Helping a friend out - renting one of my rooms

STitch_2

I bought my first property in November 2018 and after a bit of renovation and decorating my house is where I want it to be, so much so that a friend of mine is struggling to find somewhere to live and would like to rent a room from me.

Can I rent out one of my spare bedrooms to him? Are there any implications to do doing this?

Thanks in advance!

csgohan4

money and friends should not mix, think very carefully about this.

Cakeguts

You won't remain friends for long. Why are they struggling is it because they aren't any good with money? How are you going to get the rent out of them if they have spent it?

elsien

Implications financially or otherwise?
You can have him as a lodger which means you can ask him to leave pretty quickly if you need to as long as any agreements you have are lodger ones and don't accidentally give him extra rights.
Financially you can use the rent a room scheme

https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/rent-a-room-scheme-how-it-works-and-tax-rules

But you do need to think about how good a friend they are and the impact on your relationship if you do need to ask them to leave for any reason. Or if it would be difficult to tell them to go if you want to, or if there are issues such as not paying the rent, because of the friendship.

penguineater

Cakeguts wrote: »

You won't remain friends for long. Why are they struggling is it because they aren't any good with money? How are you going to get the rent out of them if they have spent it?

Quite coincidental huh, OP has a nice new house and a friend needs a place to live, match made in heaven!


I'd recommend not doing this OP, but if you do - be sure they are a lodger and not a tenant, so you can kick them out very easily if things turn sour.


https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/housing/renting-a-home/subletting-and-lodging/lodging/taking-in-a-lodger-what-you-need-to-think-about-first/


https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/housing/renting-a-home/subletting-and-lodging/lodging/what-rights-do-lodgers-have/

hazyjo

Another one saying don't do it. Never rent, let or whatever to friends or family. Prob even worse when actually living with them!

Honeylife

STitch wrote: »

I bought my first property in November 2018 and after a bit of renovation and decorating my house is where I want it to be, so much so that a friend of mine is struggling to find somewhere to live and would like to rent a room from me.

Can I rent out one of my spare bedrooms to him? Are there any implications to do doing this?

Thanks in advance!

Yes you can use the Rent A Room Scheme. You would be a resident landlord and your friend would be your lodger.

The friend as a lodger is well documented and generally, most say don't do it if you want to remain friends. But it can work if you have the personality to be firm. So if you have set quite firmly a leaving date of say six months then go for it. Suggest you do absolutely everything by the book. There is loads of advice on these forums just search "lodgers".

A Licence Agreement and house rules are totally essential - yes even for friends. Be very firm about the rent, don't allow it to be late not even once. Friend lodger seem to think you wait a bit whilst they indulge in shopping for that special item! No you can't wait! And no you cant give a reduction and No you can't let them pay piecemeal. Include all bills so you dont have to ask for additional sums every month. Pay attention to your lodgers' friends staying over so that you don't end up with 2 lodgers instead of one! Make an agreement about using the living room so that you can have some privacy and be careful with mutual friends in case it all goes **! Try not to share everything as one of you will end up paying more for stuff whilst the other consumes more than half. These little things are where the resentments starts.

At the same time remember you have to learn to live together so some compromises have to be made.

I recommend http://lodgersite.com/ for useful information

CarbonImage

Honeylife wrote: »

Yes you can use the Rent A Room Scheme. You would be a resident landlord and your friend would be your lodger.

The friend as a lodger is well documented and generally, most say don't do it if you want to remain friends. But it can work if you have the personality to be firm. So if you have set quite firmly a leaving date of say six months then go for it. Suggest you do absolutely everything by the book. There is loads of advice on these forums just search "lodgers".

A Licence Agreement and house rules are totally essential - yes even for friends. Be very firm about the rent, don't allow it to be late not even once. Friend lodger seem to think you wait a bit whilst they indulge in shopping for that special item! No you can't wait! And no you cant give a reduction and No you can't let them pay piecemeal. Include all bills so you dont have to ask for additional sums every month. Pay attention to your lodgers' friends staying over so that you don't end up with 2 lodgers instead of one! Make an agreement about using the living room so that you can have some privacy and be careful with mutual friends in case it all goes **! Try not to share everything as one of you will end up paying more for stuff whilst the other consumes more than half. These little things are where the resentments starts.

