I was looking around for decent resources on lodger topics today just to see if there was anything I could mix in with my own knowledge and I came across a government run website about the rent a room scheme, you can find their website here.

The Rent a Room scheme is basically an optional exemption that allows you to receive a certain amount of income from renting furnished accommodation without paying tax on the gross income. The amount to be exact is upset £4250 a year or £2150 if letting jointly! This is a pretty sweet deal and makes renting a room in your home a little more appealing.

You do not need to be a home owner to take advantage of this scheme but the property needs to be your only or main home.

If you decide that you are ready to take in lodgers then one thing that you absolutely must do is get in contact with your home insurance company and tell them that you intend to take on a lodger. Quite often having a lodger wont actually effect the price you pay for your insurance policy but they may restrict cover such as theft of contents by the lodger may be exluded.

If you fail to tell your insurer that someone else is now living in the property with you and intend on making a claim on the contents or buildings then you may find that the claim is repudiated on the basis that it could have been caused by the new person at the property. Some insurers may increase the excess you have to pay and therefore if you fail to tell them then they may feel like you were trying to cheat the system to save money.

So first things first when taking in a lodger, check your home insurance!

I have promoted the living with lodgers lifestyle to all my friends and I really want to spread the word. There is a distinct lack of information on the internet about the benefits of renting out a spare room to a lodger. If you have a mortgage to pay off or just want to have a little extra money each month after paying your rent then a lodger could be the perfect solution.

Whilst the idea of having a lodger may seem a little scary at first, if you sit down and work out some rules and consider if having another person in your home would really effect you that much then you will probably find that its a great solution for you to make a little money on the side for pretty much nothing. The main problem I see with the little information there is online about taking in lodgers is that people rarely discuss the common rules you should have in place before even considering this.

Through the life of my blog I will tell you what rules you need to outline, any costs you may not have expected (such as insurance changes) and just general guidelines you should try to follow.