Mumsnetters are always telling people to get a lodger

[SlothfullyYours]

Have you had one? Been one? How does it work.

Do they have a shelf in the fridge? Cleaning rota? Do they use the lounge in the evening/weekends?

Can they have friends over? Boyfriend/girlfriend to sleepover?

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

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

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

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.

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

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?

Thanks for replies. How do you decide how much to charge? <eyes up DD's room> How much notice do you have to give them to leave? Is it awkward having that it's-not-you-it's-me conversation?

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

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 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.

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.

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

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 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

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.

Hilda also had a very young Kevin webster
And Emily also had Curley watts who she always referred to as Norman

😊

I remember Emily getting fed up of Percy. He moved out and she discovered he was being terrorised in his new home by some wrong 'uns. She went round and brought him "home" 😢

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 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.

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

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

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….

I think be prepared for it to take a while to find the right person. My DBF’s mum has had many lodgers and she said they were always a certain age or type of person.
I had an ad up on SpareRoom for a few months last year and gave up. The final reply was a man in his 50s who wrote a very long message about how he has his own company and is very clean, then a P.S. that he smokes but only outside, then a P.P.S. right at the bottom – he’s a nudist. I took my post down after that and turned my spare room into a gym

I used to have a tenant in a flat I owned who (with permission) had a lodger.

She found that 98% of applicants for the room in the flat that she was letting were made by men. And she wanted a woman as a lodger. She struggled to find a woman, although had 3 over time. All OK I think.

Some of the issues she had were cooking smells from very spicy cooking. One constantly had her daughter coming to stay (wanted her to move in but there wasn't room). Another one wasn't particularly clean (although one was super clean and the place was the cleanest it had/has ever been!).

She was prepared to put up with the quirks though, to not have to worry about having a bloke living there.

many people have said it's outrageous to exclude them from the living room. But the room was a large double with a table and chair in and it was deliberately cheap because of it. I don't mind sharing kitchen and bathroom but not living room.

I did it and it saved my house after a break up. My lodger wasn't known to me but knew a friend. He was pretty chill. Just paid for room and we shared other spaces. Kitchen etc he just used what he wanted. It was only for a year but it we became good friends and it really helped us both out. It was all pretty low key. I'm not sure I could do it on a formal basis with a complete stranger, but sometimes there is no choice. If you do it, make sure and read the law and that you are compliant on all issues too.