Taking a lodger - UK Rules

Okay so a few people have emailed me saying that it’s all well and good earning money by renting a spare room a lodger but what about rules and regulations which govern the whole lodging idea. Now this is a very fair point, I should have be as quick to point out the rules as I was to point out the potential monetary gains! As we have already discussed, if you earn more than £4250 a year from your lodger then you will need to pay tax on this as you would any other earning, bummer right?

Contrary to what many think, you do not actually need to be a home owner to legally take in lodgers. However you may find that if you are renting yourself you lease agreement does not allow you to take people in so make sure you check this before making any decisions. Also quite obviously (but some people thought otherwise) there is no restriction on what sex your lodger is, just because your a male doesn’t mean you can’t share with females and vice versa.

When it comes to meals, laundry and such like you are under no obligation to provide these to anyone you are sharing your home with, it is their own responsibility to take care of this unless you both agree otherwise. So really when it comes down to it, the rules are simply common sense.. it’s not like leasing a property to someone where they have certain rights and such like.