Renting out the spare room when you have kids

[Teaandcake01]

We need some extra household income. We looked at all options (extra jobs, passive income, pet sitting etc) but the only option is to rent out the spare room. I’ve sublet my spare room before, but that was when I was single. I’ve now got kids & am nervous about having a stranger live with us.
I’m planning on advertising on the usual rental websites. I don’t want to advertise that I’ve got kids as that might attract the wrong people. What have other people done when advertising for a lodger & you’ve got kids? What about house rules, any suggestions?

I might get flamed here but if I had to do it, I’d only let it to a woman.
No guests.

We did, on a couple of occasions. But to cousins of my (then) partner. Both men, but we knew them very well and trusted them totally. Can't say I particularly liked it (we had kids too) but it got us out of a financial hole, for a while.

Agree x

Yeah I would if it was a woman. Like a student

Agree.

I’d work a second/third job before I let anyone in my house with young children. Unless you live in London what are you realistically going to make? Go and do an evening job.

We signed up with local language schools and hosted teens/young adults that way. Was great because it was short stints so no commitment and we could say no if we had other stuff on, but also there was back up if any concerns about behaviour. We got on really well with nsot of them and they were often great with the kids. I have stayed in touch with several on FB etc.

It supplemented my income nicely through maternity leave and pt working and was tax free

I agree with women only. Also no overnight guests - upfront from the start.

Would someone really want to rent a room in a house with children? Would you be significantly cheaper than a bedsit or shared house? I’m not sure I want to live with someone who would voluntarily choose to live with children over a shared flat or bedsit.

How about letting it to a trainee teacher/nurse etc who will have been DBS checked?

Might depend where OP lives. If it is commutable to London or a big city she might get people that want cheap Mon-Fri to commute to work.

If you don't specify that you've got children, you'll be wasting a lot of people's time - most people looking for house shares don't want to move into someone's family home. It would only appeal to people looking for very short term eg if they have a work contract in the area or staying a short time for study (eg like the language school mentioned above, or people who do a year abroad as part of their course)

Would it really be cheaper than a bedsit though? If I was working mon-fri away, last thing I’d want would be to stay with a family and the chaos. Sharing a bathroom with children and the family, I’d feel so awkward.

The suggestion of exchange students above is a good one.

Also to add - if you have children, and there are limits on how much of a home it'll be - eg if you limit access to the living room/living space, whether they can have guests, what storage they'll have etc - you'll need to reduce the rent accordingly.
No one wants to pay a premium to stay in a property where they aren't an equal tenant. Unless you live close to a university with international students, or close to London, it might not be worth it

You need to be honest about what you are like to live with and what kind of person you are looking for how you want them in your space

You need to put it's a family household with x amount of kids (I would as a prospective lodger would be more open to certain age kids than others) are you a noisy household would it suit someone that is up and out before the school rush starts for example, do you want a night shift nurse coming in and cooking at random hrs etc etc

I stayed in a spare room once in a flat with a mum and her daughter. It was a bit of an uncomfortable set up in that it was a 2 bed flat and the daughter slept in the other room and the mum clearly slept on a futon in the lounge. The spare room was a full time spare room and not just her bedroom she let out. She was very clear that she only let to women and that she lived there with her dd. I actually really like that set up, because no men at all in the house and she seemed very conscientious about it all. Also staying with a family means most people are early to bed and early to wake, which suits me personally.

I would also rent to women only but would also try to find someone working in a position that means that they have a PVG check done. You won't get to see it but at least you know if it's a nurse or teacher that they wouldn't be working if they don't have a clean record.

My folks out two rooms to female student teachers on their placement year. It worked well for them as they were vetted & hardly there as they worked long hours. I was a teenager at the time. Paid of my folks mortgage few years early

There are some film crew letting pages on facebook, crew rooms etc if you are close to any studios. Advantages are short- medium term lets, they work very long hours so not around much, can choose to reply to females only. They are generally cheerful pleasant people. It really worked for us!