Lodger - locks on doors?

nyermen

One thing for thought regarding TV licenses - when I was a student (a long time a go) there was a (possibly incorrect) rule about needing a separate license for locked rooms with TV's. It was to stop a house of unconnected students using one license.
Looking at their info now, I think it's changed to "separate tenancy agreements" or something like that: https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/for-your-home/tenants-and-lodgers-aud2
I just mention it for info - wont affect you for sure, but may mean your lodger needs a license? Anyone with better info please feel welcome to correct me.

Honeylife

*Kat* wrote: »

Hi everyone

I've had a lodger move in and I'm unsure as to whether I should get locks on my bedroom / spare room doors?

Any advice - thoughts?

My bedroom door and my study have locks. I lock them every time I leave the house and if I am downstairs for a lengthy period. In the study is a safe that takes private paperwork and the laptop - no jewellery or such! If we go away for a long weekend or a Festival and just the lodger is here, I don't have to worry about them snooping though my room. Hopefully I will never have to find out if it is fireproof as the seller claimed!

You don't want to create a Tenancy by putting a lock on the Lodger's door. In the House Rules you should also state clearly that the lodger is not allowed to put a lock on his designated door.

I have never ever had a lock on any of my lodgers doors in nearly 20 years. If the potential lodger doesn't like or understand or is concerned they wont take the room. As I usually have about 20 people anxious for my room when advertised I don't have to argue or explain the point.

Every room in the house has a night latch on the inside (similar to hotel night latches). This is so that no one can wander in at night and was suggested as a comforting solution when one female lodger was terrible anxious about being in a mixed gender household. Once the night latches were fitted it appeared to offer reassurance not only to the lodger but to my adult children.

Incidentally I resist going into my lodgers room, always ask or warn them prior, ie had pest control here last week and they went through the house, so told the lodgers prior (they immediately got the vacuum out and tidied up their rooms!)

One of my cohort of Landladies (there are five of us) has small hotel type safes in her two let rooms. I am still thinking about that.

But no locks on lodgers doors. Yes absolutely on your bedroom door. If you are on your own be aware you need to keep your room spare key somewhere accessible yet private.

saajan_12

lookstraightahead wrote: »

So you want licks on your doors but don't want your lodger to? Remember the lodge is a paying customer of yours, what is the problem here?

lookstraightahead wrote: »

Huh? People have locks on their doors when they are tenants, why wouldn't lodgers want privacy?

They are a paying LODGER, not a tenant. They are paying to have reasonable use of a room and share facilities, they are not paying for privacy. If they want that they should become a tenant (elsewhere).

[Deleted User]

Theoretically you are within your rights to put a lock on your own bedroom door if you are a live-in landlord.

On the other hand, they are a lodger and not a tenant. As the live-in landlord you still have the right and justification to access any room of the house whenever you want so a lodger should not have a lock on any door.

One thing to consider is whether, in an emergency such as a fire, whether your lodger would have an escape route (say for instance the fire was on the ground floor). Do they have a way out of the house? Most modern windows will open enough to allow for escape.