What do you wish you’d known before getting a lodger?

[Shania7788]

Not about the actual person (e.g. I wish I’d known she was a thief) but the process and living with a lodger.

My room has been on Spareroom for a short time, the only unfurnished room in the area so understandably haven’t had many messages. Some people sound quite suitable but I’m getting cold feet, even though I can pay for referencing and credit checks, because it seems scary to share my home with a total stranger. The money would be a big plus but it’s more for the company, so I feel I can afford to be picky, even though we will be housemates not necessarily friends.

So what do you wish you’d known, done differently etc.?

Have a two week/one month trial period to make sure you get on. I had a series of lodgers when I lived in London and Dublin. Some became good friends, some...didn't.

Oh, and furnish the room. You don't want someone unwittingly bringing woodworm into your home.

Furnish the room! If somebody is renting a single room then it's very unlikely that they will have furniture.

That you will lose control over your own home. You can't banish a lodge to their room like some naughty child.

Your bills will increase dramatically and you will find yourself silently counting how long they are in the shower.

You will suddenly become very aware of your own behaviour.

If you're going to offer all inclusive put a £ cap on the bills to be covered otherwise they will take the absolute mick.

Just don’t have the type of European-student mummy’s boy, who first a) complained that meals other than breakfast wouldn’t be provided (made very clear from the word go and reflected in charges)
and b) when for the sake of being nice, was invited to share a home-cooked family dinner anyway, complained that it wasn’t healthy - because it included chips.

Furnish the room! How are you going to get rid of someone when they have to move their furniture out too?? Absolute needless nightmare.

Do not be afraid to set out your rules.

Have them in writing and get them signed.

If you want someone out of your living room by 9pm, get it written down.

If you don't want them bringing randoms to stay the night in your house, get it written down.

You can always get nicer, it's much harder to get stricter.

I can only echo what everyone else has said about getting the room furnished first!

Hadn’t even considered woodworm! I guess bedbugs are a possibility too.
Did you find that most people were open to a trial? I feel it would be awkward to tell someone they aren’t a good fit and then have to continue living together while they find somewhere else

Definitely furnish room. It will
Most likely be someone who only wants 6-12 months temporary whilst in area for something so they aren’t going to want to furnish

Add kettle and mini fridge to bedroom so they don’t need to use main kitchen quite so often or early/ late

Rules on what rooms they can use, and times to use kitchen ie no cooking after 9pm or whatever suits you. Are you just renting room, or can they use living room etc

You don't need to say it's a trial, just agree a monthly rolling contract and in worst case if you don't get along you can give notice at any point.

Don't advertise it as a monthly contract through otherwise you will attract people who just need somewhere short term to stay! Once they agree to let and they are ready to sign tell them there's no long term commitment.

I agree, furnish the room, provide a kettle, microwave and fridge, make it like a bedsit. Will you be sharing a bathroom? I think I could only tolerate having a lodger if there was an ensuite.

Unfortunately no ensuite but there is a downstairs toilet so that’s something.

These are good points to consider regarding furnishing the room and the ease of finding/evicting lodgers. I haven’t done it because of a lack of transport to buy second hand things and not wanting to spend lots of money to have a furnished but unusable (to me) room if it took ages to find someone suitable

What are the differences in lodgers rights between furnished and unfurnished OP?

Is that why you are not furnishing?

Edit
So you are not furnishing simply because of cost/getting furniture, but I seem to recall there are different tenant/lodger legal rights between them (or is it changed from donkeys years ago)?

I’ve got a slightly different perspective as an ex-lodger.

Some things I’d include are:
Be very clear whether you’re looking for a lodger you want to socialise with or one who will keep themselves to themselves. I was only lodging while I saved up for my own place & preferred to spend evenings in my room - when I was in, that was. My landlady wanted company.

Agree who pays for what. I thought my rent included stuff like toilet rolls and cleaning products. She thought I was going to chip in for them separately.

Have clear rules on visitors. I asked a couple of (female) friends round one afternoon. We sat chatting in my room for a while before going out for dinner. She was furious that I hadn’t asked her in advance.

