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??

Thank you for your input. I am very grateful to everyone for putting my mind straight!

and also. I don't think the role model idea will really float either

My daughter lodged with a family between the ages of 16-18 whilst she was at dance college and then again at the age of 20 during another drama school course.

Home at 9pm would never have worked. In the week she would sometimes have rehearsals or shows and at the weekend she would go out occasionally.

The second time she lodged she was also working in the evenings at a theatre, her shift ended at 10.30pm-10.45pm and it was a good 30-40 minute journey home.

Maybe Airbnb might be a better use of your space?

My niece is studying at Italia Conti and her course does not finish until 8.30 one night a week. This is very common on dance, drama and Musical Theatres courses. She doesn't get back until after 9pm. How would your 9pm curfew work? If they are over 18 and an adult and paying £7500 for 10 months you can't treat them as you would a DC. I can't see any students agreeing to your very unreasonable terms.

Thank you! I am so grateful for your reply, particularly given the personal experience. As I mentioned several times before, I was only putting these terms down to fit around our personal preferences. This thread was meant to have a research

It MIGHT possibly work if you are near a vocational school/college that takes 16 year olds like the one my daughter went to. In her first year there there were more boundaries and her host family liased with us a lot more.

There were still times she was in later during show weeks though.

...oops accidentally posted early.

This thread was meant to gather feedback which I received and which is very helpful. It wasn't meant to hurt anyone, so please don't take it as me taking advantage of any person! It is clearly not for us. But I was given other ideas that make more sense. 🥰

Organic, my daughter is a preteen. Hence all the initial ideas around the rules. But this idea is dead in the water as it looks like it will frustrate everyone involved. I was just testing waters.

is it the sort of place that has visiting / guest lecturers and tutors? if so, they might fit into your home lifestyle more than an undergrad student.

That came up several times and it is a great idea. So I will follow up on this. Thank you for suggesting it too, very useful!

I don't know if things have changed but when I was at uni I had to pay half the usual rent for July and August but wasn't allowed to live in the house 😂. I balked at the idea, but apparently it was allowed. She then rented out the house to other people in July and August the greedy so and so. I only found out as she ended up renting to a friend of mine and I saw the pics on FB and thought "that's the house I'm renting next year" 😂. I even checked with the accommodation people at my university and they said that although it wasn't very nice, she was entitled to do it. She kept our deposit as well for very spurious reasons. I still dislike her after about 15 years.

Anyway, maybe things have changed for the better now and landlords aren't able to get away with this sort of thing.

I don't know if you'll find someone who agrees to the conditions, but you may do. As a pp said, the students who are willing to stay with a family most likely won't be party types anyway.

Most students (not all) will want to spend some time in the pub or clubbing. 9pm is not realistic at all (and as others have said could well as uni stuff ending later than that). I wouldn’t have a home time, but ask they are quiet if they come in after a certain time

Oh no, that's not right! I am not surprised you are still cross 😬

£7500 for the privilege of living in a very controlling environment, ugh no thanks.

Notamum.

Thank you! I completely forgot what it is like to be a student. When I was in a medical school we had lectures from 8:30 till lunch, then a break when we had to eat and go to a different campus 30 mins away to do group lab work. Then back to the mail base after 5 to study in the library and in the anatomy hall (this was abroad). I lived 15 mins from my uni and was able just about to walk home paying attention not to pass out from exhaustion. Clubbing was not in my vocabulary. 🙈😂

Years later I decided to study in the UK and spent most Saturdays at Turnstiles Brixton. I would come home at 9am to go out mountain biking straight away. Not sure how I survived. 😜 Wonder if that club is still there.

I think £175 a week is extremely expensive for a student lodging in someone's house.

My daughter paid £130 per week including breakfast and evening meal 4 years ago.

Two years ago she paid £120 per week not including food but including bills (in London)

Thank you! After this thread I am convinced student rent is not for us.

Interested to hear about the costs though. Last year my friend (from France) was house hunting in Surrey and was disgusted by the state of the houses she was shown. She had a very ambitious list (house with a garden in a particular vibrant university town, good public transport links, etc) for her price. All the houses she was shown were occupied by students. I went with her to a few viewings as I drive. Dirty, dilapidated dwellings, mouldy, doors not closing properly. Dirty bathrooms. I was wondering then if their parents are aware about the state of the students accommodation. I asked how much they paid. £550-600 per month. People should not be expected to live in such conditions.

Not to say that your children were in this conditions! Mumsnetters ae a bit more involved I would like to think 😬

Generally parents don't get involved in the choosing of student accommodation.

You cannot give a curfew to an adult and performances will regularly end past 10, then you need to take off makeup, change, the inevitable after party. Far better to rent to a mon-fri lodger, typically people who are temporarily working in the area but family home is elsewhere.