buy so much food.

No but we share food sometimes.

inatdeepend

I have lodged in the past and never occured to me to ask for a reduction when I was away. I signed up to paying a fixed amount each month regardless of whether I was there or not.

If you're happy to accept a reduction, fine, but I personally wouldn't.

Kua

inatdeepend wrote: »

I have lodged in the past and never occured to me to ask for a reduction when I was away. I signed up to paying a fixed amount each month regardless of whether I was there or not.

If you're happy to accept a reduction, fine, but I personally wouldn't.

Yes this has been my experience also and I tried to explain this to my lodger. At the end of the day he needs the money more than I do I suppose.