Decided to Rent out one of our bedrooms - House Share

makeorbrake

Lyla Mae wrote: »

Find the house as you see it now, nice, clean and tidy. Will expect you the tenant to clean up after yourself etc after each meal and keep your room tidy.

It's good that you are going to put this across to them from the get go - so they go in with their eyes open. However, your mileage will vary and you will never know to what extent from one lodger to another until they're already there. People differ and people have different standards. Most important of all - no one treats a property in the same way as its actual owner. You're going to have to accept this - or otherwise, you're going to be disappointed/frustrated.

Lyla Mae wrote: »

There is no problem having friends call over but please keep it to 11 pm during the week and no house parties.

Sounds perfectly reasonable to me - but make sure you apply the same standard to yourself at all times - or else it's going to cause resentment.

Lyla Mae wrote: »

Please do not give key and alarm code to anybody. Spare key available (from next door) should you need it.

Seems reasonable to me.

Lyla Mae wrote:

That is all the rules I have, I simple wanted to know what experiencing people have had with renting a room and what rules they might have had.

Make sure you are straight up about everything from the very outset - so that they accept the room based on what you have agreed.
Dealing with conflict is more or less a certainty on some level and it's all the harder to deal with given that you have to live under the same roof.

Lyla Mae wrote:

Yes maybe should mention a little kitty for cleaning items, kitchen, toilet rolls.

Keep the receipts and combine it with the utility bill payments. It's easier for everyone that way.

Lyla Mae wrote:

This tentant will have sole use of a sitting room and bathroom.

Be very clear in what you promise as otherwise, it will only come back to haunt you. See indigo twist's point. They will have "practically sole use of sitting room and bathroom". Might seem like semantics but it matters.

Lyla Mae wrote:

No where did I say about walking in to other rooms, I said other bedrooms there is a difference.

He has a legitimate point. Many people would be offended at that being brought up. Everyone knows that you respect peoples privacy. That's not to say someone won't do it (stay at the rent a room gig long enough and I assure you they will! - regardless of you bringing this up). When they do, act on it - and that can be anything from clearing them out of the place to letting them know exactly your feelings on the subject - dependent upon just how devious their motivation was in going into your room in the first place.

Lyla Mae wrote:

I am walking away from this thread as all I wanted was some help guidelines on how to appoach renting a room and I feel my words are getting twisted and made to be some sort of monster to live WITH.

You shouldn't walk away as you're getting some excellent advice here - from both sides of the fence.
To sanity test if you really know what you are letting yourself in for, you should read and re-read Irishcrx's post above. It's right on the money.


one of the biggest problems with the rent a room gig is that people resent the owner occupier as they don't feel that the house share is equitable. I understand their point of view. However, where I don't agree with them is that by default, the owner occupier has to take control of how the house share runs and its the owner occupier that sets that out from the get go in any case (thats why I think its important you lay it all out before they agree to take the room - so everybody understands each other). The owner occupier is responsible for the actual payment of all bills - and dealing with shared bills. They're responsible for repairs and all other items relevant to the property.

witchgirl26 wrote:

Fair enough on the food etc in the room but in terms of it being kept clean & tidy - they are paying for the use of the bedroom & therefore it is theirs for that time frame. You can't dictate how the room is kept unless it's affecting the rest of the house (smells etc). I'm a naturally messy person & oftentimes my bedroom would have some clothes/make-up etc lying around. Yes I'd close the door & I'd never have it impact someone else but I'd feel like I'd never left home if someone was checking was it tidy.
I've never had a landlord check how tidy my room was. They've checked they common areas are kept but not bedrooms.

She's quite right. You can't impose your standards on someone elses space. If they keep the door closed then its neither any of your business or any of your concern. In a worst case scenario, if any 'mess' is confined to a bedroom, maybe it needs repainting and re-carpetting when they're done with it - and if its that bad, it can come out of their deposit.

Anyway, that's my 2 cents....from a 6 year veteran of the rent a room scheme. It served its purpose and was an interesting experience with plenty of upsides and downsides. Have fun.

foggy_lad

whupdedo wrote: »

Can you define the difference between a licensee and a tenant please

A tenant and tenancy are covered by the residential tenancies act but a licensee is staying in your house under licence from you which can be revoked at any time without reason and with only minimal(12/24hours) notice. A licensee is basically a guest in your house and you can put them and their belongings out the door when you want or need to.

