Take in a lodger... official MoneySavingExpert.com discussion

Badger_Lady

jfjf, I'm no expert but I would expect it to count only against your housing benefit (after 13 weeks), not your jobseeker's allowance.

If I were you, I'd have a play around on https://www.entitledto.co.uk with and without a lodger to see what it say s .

bargaingaz

Just in case anyone still needs a room rental site , I used Flatmate rooms seemed ok and let u place Free adverts

Iwonder_3

Hi

Maybe it's not the best place that i can ask my question but i couldn't find any other forum for landlords and lodgers. I rent a room as a lodger and i have suspicion that me landlord is going through my stuff. I can't prove anything at the moment but i can install cctv (webcam and proper software) in my room so i can catch him red handed. My only concern is if it's legal?

Please help me with the answer as i'm getting really paranoid with this guy.

puddings_2

Iwonder wrote: »

Hi

Maybe it's not the best place that i can ask my question but i couldn't find any other forum for landlords and lodgers. I rent a room as a lodger and i have suspicion that me landlord is going through my stuff. I can't prove anything at the moment but i can install cctv (webcam and proper software) in my room so i can catch him red handed. My only concern is if it's legal?

Please help me with the answer as i'm getting really paranoid with this guy.

Obviously the very least that you expect when you rent a room is for other housemates to respect your privacy.
Are you asking if putting cctv in your room is legal or are you asking if your landlord (possibly) going through your stuff is legal?

If I was in your position, I would set the cctv up and carry on your life as normal. It will either put your mind at rest or give you some evidence. I dont think its illegal for him to go into your room when youre not there but its certainly unethical.
ALso i dont think its illegal for you to film in your own room - after all its not a public place is it so you dont need signs up ar or anything like that!
If you do get some evidence then you have to decide whether or not to confront him about it. If you do, then unless he comes up with some acceptable explanation (unlikely!), then you'll almost certainly need to find somewhere else to live, thats just something else to bear in mind in case accomodation is hard to find in your area.

Matt_Hutchinson

credit_crunch_dad wrote: »

We recently let a room to a couple of friends. Had a horrible experience - they shouted at my wife, insulted us. We are a little bit timid and not assertive. We gave them a nice room with brand new decorations. But they filled the whole kitchen and two refrigerators with food, were playing music loudly, paying rent late and asking us not to use the bathroom.

Hi,

I work for a flatshare website and we deal with people taking in lodgers on a daily basis (by that I mean we deal with them on a daily basis, not that they rent their rooms on a daily basis!!). One of the things we always advise is to get a standing order set up for the rent as this takes away the, often embarrassing, asking for money bit of having a lodger. It also prevents late payment, unless they cancel the standing order.

I personally would make a standing order for the rent one of the conditions of them renting your room (and get that in the contract). We're finding that a lot of the people who have difficulties with lodgers (and I'm not saying for a minute that this is the case for you) hadn't done any real planning before renting out the room. Inviting someone to live in your home is a big undertaking for anyone so we always advise people to prepare fully for a lodger and offer them a free guide on how to do so.

Hope this helps a little.

Cheers
Matt

Mewcenary

I'm currently advertising for someone to take the spare room.

The thing is, it isn't very big. There is a new single bed in there, and a desk, cupboard, chest of drawers but no real space other than that. So I guess it is more 'study' sized. There is a large double wardrobe built into the wall though, which affords lots of storage space.

The main bedroom is big with double bed, smaller wardrobe, airing cupboard etc.

Will I struggle to rent out the smaller room? How much of a reduction might I have to make in rent? I suppose I could rent the main room and take up the smaller room myself, but I'm not sure how comfortable I feel about that one...

spirit

Hello Mewcenary,

It depends on market forces in your local area. Have a look on places like spareroom.co.uk and ukeasyroommate to see what the going rate is.

It also depends on the type of housemate you want - so a smallish room for someone who just needs say a Mon-Fri crashpad is just fine.

Matt_Hutchinson

Hi,

Yes, Spirit's right, check out the prices people are charging in your area. If you're somewhere busy then the Mon-Fri route could be a great idea. Don't forget, the Monday to Friday lets aren't all in London, if you're near a big employer (like a hospital or airport) then you might find there's a good market for it.

Your other option is to let to a student (maybe a mature syudent or final year student who wants a bit of peace to actually get some work done!). They'll possibly not mind the lack of space so much as it's only for a term at a time rather than permanently.

Just go to the SpareRoom homepage and type in your postcode to see what else is on offer in your area - it'll give you an idea of prices as well as whether your space is comparable to other rooms nearby.

Hope this helps a bit.

Matt

Mewcenary

Thanks for the replies. I've spent some time preparing the room now (it was not empty before) and it now seems bigger than I originally thought! Okay, it is still a single bed, with the desk and some other furnishings, but removing the clutter makes it FEEL a lot bigger. Just as well, as I have a viewing this evening...

The wardrobe space is indeed massive though... (shelving all the way along the top too).

Let's see what happens!

Matt_Hutchinson

Good luck, hope it goes well

Matt