Thinking of getting a lodger

Sambashoes wrote: »

does anyone have any advice on attracting the right kind of lodger (i.e. reliable, trustworthy, respectful). I'm a single woman so my safety is also a priority.

Both my Sis and myself have used spareroom.com to find lodgers - Her first one turned out to be a chronic alcoholic with associated "issues". The next two have both been Mon-Fri on short term placements with local companies. All three have been females.

For my part, I got a couple who claimed to be in a stable, long term relationship. Stable is a long way off the mark... But things have settled down, and he is very quiet (she is currently elsewhere).

My advice - State in your advert "female preferred", go for short term lets initially (a mature student depending on your area), and/or Mon-Fri. Don't use craiglist or gumtree - The former seems to attract the really weird, and the latter get the remaining oddballs.

I've had a few different lodgers in my house over the last few years. Like freebear I have used spareroom to find them. I always meet the lodgers in person, this can be done at the same time as showing them the room/house. I can generally get a good feel for them this way and if a couple can judge whether I'm happy with them living here.


I get a reference from their employer or if a student from a tutor. I follow them up and only contact through the work phone number google provides. I caught someone out doing this as the number they supplied wasn't for their boss (old boss after a firing) and was, I suspect, for a mate that would fib for them.


I always take a deposit, I've never actually made any deductions but I think the act of taking the deposit screens people who might be more likely to cause a problem.

Don't let anyone move in who you feel dodgy about!!!

There's plenty of guides and info available on here and online about how to go about it. I've generally found it a positive experience (the extra money doesn't go amiss either !

FabFifty wrote: »

I would suggest getting a Monday to Friday lodger, or a Mature Student lodger. My two Monday-Friday lodgers were on local short-term contracts and I only actually saw them Monday to Thursday evenings.

This is a great idea but depends on location - down in Devon I struggled to find M to F lodgers as it's not known as a place people commute to and return home at weekend. But if you're somewhere with good links to say London where wages are better then it's a great option as you still get your weekend privacy

When I was looking for short term, 6 weeks initially, for a job placement in a UNI town there were loads of rooms, part shares, full houses/flats on the lists.

My wanted add(on spareroom) was a lot more productive than me trying places offered.

Those that responded to my adds were fairly good fit with the landlord and property, but the locations were wrong for my job(transport) and planned social habits(near the centre).

In the end I found somewhere through AirBnB.