Renting my spare room - Tennency agreement needed?

[owenuk]

Hi,

Im new to the forums, I would like to rent out my spare room in my flat. I have had friends living with be before generally with out any issues. However I did have one friend who could not pay his rent and basically I lost £350 and a friend as I could not afford for him to live at mine for free as I had bills to pay.

I would like to maybe draw up an agreement with the following points

1) No loud noise/music after 11pm Monday-Friday
2) Any damages must be replaced or repaired within 14days
3) Rent must be paid ontime, late paments incure 10% fee
4) 30days notices must be given if moving out
5) Landlord may give 30days notice and ask you to move out
6) Deposit will only be released once all bills have been paid in full
7) Room is for single occupancy
House must be kept clean and tidy

I want to cover myself so if i don't get on with the person I can ask them to leave, I also want to cover my self if they don't pay there rent.

Would I be best having an estate agent deal with a contract and payments it might cost me some of there rent but would help with issues or late payment etc

[MrShed]

Your tenant will be a lodger, not a tenant. As such, they are a licensee and you can effectively draw up any agreement you wish. No need for third parties to deal with this - it is a basic "plain language" contract - literally an agreement between the two of you.

[owenuk]

So,

I could agree the above with the loger.

What happens if they break something and dont pay or move out and have not settled bills?

How can I cover myself then?

What happens if they leave a door open and we are burgled my insurance wont pay out as the door is open so are they liable?

[MrShed]

Take a deposit?

[Conniff]

I think you can find all sorts of agreements, contracts and rent books in WH Smiths for a couple of pounds. It would be a lot more professional.

[MrShed]

But also will be full of meaningless clauses referring to tenancies, and giving the lodger in fact a lot more rights than he should be given.

[owenuk]

My only real worry is that
1) The get into arrears (Deposit will be one months rent)
2) They move out with bills still due (e.g. Gas and water are quartly

So if they get in arrrears of one month then the deposit covers this but if they just move out then im stuck with half the bills

[MrShed]

That is the risk you run when renting I'm afraid....

[heartopp]

Originally Posted by MrShed

That is the risk you run when renting I'm afraid....

After reading this thread - I am not sure you would be the right person to live with.

I have lived in MANY homes, as a lodger, and we dont all do a bunk! In your situation, there really does need to be some trust involved, and it seems that you are lavcking this

[MrShed]

Agreed - and if they do do a bunk (which does happen, albeit not often), then you simply cant cover ever possible eventuality and make it totally risk free!

[The Plough]

Its always the few that spoil it for the rest, but i would never let a person into my home with out consideration for all events.

I am also in the position of thinking to rent a room with the same concerns..

The biggest being ....
How do i remove them from my home if they don't want to go.

The problem is the obvious lack of respect for a persons property that is increasing not only in rental but all around us.

As well as inconsideration for a persons wishes on or within their own property.

[MrShed]

The thing is guys ultimately by renting, you are giving someone a home and granting them certain access to a property(whether this be your own residence or not). This is for the sole purpose of making money. You cant have it both ways and have this as a risk free process, nor can you have your cake and eat it by saying "yes I will give you possession of X but I am going to dictate exactly what you can and cannot do". Yes within reason you can do this with a lodger, but even so - it is wholly unreasonable to rent someone a residence and expect to be able to evict with no or very little notice. With that in mind, lodgers are relatively easy to evict, and require only "reasonable notice" - usually one rental periods notice.

[The Plough]

Thanks Mr Shed I don't think it was meant as a "have your cake and eat it scenario" with an Eviction at the drop of a hat, more like if the person who you interviewed turned out to be a wolf in sheep's clothing and an undesirable.

After all the Police are hopeless with attendance and finding myself in a house where 3 or 4 lads drunk as skunks have just barged through my front door, would be a situation i would not have much control over, although these may be rare occasions they can still happen, so it is just being aware of your rights prior to any occasion.

[owenuk]

Im not unreasonable I wont make somone homeless but if after a few months i find we don't get on I dont want to be in a situation where I cants ask them to leave with fair notice. I also want to take people advice as to the best precautions to take in the first place. e.g. the deposit

[The Plough]

Originally Posted by owenuk

but if after a few months i find we don't get on I dont want to be in a situation where I cants ask them to leave with fair notice.

And theres that too

[heartopp]

Originally Posted by MrShed

Agreed - and if they do do a bunk (which does happen, albeit not often), then you simply cant cover ever possible eventuality and make it totally risk free!

Ok - Im my experiance in renting from someone and living in "there" home. I have only had one tennance "agreement" in a written format. The others have been all verble.

You have to be careful in what you are offering.

Do they have the full use of the house (can they watch TV in the sitting room) or can they only have room, kitchen and bathroom.

You also have a months rent as a deposit, so IF they did a bunk, then you would have that to pay for any bills. Also, if the do give you 30 days notice, then it will give you time to get the bills in, and advise what is needed to pay - then you can give the depost at the end.

[MrShed]

Originally Posted by The Plough

Thanks Mr Shed I don't think it was meant as a "have your cake and eat it scenario" with an Eviction at the drop of a hat, more like if the person who you interviewed turned out to be a wolf in sheep's clothing and an undesirable.

Absolutely - sorry, I was not neccessarily meaning any particular person just generally stating what a lot of lodger landlords seem to think.

It is a difficult one, as it basically involves a trade off between someone having enough control of their property(in particular control when ASB and arrears crop up), and giving enough security for a tenant/lodger to actually consider having the property as their residence. IMO, the one month or one week notice(depending on rental period) is usually more than sufficient to cover these bases. It should be noted that in the case of severe ASB, or violent/agressive behaviour, there would almost certainly be NO kind of legal comeback should the lodger be evicted with immediate effect.

Tenancies - whole different ball game, and I firmly believe that the eviction process for tenants needs revamping to allow landlords to evict tenants causing serious problems(provable of course) MUCH quicker than the current statutes allow. However, that is getting off topic somewhat

The top and bottom of it is that if you rent, as a resident landlord or non resident, you always incur an element of risk - this cannot be wholly removed, and needs to be borne in mind when renting.