Taking in a lodger

What makes someone a lodger

When you live in your home and share living space with the person you let a room to - a kitchen, a bathroom, a living room - they are usually what the law calls an excluded occupier. That matters because an excluded occupier has far fewer rights to stay than a tenant: you do not need a court order to end the arrangement. If you do not live there, the room is self-contained, or the person was already a tenant before you moved in, different rules apply.

Before they move in

• Ask your mortgage lender or landlord. Most mortgages and many tenancies need permission before you take in a lodger.
• Tell your insurer. Home insurance may not cover a home with a lodger unless they know.
• Check council tax. If you live alone and get the single person discount, you will usually lose it when an adult lodger moves in - unless they are someone council tax disregards, such as a full-time student.
• Do the right-to-rent check. In England every adult lodger must have the right to rent, checked before they move in. See our right-to-rent guide.
• Get the gas checked. Gas appliances and flues serving the lodger's room need an annual safety check by a Gas Safe engineer. If you rent your home, that duty is normally your own landlord's.
• Put it in writing. A short lodger agreement - the rent, what it includes, the deposit, the notice either of you must give, and the house rules - saves arguments later.

Deposits and rent

You can take a deposit from a lodger. Because a lodger living in your home does not have an assured tenancy, the deposit does not have to go into a government deposit protection scheme - but agree in writing what it covers and when you will return it. If you want help setting the rent, compare what similar rooms are listed for on our room rents page.

Ending the arrangement

Either of you can end it by giving the notice your agreement sets out; an agreement for a fixed term can usually only be ended early if it says so. If the agreement says nothing about notice, give reasonable notice - often taken to be one rental period, a week for weekly rent or a month for monthly rent, though what is reasonable depends on the circumstances. Once the notice ends, a lodger who shares your home must leave; you do not need to go to court, but you must not use or threaten violence.

Tax and licensing

The Rent a Room scheme lets you earn up to £7,500 a year from a lodger tax-free. And if you own the home you live in, taking in up to two lodgers does not usually make it a house in multiple occupation (HMO). That exemption is for owner-occupiers; if you rent your home, check with your council before taking in more than one.