Room to rent for acting student

[BlueAndYelow]

We live 15 mins walk to one of the best acting schools in England (a home county). My nearly teen is dreaming to become an actor and to help with cost of living I was contemplating to rent a room to a lodger.

So I am wondering if renting to a student from this school is a good idea. My thinking is:

• This is income that we need
• The student will spend most weektime at school and hopefully most holidays back at their home base
• My dc will have an older role model in the field they are targeting

We are considering charging no more than £7500 per year which gives below market rents even with 2 summer months not rented.

I understand the drawbacks of renting to a student, but I need to get more feedback from people who have actually done it. We will stipulate very strict rules (at home before 9pm, quiet time after 10pm, no friends over, keeping shared spaces tidy and not messing own space etc) in the hope it will be better for the student as well as us. Obviously, it will not work for people who will want to taste the better parts "adult" life - staying out late, whilst I would expect to adhere to our rules. Am I out of my mind??

You can’t charge someone £7,500 just for a room in a shared house and tell them when they can come and go!

Basically, you want their money without actually wanting them to bother you at all. Not on.

Lodgers are a great idea. Both from a personal perspective and a housing sustainability perspective.

Clear rules are also a great idea with lodgers, so everyone knows what page you are on and, of you don't wish to compromise your home life too much, it allows you to move a lodger on that doesn't comply.

But...

What you are suggesting doesn't fit with an adult and certainly not an acting student. Or almost any adult or student to be honest. And most students will want to be with mates of their own age rather than living with a family with childlike curfews. And they will prioritise ease of getting home at night in groups (and possibly continuing partying) rather than live out in the sticks.

My son was a lodger during his apprenticeship. He lived with a single guy. Clear rules on who could come back and when plus reasonable noise levels only but absolutely no other curfews. If he wanted to crawl in at 3am he could although he wasnt allowed to bring back mates and have a party. In the end his girlfriend actually moved in and there were two lodgers so the dynamics and price changed but it was all done by advance agreement. They moved on when they wanted more space.

I haven't done this myself, but know a family that did this several times and always had very positive experiences with long-term contact with the students after they left. I guess only a certain type of student wants to live in a family home anyway and that won't be the hard partying type. They only had female students but the family only had daughters so maybe they wanted role models or big sisters for their DDs. I also think they had students aged 21 upwards rather than 18-20 yos.

Just select the type of tenant you want (e.g. mature students or not first-years/undergrads) and be open with them about the house rules (the main unreasonable one to change is the 9pm one).

So you'd expect them to pack up and move out. This really isnt for you but it sounds like you already accept that. Maybe airbnb would be better..

Kimchiketch

I think there is a misunderstanding. We were thinking of having someone from September until June inclusive and then two months off. This is what I understand a normal arrangement for student accommodation. If they want to spend Christmas/Easter with us - completely fine, but I would hope they have their own family to visit. I am really not out to be a nasty person. Just sharing my thought process.

Oh they are over 18.

I think that you’ll struggle to enforce the rules that you have in mind. I’d expect a drama student to be regularly travelling to London to watch plays etc and returning on the last train home.

I would check when term ends because not being able to stay in July could be a problem if term ends in July like schools do.

I would also look into how much student accomodation is with the school. My guess is that for £750 plus a share or bills , they could live somewhere 12 months a year, having overnight guests and come and go as they please.

I was a lodger when I was a student.
It’s awkward enough without having curfews imposed on you. Give them a key and let them come and go as they please!

Rules about noise and overnight guests is reasonable, not allowing any guests at all, even in their own room, is really restrictive.

As long as you’re upfront about it there’s nothing wrong with renting a room for 10 months. It’s what some people need, others need the whole year so for them it would be a dealbreaker.

I am having a little smile at your proposed rules op. When students leave home for college/university they are usually looking forward to less strict rules than were expected at home and I don't know any parents who expect student age kids in by 9.00 and quiet time by 10.00.
Also no one is go Ng to pay £7500 for a room in a shared house. They can rent a house with other students, have room with ensuite and total flexibility of movement for less than that.
Apart from the important social aspect theatre students have rehearsals and productions later than that and I can't see any of them explaining to you every time they are staying out after 9.00. I'm afraid that your idea is totally unrealistic. Might work for school age foreign exchange students. I have no idea, but the £7500 would still be far too expensive

As a mum of one these students you are targeting you should know that these colleges have long days and long terms 8am to 8pm is normal show weeks they don't finish till 10.30pn. Long terms there year starts the very first Monday in September and they finish around the third week of July.
The vast majority of them have part time jobs in bars and coffee shops shops to help pay for the insanely expensive dance shows they need. My daughter worked in slug and lettuce in her first year so would regularly finish at 3am in Fridays and Saturdays
In a shared house with no curfews and allowed friends round her rent is £650.
This gives you an idea.

