How much should I charge my lodger to work from home?

saajan_12

Disagree that it should be based on the utilities cost. The whole concept of rent for a lodger is mostly because you're sharing the space now. The increase in bills, council tax, mortgage is minimal as for most people its within a home that they'd have anyway. Besides if you make it specifically based on the utilities usage, you'll get into infinite detail and debate if they go to work one day, go away for a weekend, etc.

However there is a certain luxury to having the whole place to yourself vs having someone else *there*. You feel the need to be considerate if having a late night, working around them in the kitchen, retreating when they have guests over, not running down mid shower, etc. That only increases when they're also *there* in the daytimes instead of just evenings & weekends & holidays. You suddenly also have to consider if they're on a video call in the 15 min you have for lunch, what if the internet bandwidth reduces because you're both on it, 

I would think about what an extra £X would mean to you, and whether it feels worth losing that bit of alone time. What about £0.5X or £2X? Once you decide on a figure, sit down with the lodger and explain where you're coming from. You'd love them to stay, happy to negotiate the number a little but if they don't want to pay something close to your number then you'd ask they either go into the office or go to wework style space during the day. 

Chocolatebiccies

Veteransaver said:

Chocolatebiccies said:

elsien said:

Ayr_Rage said:

Having someone working from your home will most probably affect your home insurance, you need to check your policy.

What makes you think that? If it’s just bog standard office work from home it doesn’t make any difference to the insurance. 

They are more concerned about businesses operating from the premises, which isn’t quite the same thing.
Working from home made no difference difference to my insurance at all.

I can’t see it’s going make much difference in terms of costs. Your Wi-Fi will stay the same. Yes there might be an extra light on but if it’s and energy saving lightbulb that’s not going to make a huge amount of difference. Heating – presumably the room is warm anyway? A few extra cups of tea? And using an ordinary laptop for office work isn’t going to bump up the electrics a lot. 

You are presuming an increase which isn’t necessarily going to be the case. 

I think you need to clarify in your head what the real issue is because it’s coming across that you just don’t want him in the house all day and the money side is a bit of an excuse. 

So the bottom line is, is he a good enough lodger to put up with the change? You could agree on a trial basis and see how it goes, but don’t make it about the money if that’s not the real reason because that just confuses things. 

elsien said:

Ayr_Rage said:

Having someone working from your home will most probably affect your home insurance, you need to check your policy.

What makes you think that? If it’s just bog standard office work from home it doesn’t make any difference to the insurance. 

They are more concerned about businesses operating from the premises, which isn’t quite the same thing.
Working from home made no difference difference to my insurance at all.

I can’t see it’s going make much difference in terms of costs. Your Wi-Fi will stay the same. Yes there might be an extra light on but if it’s and energy saving lightbulb that’s not going to make a huge amount of difference. Heating – presumably the room is warm anyway? A few extra cups of tea? And using an ordinary laptop for office work isn’t going to bump up the electrics a lot. 

You are presuming an increase which isn’t necessarily going to be the case. 

I think you need to clarify in your head what the real issue is because it’s coming across that you just don’t want him in the house all day and the money side is a bit of an excuse. 

So the bottom line is, is he a good enough lodger to put up with the change? You could agree on a trial basis and see how it goes, but don’t make it about the money if that’s not the real reason because that just confuses things. 

elsien said:

Ayr_Rage said:

Having someone working from your home will most probably affect your home insurance, you need to check your policy.

What makes you think that? If it’s just bog standard office work from home it doesn’t make any difference to the insurance. 

They are more concerned about businesses operating from the premises, which isn’t quite the same thing.
Working from home made no difference difference to my insurance at all.

I can’t see it’s going make much difference in terms of costs. Your Wi-Fi will stay the same. Yes there might be an extra light on but if it’s and energy saving lightbulb that’s not going to make a huge amount of difference. Heating – presumably the room is warm anyway? A few extra cups of tea? And using an ordinary laptop for office work isn’t going to bump up the electrics a lot. 

You are presuming an increase which isn’t necessarily going to be the case. 

