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.

There is nothing ''controlling'' about the rules the OP suggests...

I also would don't want people to have their partners stay overnight or use drug and alcohol in my house.

The room would be rented to one person, not to one person and guests...

OP you could maybe target a specific market: someone who works away from home and need a room during the week only or a foreign exchange student who need somewhere for a few months only?

I think you are actually better off making it clear of what your rules are from the start so you can find like-minded people.

Don't listen to the negative comments on here, I've had a lodger for years and all except the weirdy guy who hid in his room and took the radiator apart have been amazing.

You can absolutely be clear about what works for you. Take your time and follow your gut to find the right person. At the end of the day it's your home and it's best for both of you to find someone who will be a good fit.

I only have one now and she's lovely, it's like having a little sister or cousin. She's been here 2.5 years so far and we're very compatible. We have our own busy social lives but chatter about our day if we both get home of an evening and share the odd cuppa. Now the other lodger has gone it makes me smile to hear her singing to herself around the house.

I've been encouraging her to save a deposit for her own house, something she never imagined she could do, and she thinks it would be sometime in 2024.

She didn't want to be in a house share and she doesn't drink, which suits me as I'm quite health oriented. At Christmas she goes to stay with family for a few weeks each year.

I need to get my eyes tested. I read this as AIBU to get badgers?

Yes, you would be. Don't get badgers. They don't clean up after themselves.

OP. When I was 40 as a single woman I bought a 4 bed house specifically to have three lodgers. I paid my mortgage off after just 7 years.

I've now had lodgers for 25 years and after much trial and error, I now know exactly how to do it. For the past 5 years I've had what I call a "dream team" of lodgers even though there has been changes of personnel.

First of all, whenever I advertise a room about 90% of applicants are male. (Men more than women tend to be the ones who move out when a marriage breaks up, and need to find lodgings. Men more than women will take a job miles away from their home town and need lodgings.) If I asked for women only, then my rooms would lay empty for weeks or months. Instead they are always occupied. It always works out that a new one moves in the same day the old one vacates. What I do is, advertise with no preference and if any woman replies I give her first refusal/consideration. Only if she is unsuitable will I consider a man. Currently I have two women and one very tidy, clean and respectful older man. I actually enjoy having a man in the house as they are more likely than a woman to be able to help with something I can't do like a spot of DIY or to carry something or to pick up and dispose of dead mice the cat brings in.

I have worked out an A4 sheet of house rules which potential lodgers must read, agree to and sign before I will consider their application.

I have a rule of no illegal drugs and no drunkenness. I do NOT say "no drinking". There is a big difference between drinking and getting drunk.

My lodgers can have evening or overnight guests in their rooms provided they obey the house rules. My only rule about it is that this has to be a friend that is known to my lodger. I do not allow them to bring random strangers back to stay overnight and this is because of security of possessions and privacy and safety of other female lodgers.

Currently two lodgers are single whilst the third brings her long term boyfriend stay over once or twice every week. She stays at his the same amount so the cost of showers etc works out the same. She also has members of her family stay in her room from time to time. I have never had the slightest problem with any lodgers' guests.

The most important thing is to interview them in person and explain what kind of a household you are (or want to be) and make sure their lifestyle is in alignment with that. Encourage them to tell the truth about how they live, so you can check for compatibility. I verbally emphasise that we are a happy and safe household of people who are very tidy and clean. I always ask for references but in reality I then go by my gut instinct about them. Always take a deposit the equivalent of a month's rent and hold that until the day they leave, hand in their keys and show you that their room is clean and ready for the next person to move in.

If you have any questions you can always DM me.

@caringcarer

You wrote "3 people sharing one bathroom won't work."

I've had 3 lodgers for the past 25 years and I can assure you that you are wrong. Four of us shared one bathroom plus one cloakroom for the first 11 years, plus my boyfriend used to sleep over once or twice a week and sometimes my lodgers had overnight guests.

It worked because we didn't all use the bathroom at the same time of day. Not everyone works 9-5 Monday to Friday. The early risers would use the bathroom say 5am to 7am, the laters would go in after, and as I worked from home I waited till everyone had gone.

After 11 years I had an ensuite shower installed in my bedroom, since when 3 lodgers have shared one bathroom. I note they very rarely use the cloakroom-toilet.

OP you need to have a fixed rent. The vast majority of lodgers are in house shares because they are too poor to rent a whole flat of their own or to get a mortgage. They are usually on a low wage and need to know exactly what their outgoings are going to be every week.

I charge different rates according to the size of their bedrooms.

