Contracts for rent-a-room

ripcord

Hi All,

For the past few years, I've rented out the spare rooms in my house to lodgers under the rent-a-room scheme. Everythings been fine - I haven't registered with the PRTB but I have declared the income on the rent-a-room scheme.

It's always been a fairly casual, verbal agreements with the lodgers. They give the deposit, we agree on rent, share bills, agree to a months notice etc. They've paid cash to me and I've lodged it into the bank (to keep track).

However, due to recent events, I've decided to get a bit more "official". I would like to sign an agreement with the lodgers, and tie them to a 6-month term. Is this possible with the rent-a-room scheme?

Also, I don't think the PRTB or Tenancy Act apply to this situation, so I would probably need a "private contract" that doesn't mention them. Would anyone know somewhere on the web I could get a sample contract?

Thanks for the help.

PS. If anyone has anymore advice on things I could do better, then it would be appreciated! For example, someone told me to get a photocopy of their passport, but this seems a bit extreme!

Victor

The general advice seems to be to avoid an overly formal contract and to merely have the main headings in writing with a set of rules.

You shouldn't / can't really get people to agree a 6-month contract for rent-a-room. If things don't work out, you are stuck with each other.