I think you need to clarify in your head what the real issue is because it’s coming across that you just don’t want him in the house all day and the money side is a bit of an excuse. 

So the bottom line is, is he a good enough lodger to put up with the change? You could agree on a trial basis and see how it goes, but don’t make it about the money if that’s not the real reason because that just confuses things. 

I am a single mum and so the extra burden of extra finance or expense to me does worry me.

I don’t really want him working from home because I already work from home and I feel like my home will no longer be my home.  But I do like him.

I just need to make sure I won’t be out of pocket for letting him work at home.

The extra electric cost will be pretty negligible, unless he's running a bitcoin mining rig or gaming rig from his bedroom, the average laptop might use about 2-300wh per day, ie less than 10p. As you are there anyway then presumably there won't be any extra heating costs.
If his employer makes him work from home they should (though don't have to) pay him an allowance, and if not he should claim a tax rebate.
So from monetary perspective £5 a week should more than cover it and he'll likely be saving on commute costs/lunch costs too., but I feel your main concern is the fact he will be around the house all day. Which is understandable, I get annoyed enough when my kids are hanging around the house all day!
Is there nowhere nearby that rents a desk out, or a library/cafe he can go and work from, at least some of the time?

Thank you for your reply, it’s been reassuring.

There are a few hot desk trendy office spaces around but they are very expensive to rent.

Chocolatebiccies

ChirpyChicken said:

£50 a month sounds right.
Don't make a mountain out of molehill
Give a go and see how it works out. If it doesn't then just have a chat to him
Don't throw the baby out with the bath water as you may get another lodger who's awful!!

ChirpyChicken said:

£50 a month sounds right.
Don't make a mountain out of molehill
Give a go and see how it works out. If it doesn't then just have a chat to him
Don't throw the baby out with the bath water as you may get another lodger who's awful!!

I floated the idea of around that figure and he baulked. I am not a confident enough person to assert myself in these sorts of situations, I wish I was.  But I am a bit of a pushover.  I struggle with difficult conversations and dread them.

Veteransaver

Chocolatebiccies said:

ChirpyChicken said:

£50 a month sounds right.
Don't make a mountain out of molehill
Give a go and see how it works out. If it doesn't then just have a chat to him
Don't throw the baby out with the bath water as you may get another lodger who's awful!!

ChirpyChicken said:

£50 a month sounds right.
Don't make a mountain out of molehill
Give a go and see how it works out. If it doesn't then just have a chat to him
Don't throw the baby out with the bath water as you may get another lodger who's awful!!

I floated the idea of around that figure and he baulked. I am not a confident enough person to assert myself in these sorts of situations, I wish I was.  But I am a bit of a pushover.  I struggle with difficult conversations and dread them.

It would be helpful if you could estimate how much his commute costs might be that he is now saving. But you are well within your rights to ask for whatever you feel compensates you for your loss of amenity, it's not just about the negligible increased costs.
It sounds like he is expecting some sort of token amount extra to cover costs, rather than a fundamental change his lodging arrangements.
How much extra would he pay for his own flat or house share where he would be perfectly ok to WFH without annoying anyone? It would be a lot more,plus bills, council tax etc so you so you have a lot more leverage here to ask whatever you like.

If I was a lodger I'm not sure I would be overly happy being around my lodgings all day, and certainly if I was young I wouldn't want to WFH more than a day or 2 a week, it's mentally damaging.

Chocolatebiccies

saajan_12 said:

Disagree that it should be based on the utilities cost. The whole concept of rent for a lodger is mostly because you're sharing the space now. The increase in bills, council tax, mortgage is minimal as for most people its within a home that they'd have anyway. Besides if you make it specifically based on the utilities usage, you'll get into infinite detail and debate if they go to work one day, go away for a weekend, etc.

