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

Comms69

ProDave wrote: »

We are letting our old house while we build out new one.

Because we have a lot of stuff to store, mainly furniture, the garage is excluded from the tenancy and the rent is a bit lower to reflect that. We can get access to the garage directly if we need any of our stuff so no problem for the tenants.

It was just written into the tenancy that the garage was not included.

Shortly we will be removing the last of our stuff and will see if the tenants want access to the garage for a small increase in rent.

or as a gesture of good will, you just let them use it?...

MaxiRobriguez

Financially speaking

1) Are the possessions worth more than the potential lost income from not renting the room or having to reduce the total rate because you've locked a door which will put people off? If yes, ditch the possessions?
2) Could you store offsite for less cost than income if the room wasn't locked? If yes, store offsite.

Tenant speaking:
1) Do you care about the state of your property when tenants leave?
2) Do you want a larger pool of reliable tenants to choose to rent to? If yes to both, don't have a locked room.

Ethically speaking:
1) When you let a property it's for someone else to live in. It becomes their house and livelihood even if you are the legal owner. Be a human as well as an investor and give them the space (both physical and from you popping in all the time) to forge a life.

Morbier

I think AdrianC made the best point - it is the tenants' HOME for the duration of the tenancy. If you are looking to rent it out for a short period, then perhaps short-stay tenants wouldn't mind so much, but anyone wanting to make it their HOME for a few years wouldn't want part of their HOME to be used for someone else's possessions.

OP, I know you were only asking the question from a legal point of view, but there are other considerations to be made, as you can see from the amount of replies in this thread.

quantumlobster

As a hypothetical prospective tenant, it would be a hard pass from me.

What if the LL wants to come and look at their stuff?

What if their stuff leaks/breaks/catches fire/rots/smells?

What if their stuff is illegal/barrels full of pieces of people, fish or dead cats?

What if their stuff attracts the attention of vermin/wildlife filmmakers/the police?

There's a metric arseload of downsides as a tenant, and only the small advantage of a modest reduction in rent as an upside.

Whilst it's your house, OP, if you let it out it will be the tenant's home.

Rent a unit and put your stuff in it. Better all round.

Also, other side of coin: you might think the room is secure, but you're almost certainly wrong. A determined tenant will be in it inside an afternoon, wearing your clothes/eating your dead cats/looking through your childhood diaries.

lookstraightahead

ProDave wrote: »

We are letting our old house while we build out new one.

Because we have a lot of stuff to store, mainly furniture, the garage is excluded from the tenancy and the rent is a bit lower to reflect that. We can get access to the garage directly if we need any of our stuff so no problem for the tenants.

It was just written into the tenancy that the garage was not included.

Shortly we will be removing the last of our stuff and will see if the tenants want access to the garage for a small increase in rent.

Did you knock off what it would cost you to store it separately?

lookstraightahead

I think it's appalling. Just saying. You're using your tenants.

Bacon_Sandwich

what a nimrod

thelem

luckysh0t wrote: »

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?

Yes, if it's a room that is suitable for use as a bedroom. For example, loft conversions need proper access, not just a ladder from the floor below. Most tenants would expect a window too.


What it's labelled as on your plan is irrelevant.

ProDave

lookstraightahead wrote: »

Did you knock off what it would cost you to store it separately?

We wanted it stored there (the new house we are building is only 100 metres away) so storing anywhere else would have been so inconvenient whenever we wanted anything.

franklee

ProDave wrote: »

We are letting our old house while we build out new one.

Because we have a lot of stuff to store, mainly furniture, the garage is excluded from the tenancy and the rent is a bit lower to reflect that. We can get access to the garage directly if we need any of our stuff so no problem for the tenants.

It was just written into the tenancy that the garage was not included.

How does the council tax work given you are sharing a part of the property with the tenant? Are you as landlord responsible for it?