Any way around taking a lodger if mortgage lender doesn't allow?

Hannimal

hazyjo said:

A lodger will probably be fine, but it does not sound like you understand the definition.

If you are out of the country and someone (anyone!) is living in your property paying you rent (or whatever you want to call it), they will be a tenant. If you remain in the property and they have their own bedroom and share most other areas with you, they are a lodger.

You cannot change that.

Thanks. As they'd be housesitting while I am away they would not be paying rent during that time. Only once I got back.

I am not sure how I would become the lodger in a house I own?

Mrcsmrs said:
Could your friend not just be your dog sitter for the time you’re away? 

This is the plan, as I said in the opening post. 

Hannimal

ElephantBoy57 said:

hazyjo said:

If you are out of the country and someone (anyone!) is living in your property paying you rent (or whatever you want to call it), they will be a tenant. If you remain in the property and they have their own bedroom and share most other areas with you, they are a lodger.

If the OP is going for a holiday, his friend will still be classed as a lodger, because he will still be paying council tax and his house will still be his main residence.

I telephoned my mortgage company, they weren't bothered about my lodger, it's my house after all.

A lodger has very few rights, so long as that is clear.

I also find it hard to believe that visiting your family would mean that you lose right to live in your house. Honestly hazyjo's post seems a bit mislead. 

I am a she.

greatcrested

Just because you go on holiday does not mean the property is not your main residence. As Saajan said above, the facts  imply it remains your home and your residence.

Your friend will therefore be sharing the property with you, despite your temporaray holiday. He will therefore be a LODGER, not a TENANT.

You do not need the agreement of your mortgage lender for a LODGER. Discussing this with your lender (or rather with their not very legally well-trained advisers) will just confuse both you and them, and cause problems.

A lodger has few rights.

As Saajan also says, as an added security to avoid any suggestion the friend is a tenant, don't accept rent either in cash OR in kind, but agree he is dog/house-sitting.

Post 10: Lodgers: advice & links for landlords & lodgers

brianposter

I would have thought that you could go away for at least a year before there was any question about your residence. Has anyone got any court cases to prove otherwise ?

Hannimal

brianposter said:

I would have thought that you could go away for at least a year before there was any question about your residence. Has anyone got any court cases to prove otherwise ?

This is not what I was asking about and the going away doesn't really matter for anything else other than it being quite helpful for me to take a lodger while I'm away

Hannimal

greatcrested said:

As Saajan also says, as an added security to avoid any suggestion the friend is a tenant, don't accept rent either in cash OR in kind, but agree he is dog/house-sitting.

Post 10: Lodgers: advice & links for landlords & lodgers

Thank you. The post you linked is very helpful. However, I am a little confused as to why not charge a lodger rent?

rik111

What a load of nonsense. 
1. You can have a lodger in your home nothing to do with the bank. 
2. What exactly do you think is going to happen / how are they going to find out / do you think they will even care..
3. Grow a pair and do whatever you like with your own house and stop worrying needlessly. You sound like you take life far too seriously. 

greatcrested

The issue is around the possibility that the occupant might be,or claim to be, a tenant.

If the landlord is 'non resident', then the occupant has 'exclusive occupation' and is a tenant.

In that case

* insurance will likely be invalid

* mortgage terms will be breached unless lender has granted Consent To Let

* occupant has additional legal rights, most notably security from eviction and ability to refuse the landlord access.

Now in practice, with the occupant being a friend, and trusted, the chances are that none of his will matter, noissues will arise, no one official will know or care, and the OP will return from abroad and live happily ever after.

But we would be remiss not to point out the (minimal) risk, and the legal issues. Worst case

* relationship turns sour, OP gets delayed and stays abroad longer, or friend finds moving out impossible

* friend changes the locks, claims to have tenat rights, refuses to move out or let landlord in

Again worst case, if LL forces entry or gets locksmith to open the door, the occupant can claim illegal eviction or harassment ( criminal offences) - it all turns ugly and ends up with a judge having to decide if the friend is indeed a tenant (send OP to prison for illegal eviction) or a lodger (OP kicks friend out).

Yes- all very far-fetched, but this is why the distinction between lodger/tenant matters, and why the issue of 'resident landlord' matters.

newsgroupmonkey_

OK, but at what stage does the lodger become a tenant?

I mean, surely lodgers are often left in the house alone when the owner goes on holiday, which effectively this is.

It just so happens that the holiday is at the beginning of the lodging.

greatcrested

newsgroupmonkey_ said:

OK, but at what stage does the lodger become a tenant?

I mean, surely lodgers are often left in the house alone when the owner goes on holiday, which effectively this is.

It just so happens that the holiday is at the beginning of the lodging.

There is no black/white answer to this. It's not like the law says "if the owner leaves the propety for 36 days his lodger becomes a tenant".

Each situation would be evaluated by the courts on its individual circumstances. Saajan listed some of the key factors earlier that a court would take into account.