However there is a certain luxury to having the whole place to yourself vs having someone else *there*. You feel the need to be considerate if having a late night, working around them in the kitchen, retreating when they have guests over, not running down mid shower, etc. That only increases when they're also *there* in the daytimes instead of just evenings & weekends & holidays. You suddenly also have to consider if they're on a video call in the 15 min you have for lunch, what if the internet bandwidth reduces because you're both on it, 

I would think about what an extra £X would mean to you, and whether it feels worth losing that bit of alone time. What about £0.5X or £2X? Once you decide on a figure, sit down with the lodger and explain where you're coming from. You'd love them to stay, happy to negotiate the number a little but if they don't want to pay something close to your number then you'd ask they either go into the office or go to wework style space during the day. 

You’ve hit the nail on the head…it’s that little luxury of having my home to myself when he’s at work.  I don’t have luxuries, I’m a single mum raising a ever growing teenage son, I work, I also do the laundry for my lodger and clean his room and change all his bedding every week, so the little bit of luxury I enjoy is having the house to myself when I’m working.

I feel that giving that up is the last vestige of luxury…  However, needs must I guess

elsien

Chocolatebiccies said:

Veteransaver said:

Chocolatebiccies said:

elsien said:

Ayr_Rage said:

Having someone working from your home will most probably affect your home insurance, you need to check your policy.

What makes you think that? If it’s just bog standard office work from home it doesn’t make any difference to the insurance. 

They are more concerned about businesses operating from the premises, which isn’t quite the same thing.
Working from home made no difference difference to my insurance at all.

I can’t see it’s going make much difference in terms of costs. Your Wi-Fi will stay the same. Yes there might be an extra light on but if it’s and energy saving lightbulb that’s not going to make a huge amount of difference. Heating – presumably the room is warm anyway? A few extra cups of tea? And using an ordinary laptop for office work isn’t going to bump up the electrics a lot. 

You are presuming an increase which isn’t necessarily going to be the case. 

I think you need to clarify in your head what the real issue is because it’s coming across that you just don’t want him in the house all day and the money side is a bit of an excuse. 

So the bottom line is, is he a good enough lodger to put up with the change? You could agree on a trial basis and see how it goes, but don’t make it about the money if that’s not the real reason because that just confuses things. 

elsien said:

Ayr_Rage said:

Having someone working from your home will most probably affect your home insurance, you need to check your policy.

What makes you think that? If it’s just bog standard office work from home it doesn’t make any difference to the insurance. 

They are more concerned about businesses operating from the premises, which isn’t quite the same thing.
Working from home made no difference difference to my insurance at all.

I can’t see it’s going make much difference in terms of costs. Your Wi-Fi will stay the same. Yes there might be an extra light on but if it’s and energy saving lightbulb that’s not going to make a huge amount of difference. Heating – presumably the room is warm anyway? A few extra cups of tea? And using an ordinary laptop for office work isn’t going to bump up the electrics a lot. 

You are presuming an increase which isn’t necessarily going to be the case. 

I think you need to clarify in your head what the real issue is because it’s coming across that you just don’t want him in the house all day and the money side is a bit of an excuse. 

So the bottom line is, is he a good enough lodger to put up with the change? You could agree on a trial basis and see how it goes, but don’t make it about the money if that’s not the real reason because that just confuses things. 

elsien said:

Ayr_Rage said:

Having someone working from your home will most probably affect your home insurance, you need to check your policy.

What makes you think that? If it’s just bog standard office work from home it doesn’t make any difference to the insurance. 

They are more concerned about businesses operating from the premises, which isn’t quite the same thing.
Working from home made no difference difference to my insurance at all.

I can’t see it’s going make much difference in terms of costs. Your Wi-Fi will stay the same. Yes there might be an extra light on but if it’s and energy saving lightbulb that’s not going to make a huge amount of difference. Heating – presumably the room is warm anyway? A few extra cups of tea? And using an ordinary laptop for office work isn’t going to bump up the electrics a lot. 

You are presuming an increase which isn’t necessarily going to be the case. 

I think you need to clarify in your head what the real issue is because it’s coming across that you just don’t want him in the house all day and the money side is a bit of an excuse. 

So the bottom line is, is he a good enough lodger to put up with the change? You could agree on a trial basis and see how it goes, but don’t make it about the money if that’s not the real reason because that just confuses things. 

