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Original poster

to think that boarding houses could come back into fashion (not boarding schools)

112 replies

NeedToChangeName · 29/08/2023 10:59

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-66591376

This news report got me thinking. When my Dad was a student, he rented a bedroom in someone's house, alongside other students. Quite simple accommodation without facilities that people might expect nowadays, but it was affordable and convenient. And extra income for the landlady

I wonder if this arrangement might become popular again, with (1) students / young professionals struggling to find suitable accommodation and (2) home owners struggling to pay mortgages

Keira sitting on a purple sofa with a big green plant in the background and a brown wooden unit. She has blonde hair and has her nose and ears pierced. She has a ring on a necklace around her neck and has a purple jumper on.

University accommodation: 'I got into uni, but couldn't find anywhere to live'

A charity warns the number of new purpose-built rooms is tumbling, despite student numbers growing.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-66591376

OP posts:
OnionBhajis · 29/08/2023 11:43

My parents have talked about boarding houses.

My mum has said when they used to go to seaside as a family they'd stay in a boarding house.

My dad stayed in one for a while when he just started work.

It sounds like there was a matronly woman who had strict rules about time you got back. But who also made you breakfast. I might be imagining it but I think there were rules about having a lady friend over too.

GalileoHumpkins · 29/08/2023 11:40

A boarding house is traditionally rented out as a bedroom with shared bathroom facilities, meals are usually provided and the tenants may have a communal room in which to take tea and sit by the window and read.

Shinyandnew1 · 29/08/2023 11:38

NeedToChangeName · 29/08/2023 11:06

@Handsnotwands When I think of a lodger, I imagine a young person buying a flat and having a flatmate or two of around their own age and hopefully enjoying each other's company. I agree that's common

When I think of a traditional boarding house, I tend to think of an older person with several rooms that are rented out to individuals ie purely a financial arrangement with no expectation of socialising together

Show quote history

Just because that’s what you think of when you think of boarding houses or lodgers, it doesn’t mean you’re right!

Your example of a lodger would be best described as having a friend rent a room!

I would say that sort of thing exists now-it’s called having a lodger. It can be a young person or an older person, there are no rules

Comefromaway · 29/08/2023 11:34

Your link is all places in the US. I don't think that type of place has ever really existed in the UK. A boarding house here would be much, much smaller, like the type you still get in some seaside towns.

What you show above is more akin to a catered halls of residence.

Original poster
NeedToChangeName · 29/08/2023 11:12

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boarding_house
This is the set up I'm thinking of, not lodgers or shared houses

Boarding house - Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boarding_house

OP posts:
VickyEadieofThigh · 29/08/2023 11:10

Looking at what my niece (or rather, her parents) is going to be paying for an en-suite room in a shared flat when she starts university next term, I can't believe more students aren't simply being lodgers.

University accommodation is a massive scam. I've only recently discovered that they make them pay for far more weeks than their university terms last, too - we paid for 30 weeks when I was an undergraduate/postgraduate, the same as the length of 3 x 10 week terms.

Comefromaway · 29/08/2023 11:08

I know what you mean OP. When I was at uni quite a lot of my fellow students were lodgers. But the norm now is halls of residence/private halls/shared houses.

Hufflepods · 29/08/2023 11:08

When I think of a lodger, I imagine a young person buying a flat and having a flatmate or two of around their own age and hopefully enjoying each other's company. I agree that's common
When I think of a traditional boarding house, I tend to think of an older person with several rooms that are rented out to individuals ie purely a financial arrangement with no expectation of socialising together

Well your ideas are incorrect. Lodgers take all forms. Plenty of lodgers rent purely for the practical reasons and aren't of the same age as the owner.

Hufflepods · 29/08/2023 11:06

Being a lodger is already a thing, as is renting a room in a shared house.

Original poster
NeedToChangeName · 29/08/2023 11:06

Handsnotwands · 29/08/2023 11:00

isn't that being a lodger? which is quite a common thing still

@Handsnotwands When I think of a lodger, I imagine a young person buying a flat and having a flatmate or two of around their own age and hopefully enjoying each other's company. I agree that's common

When I think of a traditional boarding house, I tend to think of an older person with several rooms that are rented out to individuals ie purely a financial arrangement with no expectation of socialising together

OP posts:
gabsdot · 29/08/2023 11:01

This is already a thing, in Ireland anyway. It's called Digs.

Handsnotwands · 29/08/2023 11:00

isn't that being a lodger? which is quite a common thing still

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