BookBook

foggy_lad wrote: »

A tenant and tenancy are covered by the residential tenancies act but a licensee is staying in your house under licence from you which can be revoked at any time without reason and with only minimal(12/24hours) notice. A licensee is basically a guest in your house and you can put them and their belongings out the door when you want or need to.

I noticed the citizen information page mentions 'reasonable notice' I would only consider 12/24 hours reasonable notice if the person you were renting out your room showed some extreme behavior.

foggy_lad

BookBook wrote: »

I noticed the citizen information page mentions 'reasonable notice' I would only consider 12/24 hours reasonable notice if the person you were renting out your room showed some extreme behavior.

Reasonable could be the amount of time needed to pack and move their stuff out. at the end of the day it is up to the householder to decide what is reasonable.

Michellenman

Op are you going to be abiding by the same rules as your prospective new housemate regarding not going in to bedrooms etc? If so what difference does it make to you whether their room is tidy or not ?

CatFromHue

There's a lot of good advice here OP and it's something you shouldn't discard.

I personally would not like to be told to keep my room tidy and wouldn't move in to a place of that was asked of me. It makes me feel like a non paying guest rather than a paying housemate.

Alot of your rules make sense but how you tell the person is important. I do remember going to look at a place that was owner occupied and the place was nice and I got on well with the owner. When she started listing the rules though I felt it was too authoritarian and it came across as she was very much in charge, it was her house, and I was way down the pecking order. The thing is though I would have been exactly what she was looking for as I only stayed there maybe 10 times on the weekend that year as I went home, even some of them I went home on the Saturday. So she would have had the house to herself from 7.30am on Friday morning through to 11pm on Sunday night.

Another thing to keep in mind about the rules is will they apply to yourself too. Couples have sex so you'll have to keep the noise down if you say you don't want noise after 11, or finish up early

With respect to saying the person will have pretty much the use of a bathroom or sitting room to themselves I wouldn't mention it at all. It's too vague and different people will take it up differently. When the person moves in they'll figure things out and you can just say "we don't use that room much" which'll still mean you can when you want. If they move in thinking they've pretty much the room to themselves that quickly becomes the expectation.

Don't mention anything about hierarchy of who gets to cook when, it's a first come first served basis (though I can't remember if you actually said this, it could have been someone else).

Have you thought about parking or bike storage?

Also have you thought about do you actually need to do this? Houseshares are tricky and all come down to the dynamic of the group. Even when everyone gets on great though most people still long for their own place when they get above a certain age.

the_syco

Michellenman wrote: »

Op are you going to be abiding by the same rules as your prospective new housemate regarding not going in to bedrooms etc? If so what difference does it make to you whether their room is tidy or not ?

Although most people would ensure that food, etc, is binned, a lot don't. Food on plates or open containers left over a few days (if the licensee is only there during the week) can attract insects, etc. Also, those who keep their room tidy tend to not leave stuff lying around the house.

irishguy1983

Eldarion wrote: »

I pity the poor person entering into this arrangement. Just don't be surprised and don't be a pain about their deposit if they want out after a week or two.

Yeah I kind of agree!

I think the OP is genuine person but doesn't really understand sharing and how it works.

Mrs OBumble

irishguy1983 wrote: »

I think the OP is genuine person but doesn't really understand sharing and how it works.

+1

I hope the OP advertises for a lodger, not a housemate, cos that's what they're looking for.

anncoates

I never shared with an owner after a few bad experiences and with all respect this is why. People are often forced to rent out rooms for various reasons usually financial and essentially deep down they don't want the tenant there.

campingcarist

On a personal note, I prefer living with a live-in landlord than as a tenant in a shared house. The ease of getting out of the deal, the fact that the landlord is there and likely to keep his house in good order. Also, an owner-occupier is allowed to enter the licensee's bedroom as and when he wants but common courtesy says that this is done when the licensee is there and aware that the house owner is coming in.

