Renting out a room to a friend with a child

playaz

Hi guys,

I have just bought a house and a friend of mine is looking to move in with me & her young son (9yrs old). I live in the West Midlands and I can see that I have seen other similar rooms to rent in the same postcode for between £230-£400 a month.

I was initially thinking £200 until I remembered the young boy, what would people is a fair price to rent out a good sized double bedroom that is currently unfurnished (this will be in time however).

Note, this will also include broadband for free, however any phone calls made on the landline will be paid by that bill payer (not going split the phone bill as I never use it). My property currently has no central heating and therefore my electricity bills will increase considerably with extra portable heaters etc (especially as it is winter).

Any advice on the topic would be appreciated as a first time live-in landlord.

Thanks in advance

P.S Does anyone know some good contract templates that I can use to give to the lodger to make it appear more official?

HappyMJ

Don't be too much of a charity. I'd charge the market rate I'd say around £100 a week in summer and £120 a week in winter in your area inclusive of bills, toilet paper, soap and use of washing facilities and expect it weekly and if they were desperately in need of money then I might allow a rent payment holiday after 13 weeks of paying on time.

Your household bills will go up by quite a lot. I've had a lodger before and the bills went up by no less than 50%...do not expect them to be the same.

You don't need a written contract. I wouldn't advise it. They pay the weekly rent on time and they can stay a week. They don't pay on time or they damage the place and refuse to fix they can go....straight away depending on how charitable you feel. I gave mine till the end of the week when they for the third time left the gas fire on full when they went out and I came home to a boiling hot house. I kept the deposit for the gas bill.

theartfullodger

Don't rent to friends or relatives: End of:

Only rent to people you are 100% happy to evict as&when necessary, in the full glare of friends, family, local paper & court appearance. Evicting kids won't be fun...
re

good contract templates that I can use to give to the lodger to make it appear more official?

"Appear more official" sounds, I'm sure unintentionally, like a fiddle... Simply get a lodger's agreement from WH Smiths or any number of sites..

You'll appreciate if you are getting more £4250/pa (£81:51/week) you will need to declare ALL that income to tax man. Rental income also may affect some benefits (eg HB/LHA & CTR if you are in receipt).

"No central heating" sounds worrying: Any lodger or tenant (& you..) is entitled to decent living conditions & under HHSRS (council can inspect & force changes on householder,.) heating etc is one area they worry about, quite rightly.

Cheers!

G_M

Will you be willing to evict a friend if
* the rent dries up?
* the child noise gets too much
* the mess.....
* the cleaning.....
etc

It can be hard to demand the person change their habits if they are a friend, let alone evict them.

Make sure you have clear ground rules/house rules, ideally written to avoid misunderstanding.
* overnight guests?
* who cleans what?
* access to whole house? no-go rooms?
* shared costs? (loo rolls, kitchen stuff...)

And make sure the notice period in your contract is a week either way.

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)

playaz

Wow guys - some really good info there.

I do get on with the person although I have yet to meet her son (so have no idea what his habits are like). The central heating issue is a more temporary problem as I intend to get this done in the next few months when I can afford due to the cost (approx £4-5k)

The person in question certainly seems like a nice trustworthy person, but the reason for a contract is to make it clear from the start that should she be unable to pay for 3-6 months (or something along these lines) I'd have no choice but ask to find alternative living arrangements.

This is all new to me so i'm learning as I go along

theartfullodger

I have yet to meet any tenant I took on who did not

certainly seems like a nice trustworthy person

but have had to evict a few.

Strongly suggest a written agreement & listed inventory & photos. Agreement should specify notice periods on both sides (no more than 28 days, I'd suggest 7 or 14). If a lodger can't pay for a week they should be given notice: End of. 3-6 months?? No offence but that's the wrong attitude for a successful landlord.

Yorkie1

A couple of additional things you need to factor in:

- does your flat's lease allow you to let out rooms?
- don't forget you'll lose your single person's council tax discount

[STRIKE]Edit: You haven't said how old the child is but [/STRIKE]I'd think very carefully about there being 2 households in what may be quite a confined space. Are you up for constant noise, lack of boundaries, lack of privacy, potential additional damage, etc - all of which could occur depending on the child's nature and age. You can't expect them to sit quietly in the corner in the bedroom all the time.

Also, depending on the child's age, will they permanently sleep in the same bed as their mum? I'm not sure that's sustainable.

Don't underestimate the hassle which having GCH fitted can cause. Is there realistically enough space for this to happen and all 3 of you to continue to live your lives?

It's a generous offer but not one I'd be welcoming with open arms ...

Edited to reflect that you did say how old the child is!

playaz

Cheers for the info - I think i'll need to give this a bit more thought and based on what people are saying both on & off this board the £200 pcm is way too generous for a lodger with a young boy.

I'm probably just too kind hearted and not thinking with a more 'business' head

gazter

playaz wrote: »

Cheers for the info - I think i'll need to give this a bit more thought and based on what people are saying both on & off this board the £200 pcm is way too generous for a lodger with a young boy.

I'm probably just too kind hearted and not thinking with a more 'business' head

Yes £200 pcm really is nowhere near enough. All your utility bills will jump. Dont underestimate how much extra energy and water another two people will add to your monthly costs.

£350 to £500 i would consider to be a more realistic amount.

katejo

£200 sounds very low, particularly with the child there as well. OK I'm in London not the Midlands but my lodger is single. He pays £440 a month inclusive. Remember to check with your home insurer that they allow lodgers. Not all of them do. Those who do exclude cover for theft from your house unless there is evidence of a break in!
Your friend will need to buy a separate TV licence if she watches live TV in her room. Not required if she shares your TV.

I_have_spoken

Don't do it, the least worst outcome is losing the friend.