Renting my home out and renting elsewhere …. costs, tax, etc

[Sssloou]

I was considering renting out my family home for a year so that I could rent a flat in central London. It’s really a lifestyle experiment before we make the next move when last of the DCs heads off to uni.

Just wondered what costs, legal / H&S responsibilities and taxes I would likely incur - as might not be worth the hassle.

One consideration is the quality of your own home which you are renting out. If you have expensive furnishings, it may not be worth the potential hassle of damage, lack of care etc.
Very few renters will treat your home with the same care as you would.

Gas and electricity safety inspections, agency fees - tenant finder/management, all soft furnishings need to meet fire standards, ll insurance, possible mortgage fees, replacing any damaged or broken down white goods, any maintenance costs.

Income tax on the rental income (limited costs can be offset).

In terms of the costs, due to paying income tax now you will be unlikely to make any money unless you own the property outright. But, if you can cover what you need to pay on the mortgage it could be worth doing to avoid selling in haste and repenting at leisure.

Urrgh sounds like a costly ball ache with too much risk and stress.

Might be cheaper to just pay for a 3 month short term let for my central London lifestyle experiment - my original idea sounds like it would be a fun-sponge.

AST is for six months minimum. You might be lucky with tenants happy for 6-12 months but no guarantee they will leave on time and eviction proceedings are prolonged and costly.

@LIZS

AST is for six months minimum. You might be lucky with tenants happy for 6-12 months but no guarantee they will leave on time and eviction proceedings are prolonged and costly.

Think I will leave mine empty then, popping back every other weekend or maybe with the one of the older kids living there. False economy for it to be trashed by tenants just before I want to sell it - and the potential unpredictable distracting hassles when I want to be immersing myself in evaluating a fun new lifestyle would be counterproductive.

If your current home is mortgaged you'll need to get consent to let from your mortgage provider.

& lets not forget gas safety cert (on top of gas servicing)& electrics safety cert - which can be seriously expensive - & the tenant deciding not to pay rent or being difficult to evict
I am really glad you decided against it!