The real stickler for me would be the no-WFH rule. One of my colleagues is a lodger and we only work in the office one day a week so she'd be screwed the other 4 days.

You don't need to serve any legal notice.

Legally, a lodger is nothing more than a paying house guest. The moment you ask them to leave your property, they HAVE to.

Of course we are all reasonable people and if their lifestyle does not suit yours then it's only fair to give them up to a month to find somewhere else. If it ever came to it that they just refuse to go, you are withing your rights to give them written notice that on XX date you will take possession of the room, and pack and remove their belongings, and change the locks, and retain their deposit to pay for new locks.

Say the rent is £500 a month. You Take a £500 deposit AND a month's rent upfront.

If one day they cannot pay, you still hold their £500 deposit. You give them 2 weeks notice to leave by X date. If they leave they get £25 of their deposit. That's an incentive to co operate.

The bottom line is, you can call the police to get them out. I've had over 100 lodgers and have only had to call the police once. The police ordered him to pack his case and waited whilst he did, took his keys off him and escorted him off the premises.

One of my lodgers works from home. I have imposed a work from home surcharge to cover the extra heat and electricity. She was perfectly happy to pay it, as her boss gives her an allowance to work from home, anyway.

If they leave they get £25 of their deposit.

I meant £250

@Tabitha1960 I think that's absolutely fair enough.

Thank you @Tabitha1960 for your responses.
I couldn't have male lodgers or overnight guests. I appreciate they are more abundant, but it's not something I would be comfortable with. The WFH surcharge isn't something I had thought of. Thanks again,. Plenty of food for thought.

Noway would I rent off you. As an adult I expect to be able to have friends home and Drink alcohol.

You are weird if you think anyone will agree to those

Could you put a basin in their rooms to ease bathroom congestion?
I wouldn’t object to the no alcohol in communal areas and no overnight visitors but, as others have said. I think as a landlord I’d prefer Mon-Fri lodgers so I could have some time at home alone.

agree with above.
OP don't be put off by those who would not; they are not your target market.
agree better for rent to be inclusive of bills.
good luck.

OP is not weird.
many women would be glad of that environment.
not everyone drinks alcohol.
not everyone would have a person stay overnight; i wouldn't, unless i was married, which would take at least 3 weeks notice to registrar and need a bigger place.

It is a bit weird to expect a person to live by a strict set of rules at all times. The way she’s wording it makes it sound like she’s here’s no room for exceptions whatsoever, and she’s going to be breathing down their neck for the entire tenancy. What happens if the normally teetotal tenant has a glass of sherry on Xmas day, or has their boyfriend stay over as a one off in an emergency? Are they getting evicted?

it's interesting to me how some posters cannot conceive ! of others' lives being different from their own.
what if she said it was a kosher or halal compliant house only.
would you be saying that's weird; no one can be expected to forgo a pork sausage at xmas ?
it appeals to people who live like that already.
that's the point, and perfectly reasonable, and indeed sensible for OP to keep the ambience she values.

That sounds reasonable. You are wise to be thinking of the pitfalls, of which there can be a few.

I second this option..

It's a good idea to include bills, and the poster who suggested the work from home surcharge sounds good.

It sounds quite appealing to me, but as a rare social drinker, I would never have a glass of wine on my own in my room, so would be put off by not being able to have a glass of wine in communal areas on the odd occasion. Wording the limitation by saying no party house will weed out those who want to host all night raves.

If you have space for another bathroom/cloakroom, I'd install one to make things more comfortable for the 3 of you as strangers living together.

''@maddy68 · Yesterday 22:42
Noway would I rent off you. As an adult I expect to be able to have friends home and Drink alcohol. You are weird if you think anyone will agree to those''

Somehow, I don't think the OP will be too disappointed not to have you as a potential lodger...

All the lodgers I have known are professionals. There are lots of reasons people don't want to commit to a long term rental.

I would recommend searching for 'lodger' on the House Buying, renting and selling forum on MSE. A poster allowed someone to move in and then found out they had a criminal record and gave them notice - unfortunately it cost them a lot of money.

Have a look on spareroom and see what other landlords are offering and what prices etc are there.

Your house sounds just like what I was looking for when I was a lodger so will appeal to some. I don't want to fall over random men in the house, and not fussed about the alcohol etc clause.

I would be worried about the bill payments not being included as lodging means you have a much more limited budget and couldn't afford too much extra. I moved out of one place after the other lodger left her electric heater on all day and night and expected me to pay half the costs!

You might want to consider Mon-Fri lodgers as that gives you some space.