Flat share for 70 yr old?

[Chloris33]

My MiL is staying from overseas and wants to stay for a few months to help with our kids as we've just had a new baby who's been very sick and in hospital a long time. We don't have a spare room. She wants to rent a room in a shared house. Do you think this is realistic? My impression is that in our city shared houses are rented by students and young professionals. Any ideas of how to look for something? Ive suggested renting a studio flat, as that seems easier to me for someone of her age, but she says they are too expensive.

[JoJoSM2]

That sounds very unusual. And even if it's possible, it could be quite challenging for her to move in with a bunch of strangers? I don't know how many children you have and what ages etc, but I'd rather have them share so that she can have her own room in your house. Or even sleep in the living room if it's separated from other rooms in the house.

[HennyPennys]

It depends on what your MIL is like. I'm in my early 60s and would freak out at the idea. On the other hand if she's sociable it could be fun. Look at //www.spareroom.com I suspect not many younger people would want her to be honest.

Best idea could be if she was a lodger for one house owner who is a professional and needs some cash or another elderly owner who'd like company.


Has she thought about being a house sitter? She could live free of charge in return for looking after the home, but there are rules about leaving it empty- some agencies say you can't stay out overnight or for more than X hours during the day- but it varies.

[JT05]

Why not try Gransnet? Someone might like a lodger for a few months.

[Christmastree43]

SpareRoom has lots of older ladies with spare rooms in my experience. Also single parents where a son or daughter hasn’t moved out etc.

[Evelynismyspyname]

She'll be able to rent a room as a lodger, which isn't the same as a house share. People often rent a room in their own house out because they need the money to make ends meet due to an unexpected drop in income (partner moved out, lost their job etc). Many people in that position might even prefer an older lodger.

[Chloris33]

Thanks, yes, she is quite an unusual person and does want her own base and says that she is happy to live with strangers, though I would certainly worry about that being challenging. She travels a lot for months on end, though, and often stays with people she doesn't know (friends of friends etc.) Being a lodger is a good idea. Don't know gransnet, I'll have a look.

[5rivers7hills]

I'm sure she could find a room as a lodger or maybe also look at airbnb 'private room' in someone's house arrangements as well, some might be happy with a longer stay.

[MidLifeCrisis2017]

My mum is 80 and took lodgers until recently.

When I had lodgers myself I used spareroom.co.uk, and you can specify the age range etc.

[Farahilda]

I think specifying age would be illegal now, since the Equalities Act.

[hellokittymania]

My mother is 71 and just came to visit me since I have a stress fracture in my foot and due to my other disabilities found it really hard to cope on my own. My landlady had another flat available so she stayed in that, but I only have a small studio so she could not have stayed in here and she did not want to share a flat with some much younger neighbors in my building.

[HennyPennys]

I think specifying age would be illegal now, since the Equalities Act.

No it's not. All adverts on spareroom.com specify both gender and age ( ie 24-30) . There is no law against a private individual saying how old someone who shares their home should be!

[RancidOldHag]

I thought the Equalities Act made it illegal to discriminate on the basis of age.

Does it really not have that effect?

(I mean at the advertising stage. Yes, all sorts of weeding of applicants, whether on legal grounds or not, goes on beacuase if there is an excess of people wanting to rent then it's going to be personal choice. Bit like you can!t specify Christians only, but could advertise 'person to join an evangelist flatshare')

[NotSuchASmugMarriedNow1]

Hi OP

I rent out my spare room and your mother would be an ideal candidate. I tend to let me room out to people who aren't looking for somewhere permanent to live if that makes sense. So I have people here who work in the area from Monday to Friday sometimes and I have students from overseas at other times.

I advertise on spareroom have a look on that website.

Age definitely wouldn't be a barrier for me.

[kuniloofdooksa]

RancidOldHag - businesses are not allowed to discriminate on grounds of age or any other protected characteristics.

Individuals aren't allowed to use hate speech against any of these groups but there do have to be limits balancing the rights of individuals to associate with preferred groups. There's nothing wrong with a group of house sharers wanting to specify that any new house member must be of a particular sex or age group to preserve the dynamics of the household, because that's a legitimate reason.

[5rivers7hills]

@Farahilda no, you can choose to share you home with whoever you want. You can even say you are looking for 'an Italian speaking vegan lesbian woman age 45-55' if you like.

[BarbarianMum]

Judging by what you say about your MiL I'm sure it would be fine. She sounds like a lot of fun.