It didn’t end well.

As I understand it there are no differences in rights if you are a lodger. I guess you can expect the landlord to repair/replace if it breaks (not sure if that’s a legal requirement though). The difference for the landlord is that you have to furnish the room to get the tax-free allowance from the rent a room scheme

Word of mouth is generally better than advertising.

As you mention you are looking for company, make it clear in your advert that you'd like someone sociable and perhaps look for people new to the area rather than already established with a busy social life.

Be really upfront with all your rules and expectations around shared spaces and chores and bills and have a light hearted but open conversion about any 'quirks' you both have or deal breakers (like you dont want to share with someone who's up at 5am to go running amd in the shower making loads of noise by 6am if you're a light sleeper/ late riser). It's much easier to do it at the start than drip feed these things in. I've been a lodger and had lodgers. I would never rent to a couple again, I felt like my house wasn't my own despite them being perfectly lovely.

We had a Monday to Friday lodger for a year. A junior doctor. She was a distant relative, but didn't meet her til she moved in. She was great. Did a lot of nights so we tried to keep quiet during the day. She ate at the hospital mostly. It worked well for her and was no inconvenience for us

You definitely need to furnish. You say it’s a pain to furnish secondhand yourself, but imagine what a pain it would be for someone else who likely can’t take it with them even if they stayed just 6 months (moving back abroad/ already furnished next property)

You should be able to fully furnish a room secondhand/ ikea/ own bits no longer need for the equivalent of 1 months rent. So it will be well worth it. Facebook marketplace often has really cheap or even free items, especially furniture.

How big is the room?
If it’s a decent double size, I would still put in a single bed or small double, so you have space to add desk/ arm chair / small kitchen area if possible. People much more likely to become less ‘bothersome’ if they actually have the things they need

Have you looked on market place for furniture or local recycling schemes? British heart foundation and other charity shops often have dedicated furniture stores- many of which deliver.

We had a distant cousin lodge with us. He was 19, but had never lived out of home. Things I learnt:

• Set up a rota for taking the bins out, cleaning the bathroom etc
• I had to make it clear that the washing machine and dishwasher should only be used when full. You don't put the dishwasher on for 1 glass! 🙄
• I had to explain the recycling, because he used to shove everything in the regular bin.
• I agree with starting with stricter rules, they can always be relaxed but never the other way
• Make it clear if food can be shared and they can help themselves, or have say a dedicated shelf/cupboard they can keep their own food in etc
• Make it clear if they cook, how long before you expect the cooker/plates etc to be cleaned up. The cousin made a messy meal, ate, then went out and stayed out the entire weekend!

Some of these points are more to do with having a teenager lodging, but its good to be clear from the start what the expectations are.

I’ve used spare room with no issues. Use their own contract and edit for your own details - eg room rate etc etc. really useful. I asked for a company reference and although he didn’t provide one he did provide his staff ID badge - they are a very well known company in area and knew I could always contact them if any major issue. I also phoned and spoke to their previous landlord. I put locks on inside of bedroom doors ( mine included)
in my experience both my lodgers preferred to stay in their rooms and not socialise with me. Which was fine - they had access everywhere downstairs if they wanted to.
I did find myself timing how long one of them took in the shower 🤣 20+ minutes!!! But apart from that it was all good. Did have to ask a male friend round on moving out day with male lodger - got a little tricky as he didn’t want to leave - basically he had not bothered to arrange a new place - even tho I had given him a months notice and also a couple of suggested new places! He thought he could stay and get round me for a few days but we politely stood our ground.

These are really great tips, thank you! Especially about being really clear about rules/expectations and providing things like a desk, fridge and kettle. I was thinking of offering a heater and dehumidifier too just in case (but don’t want to give the impression the house is cold and damp!)

I also read some advice to call the second previous landlord instead of their current one because the current one is likely to only say positive things, which is something I hadn’t considered.

Is there anything really specific you ask when the prospective lodger comes to look at the room? I’ve also read you should meet first in a neutral place for a chat/coffee but I’d be surprised if anyone actually does that