We keep reading in the press about how more and more tenants are falling into arrears of rent. This is not good:
- Landlords need rent to pay their own expenses. Some landlords depend on it for their main income
- Tenants who run up arrears face eviction and a County Court judgement – this could seriously affect their ability to rent another property and they could end up homeless
However, if there is an unused bedroom at the property there is a simple solution – allow your tenants to take in a lodger
Most tenancy agreements forbid any form of subletting, but properly done, allowing a tenant to take in a lodger is not a problem for landlords.
- It will help the tenant pay their rent meaning that the landlord will not be out of pocket
- It will also help current the housing crisis – many people looking for accommodation would be happy to rent a room in someone’e home
How to do it
You need to give formal permission (assuming your tenancy agreement forbids subletting). You can do this by letter.
Your letter should
- Confirm that their tenancy agreement is varied to allow them to take in a lodger
- Specify how many lodgers they are allowed to take – generally this should be just one. Be vary wary of allowing more than two as this could turn the property into an HMO (which you won’t want)
- Make it a condition of allowing permission that they carry out credit referencing and use a professionally drafted lodger agreement
You could for example suggest that they use my New Lodger Kit which has guidance on referencing and a lodger agreement.
The only thing to watch out for is if the tenants want to end their tenancy agreement early and move out. If they have lodgers, any agreement to this should be conditional upon vacant possession – then you won’t get stuck with them.
For more information on lodgers and the law relating to taking in lodgers, see my Lodger Landlord site.
The UK might be different but I was once renting a place in Mackay, Queensland, Australia. There were two of us on the lease and I decided to take in a third. I didn;t even think to change the agreement, any way when the landlord found out, he wanted to put the rent up by $60. I wasn;t going to have a bar of it, so I stopped renting and bought my own house.
I had always thought if for example I was the sole tennant in a 2 bedroomed property that I could take in a lodger without the landlords permission even if my tenancy agreement forbade sub-letting. You seem to suggest the contrary.
I thought taking in a lodger doesn’t create a tenancy and so permission to sublet is irrelevant. I welcome any clarification on this.
It really depends on the terms of your tenancy agreement. Many tenancy agreements forbid not only subletting but also taking in long term (including paying) guests and the like.
Although arguably subletting could also include taking in lodgers – lodger landlords are often described as letting rooms.