I am a single mum and so the extra burden of extra finance or expense to me does worry me.

I don’t really want him working from home because I already work from home and I feel like my home will no longer be my home.  But I do like him.

I just need to make sure I won’t be out of pocket for letting him work at home.

The extra electric cost will be pretty negligible, unless he's running a bitcoin mining rig or gaming rig from his bedroom, the average laptop might use about 2-300wh per day, ie less than 10p. As you are there anyway then presumably there won't be any extra heating costs.
If his employer makes him work from home they should (though don't have to) pay him an allowance, and if not he should claim a tax rebate.
So from monetary perspective £5 a week should more than cover it and he'll likely be saving on commute costs/lunch costs too., but I feel your main concern is the fact he will be around the house all day. Which is understandable, I get annoyed enough when my kids are hanging around the house all day!
Is there nowhere nearby that rents a desk out, or a library/cafe he can go and work from, at least some of the time?

Thank you for your reply, it’s been reassuring.

There are a few hot desk trendy office spaces around but they are very expensive to rent.

I use Wetherspoons. You obviously can’t take confidential calls, but buy one tea and get free refills and they don’t seem to care how long you’re there for.
Slightly different situation because I have to use them when I’m out for the day as it’s too far to return home in between work visits but I can be there for three hours without anyone batting an eyelid. 

So you could still chuck him out for the occasional afternoon as part of the deal.

Chocolatebiccies

elsien said:

Chocolatebiccies said:

Veteransaver said:

Chocolatebiccies said:

elsien said:

Ayr_Rage said:

Having someone working from your home will most probably affect your home insurance, you need to check your policy.

What makes you think that? If it’s just bog standard office work from home it doesn’t make any difference to the insurance. 

They are more concerned about businesses operating from the premises, which isn’t quite the same thing.
Working from home made no difference difference to my insurance at all.

I can’t see it’s going make much difference in terms of costs. Your Wi-Fi will stay the same. Yes there might be an extra light on but if it’s and energy saving lightbulb that’s not going to make a huge amount of difference. Heating – presumably the room is warm anyway? A few extra cups of tea? And using an ordinary laptop for office work isn’t going to bump up the electrics a lot. 

You are presuming an increase which isn’t necessarily going to be the case. 

I think you need to clarify in your head what the real issue is because it’s coming across that you just don’t want him in the house all day and the money side is a bit of an excuse. 

So the bottom line is, is he a good enough lodger to put up with the change? You could agree on a trial basis and see how it goes, but don’t make it about the money if that’s not the real reason because that just confuses things. 

elsien said:

Ayr_Rage said:

Having someone working from your home will most probably affect your home insurance, you need to check your policy.

What makes you think that? If it’s just bog standard office work from home it doesn’t make any difference to the insurance. 

They are more concerned about businesses operating from the premises, which isn’t quite the same thing.
Working from home made no difference difference to my insurance at all.

I can’t see it’s going make much difference in terms of costs. Your Wi-Fi will stay the same. Yes there might be an extra light on but if it’s and energy saving lightbulb that’s not going to make a huge amount of difference. Heating – presumably the room is warm anyway? A few extra cups of tea? And using an ordinary laptop for office work isn’t going to bump up the electrics a lot. 

You are presuming an increase which isn’t necessarily going to be the case. 

I think you need to clarify in your head what the real issue is because it’s coming across that you just don’t want him in the house all day and the money side is a bit of an excuse. 

So the bottom line is, is he a good enough lodger to put up with the change? You could agree on a trial basis and see how it goes, but don’t make it about the money if that’s not the real reason because that just confuses things. 

elsien said:

Ayr_Rage said:

Having someone working from your home will most probably affect your home insurance, you need to check your policy.

What makes you think that? If it’s just bog standard office work from home it doesn’t make any difference to the insurance. 

They are more concerned about businesses operating from the premises, which isn’t quite the same thing.
Working from home made no difference difference to my insurance at all.

