Please contribute to the Dos and Don'ts of having lodgers...

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Please contribute to the Dos and Don'ts of having lodgers...
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Nicky cigreen

Joined: 25 Jun 2007
Posts: 9878
Location: Devon, uk

Posted: Sun Jan 27, 13 11:31 am Post subject:

I'd say only have someone you believe you can trust - as there is always trust involved in having someone in your home. and then don't be over strict - you don't want to be the evil landlady, but rub along nicely together.
One place I lodged, the system for the phone was making a note of your calls and paying for them - with modern online bills etc, it is easy to work out who did what calls.

I think it is normal for the lodger to expect use of the living room, kitchen, bathroom and laundry machines.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46207
Location: yes

Posted: Sun Jan 27, 13 11:32 am Post subject:

Mary-Jane wrote:

dpack wrote:

set the rules with the lodger pre moving in

what those rules should be depends on both parties

remember it is your home but be fair

Should we meet up on neutral territory first to see whether we like each other? God - it's like internet dating

might be a good idea ,in a previous life i had to explain to a very naughty lodger it was time to leave a chaps home .

ive had various strays over the years which is a bit different to paying lodger ,tis best to set clear rules and know who is about to share your home

Mary-Jane

Joined: 13 Jan 2005
Posts: 18397
Location: The Fishing Strumpet is from Ceredigion in West Wales

Posted: Sun Jan 27, 13 11:35 am Post subject:

Ty Gwyn wrote:

Remember this is West Wales,unless you can find someone on a good salary,by adding on all the extra`s on top of �95 for a room you may price yourself out.

Yes, that's what I was thinking too.

Katieowl

Joined: 01 Jun 2006
Posts: 4317
Location: West Wales

Posted: Sun Jan 27, 13 11:39 am Post subject:
And you can rent a two bed house in St. Dogs for �400 a month...

Mary-Jane

Joined: 13 Jan 2005
Posts: 18397
Location: The Fishing Strumpet is from Ceredigion in West Wales

Posted: Sun Jan 27, 13 11:44 am Post subject:

Katieowl wrote:

And you can rent a two bed house in St. Dogs for �400 a month...

Well quite.

Pilsbury

Joined: 13 Dec 2004
Posts: 5645
Location: East london/Essex

Posted: Sun Jan 27, 13 11:48 am Post subject:

And don't forget if you want to do t under the rent a room scheme you can only charge �81 a week before you need to start declaring It for tax, as you already have accountant that shouldn't be to much trouble but my uncle has just advertised a room for �80 even though the going rate is about �100 but he figures he can pick carefully cos he will have loads of people apply and he doesn't have to worry about te tax stuff.

Cathryn

Joined: 16 Jul 2005
Posts: 19856
Location: Ceredigion

Posted: Sun Jan 27, 13 12:01 pm Post subject:
After you have met on neutral territory, go with your gut instinct. If you have any reservation about the person probably better to say no. What about girlfriends, other friends visiting them? Are you clear about how you feel about this?

Pilsbury

Joined: 13 Dec 2004
Posts: 5645
Location: East london/Essex

Posted: Sun Jan 27, 13 12:18 pm Post subject:

We rented to good friend for a year or so and it was quite easy cos we all ate together, watch tv and it was generally easy, she was happy for us to dump her dry washing off the airers on her bed so we knew the room wasn't trashed but we didn't make a point of going in regularly to check.
Her rent included bills and she took her turn in cooking and we all just mucked in with cleaning up and stuff like that and it worked really well for us.
The rent was ridiculously cheap mind but it was defiantly mates rates and it was all extra money to us at the time.

Went

Joined: 19 Mar 2006
Posts: 6968

Posted: Sun Jan 27, 13 12:41 pm Post subject:

Having a lodger in your house requires a whole new mind set over and above the practicalities of food, fridges, etc.

What about their visitors - would you allow overnighters?
No more wandering around the house semi-nuddy or even popping to the bathroom - depends on the lay out.
Smells- it can be a problem
Different levels of conscientiousness on things like cleaning, clearing, wiping down.
Additional set of washing hanging around
Your future relationships
Cars - unless drive is big enough - car moving becomes a potential problem.
Storage - they may have additional items that will not fit into a small room.

Lorrainelovesplants

Joined: 13 Oct 2006
Posts: 6521
Location: Dordogne

Posted: Sun Jan 27, 13 1:11 pm Post subject:

We rent the large room as single occ only. Its �90 PW. We have nothing to do with community charge and he has no access to phone. He has a mini kitchen in there with fridge.
All elec is included as is heating.
We said no smoking, no pets, no changes to room, occassional overnight visitors by prior arrangement only.
We also printed off a contract - he has a signed copy as do we. We also took a �200 deposit.
If we have a greivance we deal with it sooner rather than later in a friendly but no nonsense way.
We did phone interviews (you can usually identify 'strange people' prior to inviting them to view, and then had a 20 min chat on what we expected and about their circumstances.
As he was employed as a license holder (at the time) he has to be free of criminal convictions. This was good enough for us to shortlist him.

madcat

Joined: 24 May 2008
Posts: 1265
Location: worcester

Posted: Sun Jan 27, 13 4:02 pm Post subject:

consider the impact on any household animals, I have a ban on visiting dogs because we are a dog free house and want it to stay that way.
Make sure the lodger isn't wierd. Boris's daughter had problems with innapropriate texts from the lodger and other creepy stuff.
Make sure you can get rid off them easily if you need to,see above!
Can you put up with a 24/7 stranger or would a Monday night to Friday morning person be better,are there any working away from home people in your area that might need a place to stay.

stumbling goat

Joined: 20 Jan 2009
Posts: 1990

Posted: Sun Jan 27, 13 4:24 pm Post subject:

Pilsbury wrote:

But, if you go over this figure can you can not factor in all the extra costs involved to reduce your liability? Council tax, additional electricity, gas and washing powder?

sg

Pilsbury

Joined: 13 Dec 2004
Posts: 5645
Location: East london/Essex

Posted: Sun Jan 27, 13 4:35 pm Post subject:

stumbling goat wrote:

Pilsbury wrote:

But, if you go over this figure can you can not factor in all the extra costs involved to reduce your liability? Council tax, additional electricity, gas and washing powder?

sg

Have a look at the pdf link Richard posted, I think you can but you still have to go down the route of declaring the income and then submitting pu costs and so on.
If your under �80 a week you just don't have to bother telling anyone about it at all.

stumbling goat

Joined: 20 Jan 2009
Posts: 1990

Posted: Sun Jan 27, 13 4:39 pm Post subject:

Pilsbury wrote:

stumbling goat wrote:

Pilsbury wrote:

But, if you go over this figure can you can not factor in all the extra costs involved to reduce your liability? Council tax, additional electricity, gas and washing powder?

sg

Oh, I understood the situation that you declare ALL income, even where it will be allowed free of tax, and note that it is under the RAR scheme, and it is then taken into account but not counted, if that makes sense?

I had not seen the pdf, I will go look.

sg

stumbling goat

Joined: 20 Jan 2009
Posts: 1990

Posted: Sun Jan 27, 13 4:40 pm Post subject:
Forgot to add that the website, lodgerland is worth having a look at for guidance. sg

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