Renting a room

I have rented a room for years now. I live in a university town so it is easy as I rent mainly to students: mature post'graduates. I always say I ask for references but never take them up as I go by whether I like people or not.I don't have a contract but simply ask for 4 weeks notice. I have been very lucky this way.

Ex-tenants still call me or email me for a chat. I love having people here. We don't always see each other every day but it is good knowing they are there. The only rules I have are to wash up in. I am not fussy about when I eat so if someone is cooking when I go in the kitchen I just wait till they have finished.
I don't clean their rooms and don't go in the room when they are not there. If it is not cleaned from one year's end to another ...as is often the case...I simply spring clean it when they leave and decorate. It is only dust.
As for having people to sleep: the room is rather too small but once I know them I trust that their girl/boy friend will be decent and am always right. I would infinitely rather have male than female students. Girls sre more unreliable and untidy, believe me.
As say, I thoroughly enjoy letting a room but have only had students on the whole.

Under the Rent-a-Room scheme homeowners can make up to £4,250 in rent receipts without paying tax, but this figure will increase to £7,500 from April next year.
Although I am one of the landlords that could benefit from this increase, which has been unrealistically low for many years, I am also deeply concerned that many landlords will immediately hike room rents and price people out of housing. It takes the amount that can be charged for lodgings from £82 to £144 a week.

I know people who use airbnb all the time with success. One thing to watch out for is to pay airbnb rather than the person letting the room as their have been scams.

I can't advise about how to choose a tenant but I can tell you of someone who has successfully rented a room in a house for nearly 2 years. They have become the best of friends. I think it worked because they both just felt it was right when they met. Perhaps, like buying a house, when it comes down to it you just know.

I don't have the up to date figure but it must be around £5000 a year you can take for renting a room without having to declare it for tax.

Thank you, that's helpful too, I will try it and see....

The other place you could try Heavens is Airbnb:

www.airbnb.co.uk/s/Tameside-District--United-Kingdom

Hope you find somewhere that suits.

Thank you Grannyknot for such a quick and helpful reply. I am exploring Flatshare. I expect I am not alone with this need to be in another town for part of the year but without being paid! A friend has done this regularly and can use a spare room with her daughter so sometimes there is an easy solution.

Hi heavens and welcome to GN

're finding a room, it may be worthwhile looking on Spare Room, their "advanced search" lets you specify duration of stay, etc.:

www.spareroom.co.uk/flatshare/search.pl?searchtype=advanced

Good luck anyway!

Hello I am new to Gransnet. I wonder if anyone can suggest ways to find an occasional room to rent. I live in the midlands but would like to help my daughter who lives in Tameside with child care for school holidays. I shall be staying at the local Travelodge over half term but it's hard to contemplate this for longer periods. In an ideal world I could house swap but guess matching up with a south bound gran might prove a problem!

I am asking, [partly for myself, and partly for the op to think about, what do people do about having others stay over in the room from time to time?

Many thanks Purpledaffodil very helpful all has now been revealed

it was a brilliant way, btw, to stop the empty nest syndrome- as the nest was never empty ;)

We've always rented a room and more. By accident the first time- as we lived near the Campus of a large University, and this mature student (late 20s) couldn't get into halls and started knocking on doors. He stayed for supper, then for 2 years. It paid for DD1's UNI lodgings, which was brilliant. After that, it never stopped- always by word of mouth, and then we had an arrangement with the Uni about their Post Docs from abroad. It paid for all sorts, was great fun (bar 1 woman who turned to be a nightmare) and very enriching- we've visited many countries visiting them in their home, getting to see and experience things tourists never do.

I'd really recommend it if you think you could cope with someone in your kitchen and sometimes not doing things exactly as you would, and at times choosing to watch a programme different to the one you'd like. Not sure about current regs, but at the time it was tax free too.

Much quicker just to say --- DH dear husband ---DM dear mother etc etc

Just checked on my phone and cannot find acronyms on the mobile site. If you click on Go to desktop site which is under Gransnet banner at the top, you will find a much clearer way of using the site, in my opinion. Acronyms is at the top of the page after Active etc. Hope this helps.

I don't have an acronyms bit on my phone so please enlighten us. I thought I had it all sussed. Obviously not ! :/

If you click on Acronyms on the top of the page after Active etc, all will be revealed. Welcome! Sally345.

Sorry to go off thread but can someone tell me what DH and DF ect stand for? Thanks

Luckygirl - I've read that book. It's brilliant. (Sorry, off thread!)

Forgot to say she contacted the local police station.

Mum rented out a room to a young policeman after she was widowed. It seem to work really well and she still exchanges Xmas cards after 25 years. She is 97 now.

Might be difficult to make this work in a "smallish" house. There would certainly need to be ground rules; and the Mon-Fri idea is a good one.

Interestingly I am just reading "The Paying Guests" by Sarah Waters. Set in the 1920s a widowed mother and daughter (in her 20s) let out a floor of their large house, and the subtleties of sharing a home are brilliantly illustrated.

welcome nansie. Depending upon where you live, you may be able to find someone who only wants to stay Monday to Friday, leaving your home free for your own use at weekends. Some people choose not to uproot their family if they move with their jobs. My late DF was moved to a different office with the company he worked for, and they decided not to move as they had friends and family where they lived, and also DM had a full time job that she was not willing to change. So DF rented a room from a younger work colleague at the new branch, it helped them with their mortgage as they were just starting out. It may be worth a call to personnel department if you have multinational company nearby.

Hi nansie - my best advice would be to make sure you have a properly drawn up License and don't be afraid to ask questions. I do credit checks, ask about finances, personal circumstances, jobs and hobbies. I have never had a bad experience in spite of having people of all ages, cultures and backgrounds lodging in our home for the past thirty plus years.
Many of my friends have tried taking in lodgers and it hasn't worked for a variety of reasons, but mostly I would say it's because they haven't been clear about the 'rules' from the beginning. It does take a fair degree of commitment and compromise, but can be a very enriching experience and with the new tax allowance it can be financially rewarding too.

dj I knew you'd find a link. Well done!

www.theguardian.com/money/2015/jul/13/rent-out-your-spare-room