I can’t see it’s going make much difference in terms of costs. Your Wi-Fi will stay the same. Yes there might be an extra light on but if it’s and energy saving lightbulb that’s not going to make a huge amount of difference. Heating – presumably the room is warm anyway? A few extra cups of tea? And using an ordinary laptop for office work isn’t going to bump up the electrics a lot. 

You are presuming an increase which isn’t necessarily going to be the case. 

I think you need to clarify in your head what the real issue is because it’s coming across that you just don’t want him in the house all day and the money side is a bit of an excuse. 

So the bottom line is, is he a good enough lodger to put up with the change? You could agree on a trial basis and see how it goes, but don’t make it about the money if that’s not the real reason because that just confuses things. 

I am a single mum and so the extra burden of extra finance or expense to me does worry me.

I don’t really want him working from home because I already work from home and I feel like my home will no longer be my home.  But I do like him.

I just need to make sure I won’t be out of pocket for letting him work at home.

The extra electric cost will be pretty negligible, unless he's running a bitcoin mining rig or gaming rig from his bedroom, the average laptop might use about 2-300wh per day, ie less than 10p. As you are there anyway then presumably there won't be any extra heating costs.
If his employer makes him work from home they should (though don't have to) pay him an allowance, and if not he should claim a tax rebate.
So from monetary perspective £5 a week should more than cover it and he'll likely be saving on commute costs/lunch costs too., but I feel your main concern is the fact he will be around the house all day. Which is understandable, I get annoyed enough when my kids are hanging around the house all day!
Is there nowhere nearby that rents a desk out, or a library/cafe he can go and work from, at least some of the time?

Thank you for your reply, it’s been reassuring.

There are a few hot desk trendy office spaces around but they are very expensive to rent.

I use Wetherspoons. You obviously can’t take confidential calls, but buy one tea and get free refills and they don’t seem to care how long you’re there for.
Slightly different situation because I have to use them when I’m out for the day as it’s too far to return home in between work visits but I can be there for three hours without anyone batting an eyelid. 

So you could still chuck him out for the occasional afternoon as part of the deal.

Wow, that’s a thought! I guess he could even go to a coffee shop 

elsien

He could. But some of the smaller ones quite understandably get a bit iffy about someone taking up the table for large parts of the day if they’re not buying very much. If he bought his hot lunch there could could work

A woman has just been chucked out of a local café near me because she was buying one coffee and then spending all morning there. 

There’s also the library.
It is more comfortable at home - you can lounge around in your tatty comfortable clothes- and it will depend what his job is and whether he has to do video call or not, but it is an option once in a while to give you more space. 

35har1old

Chocolatebiccies said:

elsien said:

Chocolatebiccies said:

Veteransaver said:

Chocolatebiccies said:

elsien said:

Ayr_Rage said:

Having someone working from your home will most probably affect your home insurance, you need to check your policy.

What makes you think that? If it’s just bog standard office work from home it doesn’t make any difference to the insurance. 

They are more concerned about businesses operating from the premises, which isn’t quite the same thing.
Working from home made no difference difference to my insurance at all.

I can’t see it’s going make much difference in terms of costs. Your Wi-Fi will stay the same. Yes there might be an extra light on but if it’s and energy saving lightbulb that’s not going to make a huge amount of difference. Heating – presumably the room is warm anyway? A few extra cups of tea? And using an ordinary laptop for office work isn’t going to bump up the electrics a lot. 

You are presuming an increase which isn’t necessarily going to be the case. 

I think you need to clarify in your head what the real issue is because it’s coming across that you just don’t want him in the house all day and the money side is a bit of an excuse. 

So the bottom line is, is he a good enough lodger to put up with the change? You could agree on a trial basis and see how it goes, but don’t make it about the money if that’s not the real reason because that just confuses things. 

elsien said:

Ayr_Rage said:

Having someone working from your home will most probably affect your home insurance, you need to check your policy.

What makes you think that? If it’s just bog standard office work from home it doesn’t make any difference to the insurance. 

They are more concerned about businesses operating from the premises, which isn’t quite the same thing.
Working from home made no difference difference to my insurance at all.