My DDs halls excluded the summer. I think hers ran to the end of June. Her house rental was 12 months.

But she didn't pay for July and August.

£750 a month sounds expensive but if you are in an expensive city then perhaps that's the rates (or even good value).

I can’t see this being attractive to a student at all.

They are highly social: they will want to bring friends back, incompatible with being a lodger in a family home.

And the cost is high, as a lodger and with constraints.

You could contact the school and say you may be available for accommodation for visiting tutors .

Rooms in shared apartments in my area going for £800+ bills. We have a big house, with garden, next to the park, so these are around 1000+. So £750 with bills included is definitely below the market. In a house that is furnished to a super high standard.

But I do hear you! I already mentioned that my rules is to match out current lifestyle and I do completely accept they don't seem realistic 🙈 I love Mumsnet for its honesty.

Other thing you haven't mentioned is will they have use of kitchen? Will you allow washing machine use twice a week at set times? Will they be allowed to store food and cook for themselves?

Perhaps you need to find the person who will pay £1,000 per month to live with you.

Most Students robably don't care about the furnishings, the suggestion to rent out to visiting staff is a good idea, it's not just about what benefits you and your family.

Thank you! An idea of having a tutor is actually extremely helpful. I hosted a classical musician in the past who came for a master class and separate talk and play concert at ours for the local music club where my daughter is a member because we have a fantastic instrument at home. I don't know why I didn't think about it!

We have a Monday-Friday lodger - so a bit different. Originally it was mainly professionals relocating / here during the week whilst working away from home. At the moment we have an apprentice (part uni / part working for a large company).
We advertise on spare room - might also be useful for you to look at - lots of advice etc. (Sorry others might have suggested this already). Would you go direct to the drama school asking if they had students needing accommodation?
We have basic rules: around the rent; paying even when not here; its still Monday-Friday even with the student (I queried this when they first came to look) - we want our privacy at the weekends, even though the lodger's accommodation is fairly self contained and we only really share the kitchen; notice period on both sides; to keep communal areas as we keep them; I clean their room and wash bedding/linen at the weekend; no pets; no smoking in the house; guests by prior arrangement, etc. Have not tried to control times when they come and go.
Having said that the expectation originally was that lodgers would be out during the day. This student is here almost all the time. Things have changed a lot I think since covid and WFH.
This student is one of the cleanest and tidiest lodgers we've had.
Are you likely to go on holiday when the student is in your home - I'm not sure you can rely on them going (or wanting to go) home during the holidays - unless that is a stipulation you make ...
You need to think carefully about what you need, then frame your rules around that - if your rules seem too onerous you won't get any takers - but on the other hand you need to be comfortable sharing your home with a stranger.

Kitchen and washing - absolutely yes and they will have their own drawers and pots/pans. We also have two fridges and two washing machines (long story but this is because we combined household with my husband 20 years ago and they are still going strong in the garage).

Our Ukrainian families are friends with us still coming to visit and we go out too. They loved living here and moved out only because they could and wanted to have place for themselves.

I wouldn’t want to rent out a room that was furnished to a super high standard tbh, it would be too stressful for me and them. And most students are definitely not going to want to pay a premium for it.

That said, if you find the right person it is entirely possible for you to find a student who would be compatible, as long as you are prepared to let go on the curfew and guests. There are plenty of people out there who are tidy, quiet, studious etc. It isn’t always possible to tell in a brief interview though, and the higher your standards of behaviour are the more likely they will turn out not to meet them.

Thank you. I will think about the time when they are expected to be at home. I think it might be a deal breaker for me. If they are below 25, which is what I was thinking, I would be worried sick if they are ok in early hours of the morning if there was no prior arrangement. So I totally get the messages from others that I can't control their lives, but I am not sure if this is something I can accept. Maybe before midnight 😬. Really sounds like it is not for me.

Yes, if that’s the deal breaker a student won’t work.

DD is now a third year so I have meet many of her friends and I think one of the big things I would say is many many people in the performing arts world are neurodiverse and between 18 and 21 they haven't worked out how to manage themselves with the rest of the world.
From reading your posts I think you would struggle with how chaotic their lives can be at time,
Visiting professional is a much better idea so far this term DD has had the AMD from the chitty chitty bang bang your teach her for one week and the AD of the overs laid production this week all week.

I was a lodger as a student, I could come and go as I pleased as long as I was quiet about doing it. I think despite it being a little bit cheaper it would not be appealing to students