Lodger and overnight guests

Calleja

Hi all,


I recently took in a lodger for the first time. All is going fairly well (I've lived alone for a long time so it was always going to be tricky!) but I would like peoples opinions on overnight guests and what is acceptable.


Given that my lodger pays an all-inclusive rent, is it fair to ask that she contributes a couple of pounds towards bills for every night she has overnight guests? My current lodger has overnight guests a bit more than I anticipated and whilst I am generally happy with this (my boyfriend stays over too), I feel I set my rent at a price to cover utilities for her, not her and her friends. I appreciate gas and electric aren't going to increase loads, I guess I can just hear my water meter ticking when her friends are in the shower...!


I don't plan to change the terms of her agreement - she is moving out next month anyway, I am just thinking ahead for my next lodger (who is already lined up).


Any other suggestions how to handle this? The next lodger will be from abroad so she may possibly have more longer-term visitors (I have already increased the rent marginally to account for her staying over winter).


Thanks for your help!

thesaint

I wouldn't set a price for how much will be charged if a guest stays overnight.
I would simply say that guests can not stay more than "x" nights in "x" day period.

Ask your next lodger if they have a partner, and do they expect them to stay over/spend a lot of time at the property.

Make sure your agreement has a short notice period so that you can get rid of anyone without them saying "but your agreement says you have to give me 28 days notice".

Whilst you may be able to get them out earlier quite legally, it's one less thing for them to cling onto.

antrobus

Calleja wrote: »

...I recently took in a lodger for the first time. All is going fairly well (I've lived alone for a long time so it was always going to be tricky!) but I would like peoples opinions on overnight guests and what is acceptable.....

I would suggest that, when setting the price you expect a lodger to pay, you do so on the basis that the lodger in question has an active sex life.

rexmedorum

why don't you base what you asked on what it actually cost with with the previous lodger?

G_M

I would suggest that, when setting the price you expect a lodger to pay, you do so on the basis that the lodger in question has an active sex life.

That's one approach. Equally when setting the price you expect a lodger to pay, you could do so on the basis that the lodger in question does not have an active sex life.

It is entirely up to you. The key is to make it clear from the outset. The lodger can then either accept your rules/costs or not move in.

* forbid overnight guests (you might find listening to other people's grunting unsettling... and/or resent the extra associated costs)
* limit overnight guests to weekends, x nights per week, or whatever
* charge a fee for each night
* permit unrestricted over nights

It's your home so your rules, but of course the more restrictive you are the harder it may be to find a suitable lodger.

Along with overnight guest rules, it's useful to make clear other aspects of the deal being offered:

* does lodger have free access to whole property? Which rooms (garden?) are off imits?
* costs for 'shared' stuff? Loo roll, washing upliquid, kitchen stuff or does lodger provide their own? Or is it inclusie in price
* use of wifi, heaters/heating (so many complaints of lodgers turning up the thermostat and leaving windows open!)

The more clarity there is from the start, the less chance for misunderstandings and falling out later.

Calleja

I had considered limiting the number of nights that my lodger could have overnight guests, but I don't want to limit the number of nights I have overnight guests and would prefer the rules I set to apply to me as well as her. Hence why I would like to come up with an alternative, and in my mind, fairer solution.


As I pay all utilities, I am essentially funding my boyfriends overnight stays, I guess I just think she should fund her friends overnight stays too.

TBeckett100

if it is your home, you are entitled to have anyone stay as long as they like. Your lodger is living in your home and therefore should abide by your rules at outset which may or may not be acceptable, but they have a choice.

The last thing you want to happen is to feel uncomfortable and resentful in your own home.

quidsy

£3 a night supplement for overnight guests.


How many overnight guests you have is irrelevant. You own the property & are responsible for the bills. Whatever your guests costs additionally will be paid by you.


Personally I wouldn't accept more than 1 overnight a week, esp if it is a bf cause they would pretty much be living there if more than 3 nights a week.

G_M

quidsy wrote: »

Personally I wouldn't accept more than 1 overnight a week, esp if it is a bf cause they would pretty much be living there if more than 3 nights a week.

which raises another question:

what if it is not a bf/gf, but constantly changing casual partners? Do you want multiple totally random strangers being invited back to your home........?

This Q is not posed for discussion of the morals, but the safety implications.

quidsy

Well yes, agreed, randoms wouldn't be acceptable at all. I read the op initially as the lodger having friends sleeping over, mates not pick ups.


But Ick at the idea of being asleep & some total tinder stranger wandering around your house that even the lodger barely knew if at all. "shudder"

G_M

quidsy wrote: »

Well yes, agreed, randoms wouldn't be acceptable at all. I read the op initially as the lodger having friends sleeping over, mates not pick ups.


But Ick at the idea of being asleep & some total tinder stranger wandering around your house that even the lodger barely knew if at all. "shudder"

though quite how you control this I don't know. You can hardly write into the agreement that 'overnight guests must be a regular partner of 6 months minimum relationship'.

Or could you?