Getting a lodger in, things to consider?

Haggisman

Haggisman

Haggisman

Soldato
Joined
6 Oct 2004
Posts
19,241
Location
Birmingham
I'm looking at the possibility of getting a lodger in, since I've now found myself in the position of having 2 spare rooms.

So far I've taken into account:

- Checking with mortgage provider
- Updating home Insurance
- Gas safety cert
- House rules re. cleaning, visitors, etc.
- I will be using a referencing service

Anything else I 'm missing? And any thoughts from anyone who's had / has a lodger (s)?

Cheers! :)
 
Never done it myself, but a lot of my friends have and they have made some amazing new friends from having a lodger in. They said the most important thing was finding somebody who was 'right' and not just somewhere who needs a place to sleep.
 
Going by various films I've seen she should be slutty, skimpily dressed, has a tramp stamp and shags like a bunny.
 
Make sure you Establish Boundaries and times to use Kitchen etc.

It might sound daft but I rented some rooms out to a Polish couple and they totally dominated the Kitchen I couldnt move for them. The house stunk of Cabbage. No Joke they would be up at 6am boiling cabbage ffs.:mad:

In the end I had to tell them to leave.
 
RedDanDoc said:
Make sure you Establish Boundaries and times to use Kitchen etc.

It might sound daft but I rented some rooms out to a Polish couple and they totally dominated the Kitchen I couldnt move for them. The house stunk of Cabbage. No Joke they would be up at 6am boiling cabbage ffs.:mad:

In the end I had to tell them to leave.
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Most of my friends tend to cook together with their housemates. Like I said, they tend to become mates and have a more personal relationship rather than them just renting a room.
 
You don't need to tell the mortgage company, you're not renting the house out.

I've let my spare room over the years and would suggest the following;

Take a deposit
Make a contract
Agree on what is and is not acceptable regards friends visiting, times to come and go and what time should be considered "quiet"
Decide how you're going to split the bills

The rules for letting a room are very different from renting a whole house, I would suggest you do a bit of research on what you do and don't need to do!
 
Most of the places advertising for lodgers round my area want someone who is basically going to be out most of the time. E.g they want you to leave early in the morning and only return at night to sleep. And they hint at wanting someone who goes "home" at the weekend like someone who is working far from home and only wants a bed mon to thurs night. Like that is going to happen in an ex mining town in the middle of nowhere.
 
RedDanDoc said:
Make sure you Establish Boundaries and times to use Kitchen etc.

It might sound daft but I rented some rooms out to a Polish couple and they totally dominated the Kitchen I couldnt move for them. The house stunk of Cabbage. No Joke they would be up at 6am boiling cabbage ffs.:mad:

In the end I had to tell them to leave.
Click to expand...

Heard you like Cabbage. :D

 
wndsr said:
Most of my friends tend to cook together with their housemates. Like I said, they tend to become mates and have a more personal relationship rather than them just renting a room.
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That's all well and good, I just wasn't happy with my utility bills spiking on account of the cooker being used constantly and the constant smell of cabbage.

I did not know that Human beings could eat so much food. lol It was like they were sitting down to a sunday dinner three times a day every day and in between snacks.:eek:
 
RedDanDoc said:
That's all well and good, I just wasn't happy with my utility bills spiking on account of the cooker being used constantly and the constant smell of cabbage.

I did not know that Human beings could eat so much food. lol It was like they were sitting down to a sunday dinner three times a day every day and in between snacks.:eek:
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Haha that is pretty mental - were they 'big' ?
 
wndsr said:
Haha that is pretty mental - were they 'big' ?
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Yes but he was tall, had a massive gut on him and she was small and fat like an oversized beach ball with arms and legs. hehehe

When they were moving in they had this Massive suitcase and it was filled with condiments spices etc, you could hardly pick it up it was big. I was astonished.
 
RedDanDoc said:
Make sure you Establish Boundaries and times to use Kitchen etc.

It might sound daft but I rented some rooms out to a Polish couple and they totally dominated the Kitchen I couldnt move for them. The house stunk of Cabbage. No Joke they would be up at 6am boiling cabbage ffs.:mad:

In the end I had to tell them to leave.
Click to expand...

I think avoiding renting to a couple is probably a good rule in general. Couples and flatshares tend to be trouble in most cases. Though it would be rather odd to establish times to use the kitchen - that's just wierd... frankly your case is a bit of an outlier...
 
I dont get why you would have stranger living in your own home. :confused:

When I shut my front door I know the only muppet coming through the door is the one I let in. ;)

I dunno each to there own I guess! :D
 
dowie said:
I think avoiding renting to a couple is probably a good rule in general. Couples and flatshares tend to be trouble in most cases. Though it would be rather odd to establish times to use the kitchen - that's just wierd... frankly your case is a bit of an outlier...
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Dont think its weird myself regarding kitchen use as what they pay in rent could be used to pay the increased utility bill and if they are constantly using the kitchen there would be no profit therefore no point.
 
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