pros and cons of an elderly person taking in a lodger under Rent a Room Scheme

presidenttttt said:
what's the point in going all your life to arrive in a 1m quid house
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Whats the point in living in a high value property & not have money to meet the bills?

Funny how 18 months ago everyone was falling over themselves to pledge accomodation in their homes for war refugees from Ukraine. Didn't see anyone worried about snorers or untidy people!

In any event, intelligent people can work out what suits them and act accordingly.
 
I'm not in my 70s (not as far off it as I'd like) but I've been renting a couple of rooms for a few years now. We set the expectations (as to cleanliness and noise amongst others) when they're viewing rooms initially and we've never had somebody we'd need to give "reasonable notice" to.
My missus was dead set against it when we started but after a while she wanted to rent to a third person. We didn't as that would put us above the tax free amount. I've convinced a couple of friends to do it too. They had the usual arguments against but a couple have tried it out and are happy with it.
If it goes well it's a huge boost to the household income.
I'm sure there are nightmare scenarios but many people (both the licencees and the home owner) have common sense.
If you don't have that, then don't rent out a room.
 
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DannyBoyD said:
Rent-a-room will bring in another 14k.
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Am I right in thinking that he has 25k a year in pension and 1.14M in assets. I think it would be daft to take in a lodger. The only reason you take in a lodger is if you need the money. It can be fine but the house is never your own. You have to share the fridge. You need to keep valuables locked away. You can't get to the bathroom when you need to. You are constantly cleaning up other people's mess. You are basically working 24 hrs a day.

Rent-a-room would not bring in another 14k. That would mean that the lodger was paying €1,166 a month. I know of nobody that would have a lodger paying that amount. This person would need to check what is being charged in the area. If they can rent out a few rooms it would be a lot better as they would make more money and having one and having three is much the same. What they can charge will be entirely dependent on what others are charging in the area. They may be happy to go ahead with it but they need to consider that the house is not their own when there is someone else there. I had some great lodgers but I also had ones that caused me no end of stress.

I wouldn't recommend doing what that lady above was doing, starting with a 2 week freebie. I would charge from the beginning. If they don't work out and he is having issues he can tell them to leave. However, this can be difficult to do and is very stressful. It is no harm to have someone else there when he is interviewing the prospective lodgers and it is a way to weed out the problematic ones. I would make them sign an agreement. I certainly wouldn't allow parties or overnight visitors. In an exceptional circumstance they could have someone stay but notice should be given. It should be specified at the beginning what is not acceptable, e.g. no drugs, smoking, alcohol. If it is made clear from the beginning it reduces issues. Keep in mind that the kitchen would be shared. You'd need to make sure that rent was paid. The bathroom would be shared. He would need to clean the house constantly. Does he really want all the stress that goes with that? There is nothing passive about it. It is a job.
 
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clueless said:
You need to keep valuables locked away. You can't get to the bathroom when you need to. You are constantly cleaning up other people's mess. You are basically working 24 hrs a day.
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I actually burst out laughing when I read this!

Clearly you've never lived in a house / flat share; or heard of en-suite bathrooms.
 
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DannyBoyD said:
I actually burst out laughing when I read this!

Clearly you've never lived in a house / flat share; or heard of en-suite bathrooms.
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I shared a tiny bit of my experience as you asked for the pros and cons. There is only one pro; the money. Obviously I couldn't condense over 20 years of my experience into a message so I gave some examples of the things that have to be considered. You may think it is acceptable to ridicule what I have said. However, this will not help this man one bit. When you share, which I have for years, you need to be cognisant of the fact that you do not know these people. They are not your friends. They are your lodgers. I have never had any issues with personal items going missing. However, I have had other issues which could have turned out extremely badly. I thank God every day that things were alright in the end. Some of my flatmates remained friends and others I was delighted to see the back of.

