To get lodgers? Too many rules?

[Lodgeornot]

Apologies if this is in the wrong place, feel free to move.

I'm contemplating taking in lodgers. I live in a 3 bed house alone in a relatively inexpensive area so could rent out the two spare rooms for up to the £7500 threshold. One is a single, one is a very large attic room.
Based on full occupancy, I could pay of my mortgage in just under 8 years instead of 20. Of course there would be gaps though. I could therefore be mortgage free by roughly 40 years old. I'm not a high earner so this would be brilliant for long term financial security.

I've lived with others in various ways before and whilst I enjoy living alone, the financial sense is currently overruling my desire for solitude. I could make my bedroom into my sanctuary opposed to it's current 'place of being unconscious so what does it matter'.

I would have some house rules though, which I don't know if they're unreasonable.

1. female only house. All male visitors must leave before a certain/reasonable time (if at all).
2. variable bills not included (gas, electric, water).
3. no alcohol or drugs in the house.

I know many would say I'm being unreasonable about the alcohol and that people may want boyfriends over. But these are non-negotiables for me.

So, am I too much of a stick in the mud to have lodgers? Or could my house end up being a good safe housing situation for single women on a budget? I would of course advertise with the rules so no one wastes their time.

Actually I think the bills is the unreasonable one.

I'd just make the rent what I need it to be to cover fair use of utilities. Have a "fair use" clause and a chat with them if it's not working out. One of the benefits of lodging is the "all in" cost.

Personally I always had Mon-Fri lodgers as I preferred that.

I think you’d struggle with the bills not being included. Of course your choice but I wonder how many potential lodgers you will deter with no alcohol

Agree about the bills, I wouldn’t rent a room where all bills weren’t included

The combination of rules makes you sound unappealing as a landlord.

It's not just boyfriends, lodgers may want a male friend/dad/brother to visit occasionally

The bill splitting is more appropriate for housemates than a lodger.

No alcohol is very controlling. People will think you're either very prudish or a recovering alcoholic.

Given that you live in an inexpensive area of the country, there won't be as much demand and those who are looking for something will have the choice of less demanding landlords

I think bills are usually included in lodgings.

Personally I wouldn't rent somewhere where I could never have a glass of wine. It seems a rather random restriction.

I think you can put what you like, and see what interest you get. If you get none, then either lower your price or get rid of your clauses.

How big is your bedroom? Have you thought of having the biggest room to yourself?

How many bathrooms do you have?

I think your rule about alcohol is something that will put off most people, tbh. It's very controlling.

Do you have a smart meter? What would you do regarding bills if one lodger wanted to work from home and never left her room and the other one was out all day every day?

The reason for the bills was because of all the horror stories I've read on MN about lodgers expecting heating on 24/7, I guess I could just put a higher rent on to cover risk.

As for alcohol/male visitors, I guess I am pretty 'prudish'. I've spent time in homeless hostels and in council touted house shares/HMOs where I'd be stuck sharing with violent men and people with substance abuse issues. So I wouldn't want that in my own home now.

Maybe I should just appreciate wobbling about in solitude. Lol

Could you have a trial run doing Airbnb?

I didn't stay long with a landlady that had some of those rules - it felt controlling and inflexible, she'd even come into my room to check up on me (how are you planning to police this?).

Most lodgings include bills so you'd probably need to reduce the price to take this into account. Depends how much demand there is I guess.

BTW if you have more than 1 lodger you have to consider capital gains tax.

It would be one bathroom between 3.

My bedroom is the middle bedroom. I don't want the attic room because it would involve a flight of stairs to go to said bathroom. 'middle bedroom' is however plenty spacious. It's where I sleep now.

I wouldn't take in a lodger who works from home. Because of the bills.

Thanks everyone for their input. I am really appreciating it.

If I were you I'd look for Mon-Fri lodgers, people who needed a working week base rather than a home.

Alcohol rule feels unreasonable. Bills includes subject to "reasonable use".

Having had many lodgers in the past I would say that if you want long term lodgers you are restricting yourself with that set of rules.

No drugs absolutely reasonable
I completely understand that you don’t want random men in your house but thats the sort of thing I discussed with people before they moved in. I had one lodget for example who was mostly here Monday to Friday, when she went home, but occassionaly her husband came up for the weekend and I was fine with that.
I’m not a huge drinker but even I like a glass of wine occasionally and a Baileys at Christmas.
Unless you have more than one bathroom, having two lodgers may be difficult.
How would you plan on splitting bills?

