Has anyone let rooms to students/professionals?

[fio2]

do you need to declare the money to the inland revenue?
and do you need planning permission?
how much do you usually charge per room? (next door charge 300 per room per month, does that sound about right?)
is it worth the hassle?

As you know i WAS THINKING OF DOING A HOLIDAY LET A WHILE AGO BUT WITH PLANNING PERMISSION ETC oops caps! I didnt have enough money or time to set it up. I am thinking of of making my basement self contained with its own entrance, with two seperate bedrooms with a shared kitchen and bathroom. but I am unsure how much you can charge without declaring it, or do you have to declare it anyway even if you dont have to pay tax?

Sorry lots of questions today!

fio - there is rent a room allowance which is tax free. Can't remember the exact figure now - can check later. About £4000 pa, roughly. Will check.

Fio - There are other tax-free ways to an income, including the Rent-a-Room scheme, whereby the taxman allows you £4,250 a year income tax-free from a lodger who shares your home.

300/month sounds right in your area, F.

could you check for me Tinker, please

i would rather the students/lodgers be a bit more private to our as we have two unruly dogs! that is the only reason

ks stop showing off

basically i would put a lockable door at the bottom of the stairs and let them use the downstairs back door to get in out of. Would that sound okay? I would keep popping in to see if they were okay so the door wouldnt be constantly locked iykwim. and they would be able to get out!!!!!

can you imagine..." i was locked in the basement by landlady"

I dont think i could cope with constant sharing either, people in your house. but then if it were working people, they would most probably be private anyway iykwim

ks you were a very naughty landlady!

stop making me jealous about your holiday

my mum used to let a room out to foreign students and it was quite well paid, plus they didn't stay for very long so if you got a duff one it wasn't too much of a pain. We had some great students from Senegal, a mad one from Venezuela, and the only duff one was a dodgy Libyan. I vividly remember my step dad shouting "You're a SHIT HEAD" at him and him replying "errr - what is shit head?". It was great.

Absolutely. We also told them it was an English custom for guests to do all the housework.

but i am mad anyway and no-one understands so i think it would be fine. My husband is an arse though but he is never here, so thats not a problem. It does all sound like jolly good fun Would you just keep the house as normal then and just let them sleep in the spare rooms? instead of making the basement specifically for the students/workers?

we have often done it. postgrads, foreign students or academics. no undergraduates. they usually have a room in our house, no separate entrance. we enjoy it. and we have often got free babysitting and catsitting from them. but we do like communal living, which many people don't.

you don't have to pay tax if it's just one room, or below a certain amount a year. I'm not sure exactly what the rules are now but it's quite generous.

fio, I think if you rent out to students not sure if only applicable to foriegn students on a b&b basis then it is classed as tax free income. I think you probably would still have to declare it but you dont have to pay tax on it. I'd consider doing it if the need arises but would prob rent to mature students on a short term basis, i.e max of 3 months at a time. In dorset there are alot of language schools and you get aroung £80 a week for one and about £150 for 2 in a twin room.