I would have no problem acepting any of the OP's rules. Perhaps the OP should look for a mature lodger/licensee and not someone who wants to party 3 times a week etc.

makeorbrake

anncoates wrote: »

I never shared with an owner after a few bad experiences and with all respect this is why. People are often forced to rent out rooms for various reasons usually financial and essentially deep down they don't want the tenant there.

If you are saying that the motivation is 90% financial, of course it is. Been done to death on boards but it's very much a two way street. I'm sure many that have shared a house with an owner occupier will have the opportunity at a later stage to be an owner occupier and rent out rooms - and finally offer that totally equitable house share

tinz18

anncoates wrote: »

I never shared with an owner after a few bad experiences and with all respect this is why. People are often forced to rent out rooms for various reasons usually financial and essentially deep down they don't want the tenant there.

Then there are the rare cases such as my owner-occupier- she needed the extra income but she missed living with people and felt with a big house it needed people. It was her house but she made the other housemate and myself feel like it was ours too and we're still very close even after I had to relocate to another city.

OP I would second whoever said about adhering to the rules you lay out- its a major part of conflict when one party enforces rules and then go and do the opposite themselves- it was the major reason I moved out of my last place. The do as I say not as I do doesn't go down well with adults especially if they are paying for the experience. If you aren't intending to adhere to the rules yourself go down the lodger route- they probably won't be around enough to notice.

anncoates

tinz18 wrote: »

OP I would second whoever said about adhering to the rules you lay out- its a major part of conflict when one party enforces rules and then go and do the opposite themselves- it was the major reason I moved out of my last place. The do as I say not as I do doesn't go down well with adults especially if they are paying for the experience. If you aren't intending to adhere to the rules yourself go down the lodger route- they probably won't be around enough to notice.

This is where it often falls down.

Back in my house sharing days I went to look at a room in a owner-occupied house and was told no girlfriends staying over and a few minutes later informed that the owner's boyfriend stayed over some weekends.

I didn't take the room.

That said, I'm sure if you get the right owner - like in your experience - it's fine, but I think that's probably rare.

Tar.Aldarion

I am interested. Just wondering how often my bedroom inspections will be to make sure it is tidy?

Mrs OBumble

makeorbrake wrote: »

I'm sure many that have shared a house with an owner occupier will have the opportunity at a later stage to be an owner occupier and rent out rooms - and finally offer that totally equitable house share

Been there, done that and got the tee shirt.

I got the biggest room - 'cos I was paying the most rent.

And I had to stay home to let the plumber, electrician etc in - 'cos I had to pay their bills.

Other than that, I had two flatmates for two years, the last one only moved out when she got a job in another city, and is still a close friend.

Naked Lepper

Lyla Mae wrote: »

No late night parties. Quiet time during week from 11pm allowed stay up late the weekend though lol


Any feedback or people in similiar positions?

id suggest you rephrase that sentence if you realistically want anyone to move in. sounds like a boarding school set up to me.

makeorbrake

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Other than that, I had two flatmates for two years, the last one only moved out when she got a job in another city, and is still a close friend.

Yes. That would be part of the upside :-)

Afroshack

Lyla Mae wrote: »

In regards what desperate housewife said & your response - if the housemate isn't allowed into the other bedrooms than I'm presuming that you wouldn't be allowed into theirs. Therefore if they're away or need something from their room, they might want the security of someone they know having access. You could lay it down that only after a short while (when you can assess if the share is working) that the key be given out. Alarm code I think is fair enough. I had a key to my other halves houseshare but it was said to the others prior to it & I was only there when he'd be coming in.

We are the owners of the house therefore we will be telling the tentant that his / her room must be kept clean and tidy, for example we do not want dirty dishes / food etc been left in the room for days as has been the case when I rented out my own house / rooms and a friend done the same.
As a landlord does I think we should be allowed to have a quick look in the room every now and again with the tenant present to ensure all is ok in the room. I would never dream of entering the tenants room without prior permission but I do think a few guidelines wont hurt.

I am not telling the person her / she cant stay out late I am saying quiet time is from 11/12 therefore they know that if they have a friend / friends over they should be gone home by that time and just a little respect for each other.

I will not be allowing key to be given to anyone else simple as.[/QUOTE]


These are guidelines I would fully expect for someone raising teenagers, not renting out a room to a fully-grown adult.