It sounds like you are looking for a teetotal, spinsters with no men/children/relatives which you may struggle with.
Personally I would just advertise for women only and discuss ‘ground rules’ with potential tenants,
You may be better advertising for Monday to Friday lodgers as these tend to be contractors who work long hours in the week so they can clear off back home early on Friday and don’t appear again till Monday evening

Reflecting on my experiences as both lodger and landlady, I do wonder if everybody is really cut out for sharing. It's worked best for me where there's mutual trust, respect and flexibility. Where that's not been present it's been a miserable experience.

This is why I am asking. I feel that there is a lack of single sex lodging opportunity. But I may be more sensitive to feeling this need given my previous housing situations.

Of course I couldn't and wouldn't stop lodgers drinking in their rooms. I know that boundaries need to be respected by live in landlords. Maybe the rule would need to be about drinking in communal areas.

All comments giving me much to think about. Thanks lovelies. Keep it coming.

I would only take one lodger if you only have one bathroom. One bathroom between three adults who aren't close friends/family isn't enough in my view.

I actually think all 3 are unrealistic and unreasonable. You need to set an inclusive rent, what people drink is their business and if they have boyfriends over once or twice a week that is their business not yours (2 nights max is fair) it's not the 1950's!

Based on your space, one lodger is better and I would suggest you look for a weekday only arrangement which will earn you less but will also mean they aren't likely to have guests

I think you sound a bit uptight for being a landlord to suit you to be honest. I think in terms of rules one or the other (no men or no alcohol) might be fine. Both together makes it sound rather austere, not a very fun place to live, I'm envisaging an old fashioned boarding house.

There are other ways to make money from spare rooms though. You could list on Airbnb for certain days of the week or for a certain period, I used to do this, if it got too much I'd just block out a month and have a break from it. It's short term so if someone is awful they're soon gone. You could also consider taking in an overseas student (is that still a thing?).

Bar the bills bit, I think the other two rules (men/alcohol) are fine, and there will no doubt be women that will very much appeal too.

I used to have lodgers and largely really enjoyed it. Virtually everyone will expect bills to be included.
No alcohol I think is a bit daft and punative. I’ve never taken in party people but I think saying a grown ass adult can’t have a glass of wine while watching the telly will again mean to struggle to find someone

Sounds like a grim 1950s boarding house.
They’re all massively unreasonable rules. You need set an inclusive rent (what are you planning, timing showers to work out a proportional split?), respect that adults can drink what they want and whilst renting to only women is fine, occasional visits from a boyfriend shouldn’t be a problem. You also can’t do 3 adults to a single bathroom. If you do it, rent to 1 woman only and interview to get someone like minded i.e. not a massive party animal.

I think you are a bit unreasonable but you can put what you want and see what you get

My son and his partner have a lodger in there flat

They are all roughly the same age
and get along fab so far . No issues

however lodger has a huge ground floor bedroom and pretty much the main use of the main bathroom / shower
brand new bed mattress wardrobe - everything is new in his room

son and partner have a upstairs room with an ensuite

they are all out working / shifts a fair amount
but they share the kitchen / living room and irs a pretty good set up

they have the rule that if the lodgers door is shut he is either sleeping or doesn’t want to be bothered - this is due to them all doing different shifts

lodger is paying 550 bills included which in our city and the type of room he has in an absolute steal

You don't really sound suited to be a landlady to be honest. In this day and age, it's quite harsh to say that a lodger can't have a boyfriend stay over at least occasionally. I know it's your house and your rules but you will rule out a large swathe of people immediately, and You will probably have a rapid turnover of lodgers as they will leave as soon as they acquire a boyfriend! I also think many people won't reasonably wish to live somewhere where they can't even have a glass of wine in their own room on a Friday evening! Not everyone who drinks alcohol is a raving alcoholic you know? Bills not included is definitely tricky, just as you are concerned about lodgers over-using the hot water or leaving their heating on all day, they may equally worry that they are subsidising your two shower a day, three hours in the oven dinner preparation. So many rules and restrictions are not going to make you an attractive prospect.

How will you feel about your lodgers using the kitchen and living room? Are you going to also be uptight if they don't clean the sink to your standard, leave damp towels in the bathroom, are too noisy on the stairs etc? Sharing your home with people, no matter how well behaved, is always going to be a compromise.

I think that you are allowed to apply the MN mantra of "my house, my rules". You can tell from this thread that your rules may put many people off but you don't want 'many' people, you only want two!
Do research first about what happens if things go wrong - how do you get rid of the lodgers?
You could say to the lodgers that the annual energy usage is currently XXXkwH and you reserve the right to charge extra if the usage goes above XXX+20% (or whatever) to make them conscious of not wasting energy but you may have trouble enforcing it.
Give it a go with one lodger, see how it pans out. Remember that a group of three people often polarises into a "two versus one" situation.