Mumsnetters are always telling people to get a lodger

I currently have 2.
It depends on your house really. They both have rooms on the top floor where they also have their own bathroom. The kitchen is big enough that they have their own small fridge and cupboards. I have never had one that wanted to use our lounge but I quite enjoy having people to chat to in the kitchen from time to time.
I have always had female ones, so no question of sharing the house with a strange man. I am happy with them having guests including boyfriends.
If your house is laid out in a way that means you’re not in each other’s way, and they are pleasant considerate people, it’s the easiest way in the world to make money. Definitely less trouble than taking in ironing….

They thought a single person with a spare room renting out to a lodger was “outrageous” @PumpkinTwistyWindToots ??

When I was a lodger I was not allowed in my landlords bedroom or his sitting room.
I tended not to go in his dining room either
but my bedroom was huge and had table, chairs and an armchair.

It worked really well

I had a lodger, quite a few actually. I charged very low rent and didn't share the living room with them. People on mumsnet thought this was outrageous but none of my lodgers minded at all. It was upfront in the ad so hardly a surprise. They had a shelf in the fridge and a cupboard in the kitchen and we mostly kept out of each other's way and it worked pretty well.

Look at local market rates for a room. Decide how long you want to have someone for and then discuss with anyone who applies as they may need more or less time and then you have to decide if that works for you or not.
I haven't had to have that conversation but I expect so! I think you don't have to give much notice as is not a contractual arrangement but I'd do that as a conversation as well.

I think you have to be reasonably easy going so not one of these people who goes NC easily, doesn't answer their door and imagines slights and shade everywhere. Partners could stay sometimes but not so much they were living there.

My friend had one, they just all lived as housemates. She had them for years and then decided she wanted to live on her own again

commit to being around on certain days so there would be an adult in the house.

So presumably my you were very careful about vetting!

My Mum took in lodgers when high inflation hit in the 70s.
I have been in house shares when a student.
When I graduated I was a lodger in someone's home.
When I first bought a property, I had a lodger to help cover the costs.
None of this was in London, and it really is quite common

I used to have lodgers and it really helped out when money was short. They had a fridge shelf and a freezer drawer. Used my pans etc. Shared kitchen diner and bathroom but not my living room. Worked well as I checked their general timings for use of communal areas and we worked around each other.

Have you had one? Yes
Been one? Yes
How does it work - you agree an arrangement to exchange money for accommodation, set the terms and crack on.
Do they have a shelf in the fridge? Yes Cleaning rota? If full time then yes I'd expect so
Do they use the lounge in the evening/weekends? Yes
Can they have friends over? Yes
Boyfriend/girlfriend to sleepover? Yes

Definitely not just a London thing. Have lodged myself in a rural area.

It is peculiar, on a site where people regularly lose their shit and go no contact with friends and family who knock on their door without 48 hour warning/inadvertently piss in the wrong loo/drink the wrong kind of tea etc, so many of them are keen to recommend that others invite strangers to share their homes. One rule for the goose another for the gander I guess.

Have you ever been in a house share? Maybe at university?

Partner had a lodger for a couple years when he first bought his house in Leeds. My dad's been a 9-5 lodger at an elderly ladies house when he worked in London. Both worked out fine, normal house sharing niggles. My dad became friends with his landlady in London and she'd come visit us in B'ton often. I don't see the problem with a lodger, esp if money is tight?

Hilda also had a very young kevin Webster
And Emily also had Curley watts who she always referred to as Norman😂🤣

No. She was a graduate working in London and didn't fancy a busy house share with people constantly coming and going and house mates moving on regularly.

At that time, I did actually advertise with an offer to reduce the rent if the right person could also help walk the dog and commit to being around on certain days so there would be an adult in the house. She was willing to do that and it was peace of mind for me. So we both had a really good deal. But she had a full-time job. She just made sure she was in on a certain day once a week so I could take DC1 to an activity and not drag DC2 with.

By her own choice, she would often cook at a similar time and eat with us. I think she just missed her family and liked being here.

Eddie was better looked after by Mrs.O than Stan was.👍😁

In fact, DC2 is out for the afternoon with our first lodger right now! Lodger1 had no family locally and was early/mid-twenties when she lived with us and DC were late primary/early secondary and absolutely adored her. More like extended family now.

and wasn’t an au pair? @JingleSprouts

I've been a lodger and have had lodgers.
Its a sensible use of space.

Friends in London had a weektime lodger
and then his room was a guest room at weekends.
That worked for them for ten years.

Divorced friends have used lodgers as a way to afford staying in the family home

I have a lodger (my second).

I have two teen DC who are here half the week.

I stay at my partner's one night a week and one weekend a month. So lodger gets the house to herself fairly regularly.

My lodger has two rooms and some use of a shower room in our loft conversion. Shared use of kitchen, which is actually a kitchen/family room so I do feel a bit guilty about us being in there loads. When DC were younger, I'd take them out a lot to the park or on outings. Now they're teens, they spend more time doing homework and other stuff so it feels like we're in the house more.

London suburb, so high demand for rooms. I charge a fair price for the space/area. Last time I advertised, I had a high number of enquiries, including two single mums. I felt bad for them but had to say no because having another child here would have been a very different dynamic.

It has worked well for us and I (divorced) would have to sell and downsize without the additional income.

In fact, DC2 is out for the afternoon with our first lodger right now! Lodger1 had no family locally and was early/mid-twenties when she lived with us and DC were late primary/early secondary and absolutely adored her. More like extended family now. We also love our current lodger. Will be hard to have to replace her, too, when the time comes.

There are a lot of people who do this in London and often not on a full time basis. People are often looking for a room for 3/4 nights a week, come down, work 3/4 really long days back to back and just use the room as somewhere to sleep, then go home to their family at weekends. Now that is easy money.

Ive rented out a room before to pay the mortgage in a 2-bed flat and that was like the arrangement described above - flatmates but I owned it. Shared space in fridge/food cupboards. You definitely need the right person for that set up.

Or for the accommodation to be very self-contained. My ex rented a room which was basically a loft bedroom and shower room in a family home. He could use the kitchen but didn’t feel comfortable doing so. Their only rule was no overnight guests because of the children.