I'd like to let my house but 'keep' a room for my stuff

luckysh0t

Getting an EPC rating on my home on the way to renting it out to pay the mortgage while I move elsewhere. There's a spare room I'd like to keep all my stuff in but I'm just curious in case there's any statutory requirements that would come with withholding one room from the tenants or is it just a matter of making them aware and as long as they're happy that's fine?

It's a secure room with no heating or energy requirements.

lookstraightahead

I can't see tenants being happy with being your caretakers for nothing.

NaughtiusMaximus

I'd just hire a storage unit, the amount extra you could reasonably charge in rent for a property with one additional bedroom would probably cover a good chunk of the cost anyway.

Cakeguts

Put your stuff in storage and let the whole house. You can't expect tenants to have your stuff there.



Also there is a strong possibility that your house won't let to good tenants anyway. Many of the ones bought to live in don't so your stuff could easily get damaged if you leave it in the house.


People seem to always make the same mistake in assuming that the house that they bought to live in will make a good rental property that will attract good tenants. It mostly doesn't work like this. The landlords who get good tenants put a lot of time research and effort into buying the right kind of property for the job.

luckysh0t

I can't see tenants being happy with being your caretakers for nothing.

They won't have access to it.

I'd just hire a storage unit, the amount extra you could reasonably charge in rent for a property with one additional bedroom would probably cover a good chunk of the cost anyway.

There's another question there then - it's not down as a bedroom in the original plans ('study'), can I still rent it out as one?

I'd rather keep the stuff where it is and reduce the rent than move it out somewhere else at a net cost to be honest.

Basically I'm wondering if there's statutory considerations with keeping a room outside of the let agreement?

AnotherJoe

Not AFAIK, Ive certainly rented holiday lets where one or two rooms were locked presumably with the owners stuff for when they holidayed there.

Morbier

As a tenant, I wouldn't even look at renting somewhere with a room 'out of bounds'. There are sometimes houses advertised with the garage 'not available'. Why do some landlords think we, the tenants, should want to be responsible for the LL's belongings? How would we know you didn't want access once a week/month/when the mood takes you? What if there was a fire/flood/plague of insects?

Perhaps I'm being a bit dramatic, but you get my drift.

Why won't your new home have enough storage space might be a better point to consider?

Soot2006

I rented a lovely flat that had a room full of the landlord's stuff. It was a two-bedroom flat and we paid £150/month less than the going rate for a one-bedroom so account for some heating for that room and council tax, but had the added advantage of a much larger kitchen and living room than most one beds would have. We had an access agreement with the LL who completely respected our privacy and it suited us very well (we'd agreed on notice, etc. In the end the LL only came round 3 times in 2 years so it was a moot point). Luck of the draw on both sides but most people are just normal people and happy to make arrangements if it suits them.

Comms69

Been there as a tenant. It’s not unlawful; but the key issue was counciltax. Didn’t end up staying long term

luckysh0t

folks with respect I'm not looking for your opinion on whether it's a good idea. I'm wondering if there's statutory laws involved in doing so.

Comms69

luckysh0t wrote: »

folks with respect I'm not looking for your opinion on whether it's a good idea. I'm wondering if there's statutory laws involved in doing so.

It’s a public forum, if you want straight answers; pay a solicitor.