At the same time remember you have to learn to live together so some compromises have to be made.

I recommend http://lodgersite.com/ for useful information

All great points. Some of the above have been happening for a while with my lodger without me even noticing.

Unfortunately said lodger also happens to be my partner of 6 years so one must work through the hardships

FreeBear

Honeylife wrote: »

Try not to share everything as one of you will end up paying more for stuff whilst the other consumes more than half. These little things are where the resentments starts.

Watch your toilet paper consumption - A roll used to last me the best part of a week. With the last pair, it went down to a roll per day even after "she" went. Got fed up having to rod out the drains on a weekly basis. House rules and rent need to be enforced rigorously. If you let things slide, it can very quickly turn sour when the resentment kicks in.

Honeylife

FreeBear wrote: »

Watch your toilet paper consumption - A roll used to last me the best part of a week. With the last pair, it went down to a roll per day even after "she" went. Got fed up having to rod out the drains on a weekly basis. House rules and rent need to be enforced rigorously. If you let things slide, it can very quickly turn sour when the resentment kicks in.

Good point.After my first two lodgers, I now bulk buy as much as possible; toilet paper, fairy liquid, hand wash and other cleaning materials. (you can see your costs better this way if you have separate receipts) The first time I got a delivery of 180 rolls from Groupon, they were literally stored in every nook & cranny of the house! But my goodness so much cheaper and lasted forever! Now I switched to bulk buying toilet rolls off Ebay to get Nectar points. Wish I had done that when I had my kids living at home.

I also provide small sanitary bags - left on the cistern cost about a £1 for 50 - and the House Rules clearly state not to put hygiene products down the pan, and not to wrap them in toilet paper but to use the sanitary bag provided so we possibly avoid blockages. You learn as you go along!

TBagpuss

As above, yes, you can rent a room using the rent a room scheme.

It's best to be fairly formal. Have you shared a house before? If so, think about what things bugged you about your housemates behaviour, and what things you feel are important, then make sure that you have some clear house rules which address the things you feel strongly about. Don't micromanage, but don't assume that everyone will feel the same way or attach the same importance to things as you, so if there are things which you feel strongly about, be clear and upfront.

Have a formal lodgers agreement and insist on rent being paid by standing order, on time.

I've done it twice - first time was having a very longstanding friend as a lodger, when she broke up with a partner and needed somewhere to live. It worked really well and we are still very close friends. We chose to shop and eat together, for the most part.

The second time was someone who I didn't know well before she moved in, but initially she only needed somewhere for 6 weeks , so we both knew it was fairly short term.

I had very few house rules, which I let her know in advance (a couple related to health - I have allergies and had to be upfront that there are somethings which I can't have in the house, even in someone else's bedroom) then a few about managing space (I had a tiny kitchen, so clearing up promptly after cooking was really important, as was being up front about the fact that storage space was limited)
Finally, I had a house rule about no overnight guests without prior agreement (and also that I would not have any myself without letting her know)
We also had a chat about things like heating temps, (My comfort zone is cooler than a lot of people liked, and my house at the time had fairly crap heating. I told her that, and made clear that there was a separate heater in her own room which she was welcome to have at whatever temp and timing she wanted, but the main living room would be cooler ) noise, and times we each typically wanted to sleep, to make sure we were compatible.

She initially stayed with me for 6 weeks, then came back a few months later and stayed for a round 9 months. We are still friends

I think being clear and honest is vital. If you like being tucked up in bed in a quiet house by 10pm, or if you are a night owl and are normally watching movies or playing games until 1 a.m., be up front about it to see whether the two of you are compatible.

Make sure that you can make fridge and cupboard space available, talk about which things are 'house' supplies and which you each need to buy individually, and be clear about what they will be responsible for in terms of laundry etc (I'd take the view that it is reasonable for them to be responsible for their own laundry, for clearing up after themselves in the kitchen and bathroom , but not deep cleaning, and for keeping their own room clean, but obviously it's up to you, as long as you are clear and up front