With regards to the sneer about the en-suite. I have never lived in a house with an en-suite. I have always shared a bathroom. He may have en-suites in his house. If he does he can ignore that point. It was just an example of the kinds of things that can be an issue. Keeping their rooms clean can be another issue. Some people are incredibly clean. Others are not. Sharing a kitchen, a sitting room, etc. can also be a issue. Noise can also be an issue. Every one of these things can depend of the size of the house, the layout, when people are in and out of the house, etc. The point I was making is that for someone who has never let rooms it can be a huge inconvenience to have strangers in his house, even when they are perfectly nice people. The house is not your own when you share and if he is used to his own space it may not be the best option for him particularly if he is set in his ways.

Ideally he should look at what he is spending and see if there is money being wasted before he takes on what can ultimately be a job.
 
No body mentioned the elephant in the room.... despite what you are promised, all saintly and smiles , loves Fr O'Connell and Coronation St....and then later , smoking, vaping, alcohol ,drugs, skidmarks, birds and hearing the headboard move to a rhythm at 2 in the morning...
 
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I have a good and bad experience with renting a room, thankfully only 1 bad person out of 3 and he was turfed out after a couple of days after breaking the house rules.

You need to have very specific house rules laid out in terms of the following, smoking, cleaning, noise. Once everybody knows what is expected of them, and both parties have a clear discussion agreeing to the terms only then should you agree to rent out a room to them. But of course rules do get broken so you need to be firm and ask them to leave if what they are doing does not fit in with your home, eg smoking.

For an older person I think a younger student can provide a lot of company, and both can learn from each other, kinda like having a bonus grandparent if you get lucky!

I know for us the money is too good to say no too, means we can have holidays, there would be none without it and all work and no play is no way to live.
 
How can you go on holiday with lodgers roaming around, that's another drawback, flexibility to do as one pleases. After 40yrs work and rearing kids, doing as one pleases in retirement is priceless!
 
clinteastwood said:
How can you go on holiday with lodgers roaming around
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Very easy.
Check in for your flight.
Go on holidays.
Come home with a cheesy fridge magnet!

We do have a eufy door bell so we can see who comes and goes from the house. Again it boils down to trust and getting the right person in.

We have left the house for hols approx 4 times with 2 different lodgers and no issues, we said more than happy for you to have a friend over for beers but god help you if you break anything and make sure the kitchen floor is spotless.
 
Couple of things.

Older people want to live in their own home for as long as possible. Family often concerned if older person is on their own. Rent-a-Room allows for tax free income with the benefit of company for older person - loneliness is a big issue.. Clearly one has to be careful in selection of people but from the renters point of view it can be substantially cheaper than alternatives.

If you use a licence arrangement you need to be careful that the drafting of it does not actually create a tenancy- its not enough just to call it a licence.

Biggest single plusses are that older people will live longer in their own house and maintain independence and are also helping the housing crisis.
 
Sarah Ryan said:
Very easy.
Check in for your flight.
Go on holidays.
Come home with a cheesy fridge magnet!
clinteastwood said:
How can you go on holiday with lodgers roaming around, that's another drawback, flexibility to do as one pleases
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I have had lodgers since 2018, and I am much happier leaving my house occupied than empty. I like to travel. They can give me a lift to the airport, collect me at 4am, and deal with any problems arising in the house while I'm away.
For me it's a win-win situation. I didn't start renting rooms for the money, and was quite content living alone, but lodgers do bring more life into the house.
 
clinteastwood said:
How can you go on holiday with lodgers roaming around, that's another drawback, flexibility to do as one pleases. After 40yrs work and rearing kids, doing as one pleases in retirement is priceless!
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Yeah but they are not kids, they are adults paying to live in your house.
They are the kids we wish we had lol!
 
WizardDr said:
you use a licence arrangement you need to be careful that the drafting of it does not actually create a tenancy- its not enough just to call it a licence.
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Less paperwork the better.

In any event, as has already been said; anyone sharing your PPR has the legal status of a guest and can be asked to leave at any time.
 
clueless said:
Some people are incredibly clean. Others are not. Sharing a kitchen, a sitting room, etc. can also be a issue. Noise can also be an issue. Every one of these things can depend of the size of the house, the layout, when people are in and out of the house, etc
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All fair points; and my apologies - hadn't intended to cause offence.

But again, if your sharers cause you problems, say goodbye. You're under no obligation to them.
 
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