I can’t see it’s going make much difference in terms of costs. Your Wi-Fi will stay the same. Yes there might be an extra light on but if it’s and energy saving lightbulb that’s not going to make a huge amount of difference. Heating – presumably the room is warm anyway? A few extra cups of tea? And using an ordinary laptop for office work isn’t going to bump up the electrics a lot. 

You are presuming an increase which isn’t necessarily going to be the case. 

I think you need to clarify in your head what the real issue is because it’s coming across that you just don’t want him in the house all day and the money side is a bit of an excuse. 

So the bottom line is, is he a good enough lodger to put up with the change? You could agree on a trial basis and see how it goes, but don’t make it about the money if that’s not the real reason because that just confuses things. 

elsien said:

Ayr_Rage said:

Having someone working from your home will most probably affect your home insurance, you need to check your policy.

What makes you think that? If it’s just bog standard office work from home it doesn’t make any difference to the insurance. 

They are more concerned about businesses operating from the premises, which isn’t quite the same thing.
Working from home made no difference difference to my insurance at all.

I can’t see it’s going make much difference in terms of costs. Your Wi-Fi will stay the same. Yes there might be an extra light on but if it’s and energy saving lightbulb that’s not going to make a huge amount of difference. Heating – presumably the room is warm anyway? A few extra cups of tea? And using an ordinary laptop for office work isn’t going to bump up the electrics a lot. 

You are presuming an increase which isn’t necessarily going to be the case. 

I think you need to clarify in your head what the real issue is because it’s coming across that you just don’t want him in the house all day and the money side is a bit of an excuse. 

So the bottom line is, is he a good enough lodger to put up with the change? You could agree on a trial basis and see how it goes, but don’t make it about the money if that’s not the real reason because that just confuses things. 

I am a single mum and so the extra burden of extra finance or expense to me does worry me.

I don’t really want him working from home because I already work from home and I feel like my home will no longer be my home.  But I do like him.

I just need to make sure I won’t be out of pocket for letting him work at home.

The extra electric cost will be pretty negligible, unless he's running a bitcoin mining rig or gaming rig from his bedroom, the average laptop might use about 2-300wh per day, ie less than 10p. As you are there anyway then presumably there won't be any extra heating costs.
If his employer makes him work from home they should (though don't have to) pay him an allowance, and if not he should claim a tax rebate.
So from monetary perspective £5 a week should more than cover it and he'll likely be saving on commute costs/lunch costs too., but I feel your main concern is the fact he will be around the house all day. Which is understandable, I get annoyed enough when my kids are hanging around the house all day!
Is there nowhere nearby that rents a desk out, or a library/cafe he can go and work from, at least some of the time?

Thank you for your reply, it’s been reassuring.

There are a few hot desk trendy office spaces around but they are very expensive to rent.

I use Wetherspoons. You obviously can’t take confidential calls, but buy one tea and get free refills and they don’t seem to care how long you’re there for.
Slightly different situation because I have to use them when I’m out for the day as it’s too far to return home in between work visits but I can be there for three hours without anyone batting an eyelid. 

So you could still chuck him out for the occasional afternoon as part of the deal.

Wow, that’s a thought! I guess he could even go to a coffee shop 

Do you have a lodger agreement?

Chocolatebiccies

35har1old said:

Chocolatebiccies said:

elsien said:

Chocolatebiccies said:

Veteransaver said:

Chocolatebiccies said:

elsien said:

Ayr_Rage said:

Having someone working from your home will most probably affect your home insurance, you need to check your policy.

What makes you think that? If it’s just bog standard office work from home it doesn’t make any difference to the insurance. 

They are more concerned about businesses operating from the premises, which isn’t quite the same thing.
Working from home made no difference difference to my insurance at all.

I can’t see it’s going make much difference in terms of costs. Your Wi-Fi will stay the same. Yes there might be an extra light on but if it’s and energy saving lightbulb that’s not going to make a huge amount of difference. Heating – presumably the room is warm anyway? A few extra cups of tea? And using an ordinary laptop for office work isn’t going to bump up the electrics a lot. 

