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.

Oh and if you only have one bathroom
I would only take in one lodger 3 sharing a bathroom is a bit to much

when my son was looking to buy I encouraged him to buy a two bed / 2 bath so that gives him flexibility of having a lodger I’d he wanted to .

Seriously? The op wants no couples sharing, no alcohol and separate bills. Air bnbs are generally for couples having short breaks. Is she going to insist couples sleep in separate bedrooms and not have a glass/bottle of wine on a weekend away?

I think you need to think about what you're trying to get at with the alcohol rule. I don't really understand why you would be fine with a drink in their room but not in the living room. How about if they drink in the pub and then come back pissed?

Is it better maybe just to go with a general statement about wanting the house to be a quiet environment?

I think this may just not be good for you

Actually when my sons lodger moved in
hr said his last landlady was awful
didn’t like him in the kitchen or passing through the house

she resented him being there but wanted the money

he works as cabin crew so often long shifts and when back mainly sleeping or would go home on his days off to see his family .

he’s a nice young man hardworking and he was totally shocked when my son and his partner said it was fine to eat at the kitchen table and chill on the balcony if he wanted to

With his last landlady he had to eat all his meals in his room 🥵
and she was charging a lot more for a much smaller room

You may end up getting tenants that are religious and welcome the no alcohol and male guests.

Personally I wouldn't rent from somewhere with no bills though. When lodging, as I had for many years, money is usually tight, if it wasn't you wouldn't be lodging after all.

A no-alcohol, no-sex lifestyle suits some people fine and you are obviously one of them, but I don't think you can realistically impose it on anyone else.

Adding extra for "bills" would breach the £7.5k tax free limit, so you'd have to do a proper claim for attributable expenses, pay tax on the difference (profit), and complete tax returns etc.

As others have said, the bills are usually included, so I would change that.

For the rest, fair enough if you would prefer not to have a lodger than change on those points. If no-one is interested, then you carry on as you are.

Though I would suggest phrasing it as looking for a female lodger to share a quiet house perhaps, rather than 'no men or alcohol'. And if people are interested you can have a chat about your lifestyle/expectations and their lifestyle/expectations to see if you are both compatible. After all, if someone is coming home regularly drunk and loud I expect that would be more of a problem for you than someone who has an occasional glass of wine in the evening?

Mon-Fri lodgings also may work better. Or if there is a local teaching or large hospital nearby then there may be staff who would like something nearby a couple of nights a week while they are on placement/have an late shift followed by an early.

Slightly different train of thought here, why not consider downsizing your property? Seems like you’re not keen on the idea of a lodger, so smaller house/smaller mortgage might be worth considering :)

I used to rent out our loft years ago which had an en-suite.
Also women only as I had a young child.

Also had no boyfriends rule, non party house as had a young child.

I think it's best to be upfront and lay down some rules on the listing, it weeds out the weirdos!

Most of lodgers where lovely students who liked a quiet life,

Personally I'd inc bills, but make it clear when the heating is on etc,
You can work from home but the heating won't be on

@Lodgeornot

your ‘rules’ in themselves are not at all unreasonable, particularly in the light of your past experiences, but if you put them in an advert it just looks very negative.
why not turn it on its head ? If I were to advertise for a lodger again I would write something on the lines of
Professional, long term single 57 year old seeks similar to join quiet household. I enjoy books, theatre and cinema. You must be tolerant of fussy black cats and be prepared to share my glut of delicious but wonky allotment fruit and veg.
That would probably put off your 20 something drinking, club goers and attract someone compatible.
If you are going to share it might as well be someone you can have a chat with. You don’t have to become their new best friend but its far nicer to have someone you can share a cup of tea with or watch a TV programme.
I had one lodger who never came out of her room when I was in, it was awful actually, she was like some looming presence, the ones where we shared the occasional theatre visit or takeaway were much nicer

I think having no males allowed isn't so much a prudish thing as for OP to not want to bump into random men on the way to and from the bathroom. Either when she's in her dressing gown or they are. Perfectly reasonable IMHO. I would prefer a set amount re bills but with room for negotiation if they go up a lot again. The drinking, wouldn't worry me, but might be an idea to say not in communal spaces.

I think it's the combination of things.

I don't think no overnight guests is totally unreasonable but combined with no alcohol, it gives a certain picture of the OP as maiden aunt running 1950s boarding house.

I am not even a big drinker, I wouldn't find it difficult to go without alcohol in the house but it's the impression you get overall of a strict landlord.

In London/other high cost areas, you would probably still get someone - likely a religious woman - but in a low cost area, I don't see why anyone would go for it

I agree with the PP who suggested framing it in a more positive way

You'll need to be more specific about the percentage share of fuel bills, especially if you offer a tumble dryer/ electric heaters in addition to the CH.

The ban on overnight men, alcohol and drugs will attract a certain type of believer, are you happy with that? (I'd include no smoking and no pets btw)

Make sure  your attic room and its stairs  meet legal access and  exit for fire safety regs. 

Keep your lodger agreement at  max one month notice  to quit. Don't get talked into a longer  notice period  (by long advance payments)

You might want to consider an extra fridge .

I bathroom between 3 might be harder than you anticipate :-)

The men they have over "one or two nights aweek" will also use the (only) bathroom, hot water, the kitchen, and communal living room.

The important thing is that you are comfortable with lodgers, so as long as you are clear about the rules, you’ll get people who are comfortable with these.

You are looking for lodgers rather than a home share, so your rules are important.

best of luck!

Is it fine to bring girlfriends? What about friends? I think you will struggle to find two people personally who would abide by that. Perhaps people say they would (because there's a housing shortage and people are desperate) but I wouldn't be surprised if they broke said rules. Why can you sell and downsize?

I think this will appeal to a lot of people. If I was looking to rent i would like this as it world help me to anticipate the environment better. Its niche, not main stream, but some folks will prefer this.

She's not imposing it on anyone. Willing volunteers only.

I think you can say no overnight guests rather than no men. No booze is a bit 🤔 but It might appeal to people who don’t drink for whatever reason. I do think lodgers expect bills included. I’ve stayed in places with a fair use policy bills had to stay under x or it would trigger a rent review. They did give money back though if we used less power/ gas every quarter which was nice and encouraged economising as you personally benefited.

What if one lodger had a girlfriend and one had a boyfriend? Would you kick the girlfriend out too at a certain time?

@2bazookas

But if you are paying a fee to rent a room plus use of the bathroom you should be able to use it as your home, she's not saying no overnight guests, she's saying no men, that's unreasonable as it's discriminatory.

If you aren't comfortable sharing your facilities don't have lodgers or rent on a mon-fri no guests basis (more like an Airbnb)

I think it sounds fine. Not an advert I would answer but that's up to me. I can think of a good friend who would have loved a deal like this - she didn't drink and experienced abuse from her mum's boyfriends in the past, so wouldn't have fancied encountering other people's visitors either. Agreed 'no overnight visitors' is more equitable.

If I were you I'd offer a lowish rent for the area plus bills. That's very common in my area and lets people live very economically if they want to.

Your rules would work for me as a lodger, I don't drink and would want somewhere nice and quiet without someone else's guests there until all hours getting pissed.
I wouldn't like the bills thing though. I'd want to know how much I was paying all in each month. I also wouldn't want to pay for you or the other lodger having the tumble dryer on all the time, when I only used it once a week.
Ultimately you set the rules you're comfortable with, and as long as you're upfront it's for potential lodgers to take it or leave it.

Guess you have to allow for the loss if your single person council tax discount too.