Anyone had/have a lodger and what was your experience? Any tips or advice?

Blank11

I have been house searching for quite a while and houses I’ve seen and liked tend to be at my stretched maximum budget. To help ease mortgage payment and deal with the cost of living crisis I am leaning towards getting a lodger. I get not all will have a positive experience with a lodger and what is the best way to vet or look for in what is considered a good and hassle-free lodger? What is the process and what happens if they refuse to leave?

theoretica

I lodged for a while - clear and upfront expectations help. Don't assume anything is too obvious to state!  Guests, shared/private areas, cleaning, washing up, consumables, heating, noise, use or not of washing machine...

MikeJXE

I am a widower did live in a 2 bed and took on a lodger that didn't work out well

She initially had a job but was made redundant 

She took over the sofa and the tv, after a period of time I began to suspect money was missing from my wallet, the police advised me to mark the notes and contact them when any is missing 

One morning the police. went up to her room and woke her, she admitted the theft of £270 over a period of time and I recovered £60 she stole the night before 

They took her and her personal belongings and I never saw her again 

FreeBear

Blank11 said: I have been house searching for quite a while and houses I’ve seen and liked tend to be at my stretched maximum budget. To help ease mortgage payment and deal with the cost of living crisis I am leaning towards getting a lodger. I get not all will have a positive experience with a lodger and what is the best way to vet or look for in what is considered a good and hassle-free lodger? What is the process and what happens if they refuse to leave?

No easy answer in finding the perfect lodger. They can appear to be all nice & sweet when you first meet, and after a few months, you find they turn in to a right nightmare. A tale of two halves - https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/74335300

Current lodger is an older person, currently in between jobs, and I hardly ever see her. But she does pay the rent on time and doesn't cause any trouble.

Can't offer any advice on "vetting". Spareroom.com is as good a place as any to find somebody. You may also have a local facebook page for trading lodgers. Just be careful with some of the FB postings. Quite a few scams & dodgy people/deals lurking..

Which ever route you go, make sure you have a proper written contract in place. Have a few basic house rules written down as part of the contract (washing up being one of the most important for me). Have a reasonable notice period (typically four weeks) that includes an option for 24 hours notice in the event of unreasonable/violent behavior.

Blank11

Reading the other post and some negative experiences and as a single petite female I am much more fearful for my safety. I don’t think I am cut out having lodgers. It is difficult because I am wanting to move out from my parents to live alone and enjoy my own company but the current situation makes things hard and yeah I don’t think I’d enjoy a lodgers company. I guess I’ll need to save up more and wait it out for a house I like with reasonable price that doesn’t stretch my maximum budget. 

propertyrental

Have you read

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

what happens if they refuse to leave?

Provided 
a) they ARE a lodger (licencee) not a tenant and
b) your contract with them (licence agreement NOT tenancy agreement) states eg '1 week notice', you serve notice, wait a week, then change the locks while they are out.

theoretica

I suspect having a lodger feels different if you have lived in student housing, flat shares, lodged yourself or otherwise already experienced shared housing. 

eddddy

FWIW, a friend of mine has a lodger, and plans to have a future lodger if/when this one leaves. It's working out great.

But my friend would never advertise to find a complete stranger to live in their home. Instead they did things like asked colleagues at work, if anyone knew somebody (who they would recommend) who was looking for a place to stay.


In that particular case, somebody knew of an Austrian post-grad student who wasn't happy with where she was living.

The colleague at work could reassure my friend that the student seemed ok - and the colleague could also reassure the student that my friend was ok, and probably not a predatory maniac who would make a young female student feel uncomfortable.



(Perhaps the only downside is that the student likes to stay-up late and chat and then lie-in in the mornings.  And my friend feels a bit 'old and boring' when they say "I've got to go to bed now, because I have to get up early for work tomorrow".)

Blank11

propertyrental said:

Have you read

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

what happens if they refuse to leave?

Provided 
a) they ARE a lodger (licencee) not a tenant and
b) your contract with them (licence agreement NOT tenancy agreement) states eg '1 week notice', you serve notice, wait a week, then change the locks while they are out.

Not sure if it is the same but I am Scotland based. Thanks I will have a look at the link. My fear would be what if they don’t leave the house for a long time so it would be hard to change the locks while they’re out. I did read lodgers has less security over tenant. Maybe I’ve read too many renting horror stories where the tenant will not leave and the police can’t kick them out.  

Blank11

theoretica said:

I suspect having a lodger feels different if you have lived in student housing, flat shares, lodged yourself or otherwise already experienced shared housing. 

I think that is the case as I lived at home during university so I have not experienced flat sharing with others apart from living with family. A lot of the comments mentioned rules for the washing machine and that which I wouldn’t ever think of. Thinking about it even daily household chores and cooking would be kind of awkward as you need to set clear boundaries and even making separate meals could be awkward. Maybe I need more time to think things through. A comment mentioned getting someone I or family and friends know which seems to be the better option rather than complete strangers. So that might be the better option. 

Blank11

eddddy said:

FWIW, a friend of mine has a lodger, and plans to have a future lodger if/when this one leaves. It's working out great.

But my friend would never advertise to find a complete stranger to live in their home. Instead they did things like asked colleagues at work, if anyone knew somebody (who they would recommend) who was looking for a place to stay.


In that particular case, somebody knew of an Austrian post-grad student who wasn't happy with where she was living.

The colleague at work could reassure my friend that the student seemed ok - and the colleague could also reassure the student that my friend was ok, and probably not a predatory maniac who would make a young female student feel uncomfortable.



(Perhaps the only downside is that the student likes to stay-up late and chat and then lie-in in the mornings.  And my friend feels a bit 'old and boring' when they say "I've got to go to bed now, because I have to get up early for work tomorrow".)

That is a great suggestion and I would more prefer that if I decide to get a lodger. I guess the only thing is whether I would be able to find someone who’s looking to lodge that way. That is not a bad downside haha! I am interested to know what kind of agreement is place for bringing guests over or stay overs? As I am assuming as a student you have a lot of friends and would be wanting to hang out at someone’s house.