You are presuming an increase which isn’t necessarily going to be the case. 

I think you need to clarify in your head what the real issue is because it’s coming across that you just don’t want him in the house all day and the money side is a bit of an excuse. 

So the bottom line is, is he a good enough lodger to put up with the change? You could agree on a trial basis and see how it goes, but don’t make it about the money if that’s not the real reason because that just confuses things. 

elsien said:

Ayr_Rage said:

Having someone working from your home will most probably affect your home insurance, you need to check your policy.

What makes you think that? If it’s just bog standard office work from home it doesn’t make any difference to the insurance. 

They are more concerned about businesses operating from the premises, which isn’t quite the same thing.
Working from home made no difference difference to my insurance at all.

I can’t see it’s going make much difference in terms of costs. Your Wi-Fi will stay the same. Yes there might be an extra light on but if it’s and energy saving lightbulb that’s not going to make a huge amount of difference. Heating – presumably the room is warm anyway? A few extra cups of tea? And using an ordinary laptop for office work isn’t going to bump up the electrics a lot. 

You are presuming an increase which isn’t necessarily going to be the case. 

I think you need to clarify in your head what the real issue is because it’s coming across that you just don’t want him in the house all day and the money side is a bit of an excuse. 

So the bottom line is, is he a good enough lodger to put up with the change? You could agree on a trial basis and see how it goes, but don’t make it about the money if that’s not the real reason because that just confuses things. 

elsien said:

Ayr_Rage said:

Having someone working from your home will most probably affect your home insurance, you need to check your policy.

What makes you think that? If it’s just bog standard office work from home it doesn’t make any difference to the insurance. 

They are more concerned about businesses operating from the premises, which isn’t quite the same thing.
Working from home made no difference difference to my insurance at all.

I can’t see it’s going make much difference in terms of costs. Your Wi-Fi will stay the same. Yes there might be an extra light on but if it’s and energy saving lightbulb that’s not going to make a huge amount of difference. Heating – presumably the room is warm anyway? A few extra cups of tea? And using an ordinary laptop for office work isn’t going to bump up the electrics a lot. 

You are presuming an increase which isn’t necessarily going to be the case. 

I think you need to clarify in your head what the real issue is because it’s coming across that you just don’t want him in the house all day and the money side is a bit of an excuse. 

So the bottom line is, is he a good enough lodger to put up with the change? You could agree on a trial basis and see how it goes, but don’t make it about the money if that’s not the real reason because that just confuses things. 

I am a single mum and so the extra burden of extra finance or expense to me does worry me.

I don’t really want him working from home because I already work from home and I feel like my home will no longer be my home.  But I do like him.

I just need to make sure I won’t be out of pocket for letting him work at home.

The extra electric cost will be pretty negligible, unless he's running a bitcoin mining rig or gaming rig from his bedroom, the average laptop might use about 2-300wh per day, ie less than 10p. As you are there anyway then presumably there won't be any extra heating costs.
If his employer makes him work from home they should (though don't have to) pay him an allowance, and if not he should claim a tax rebate.
So from monetary perspective £5 a week should more than cover it and he'll likely be saving on commute costs/lunch costs too., but I feel your main concern is the fact he will be around the house all day. Which is understandable, I get annoyed enough when my kids are hanging around the house all day!
Is there nowhere nearby that rents a desk out, or a library/cafe he can go and work from, at least some of the time?

Thank you for your reply, it’s been reassuring.

There are a few hot desk trendy office spaces around but they are very expensive to rent.

I use Wetherspoons. You obviously can’t take confidential calls, but buy one tea and get free refills and they don’t seem to care how long you’re there for.
Slightly different situation because I have to use them when I’m out for the day as it’s too far to return home in between work visits but I can be there for three hours without anyone batting an eyelid. 

So you could still chuck him out for the occasional afternoon as part of the deal.

Wow, that’s a thought! I guess he could even go to a coffee shop 

Do you have a lodger agreement?

No we don’t…