Taking on a lodger

A lodger rents a furnished room in your home and will have use of other rooms such as the kitchen and bathroom. They may receive some services from you, such as meals, laundry or cleaning.

A sub-tenant has exclusive use of at least one room, usually a bedroom, in your home. You, as the landlord, would need their permission to enter the area they sub-let. The sub-tenant may put a lock on their door.

It is a good idea to do a background check on your lodger for your own safety and security as they will be sharing your home.

For example, you might want to get a reference from their employer and/or previous landlord. The level of checking is up to you and the number of checks you may wish to carry out may differ from one person to the next.

What you charge your lodger is up to you and will depend on what facilities you are providing for them. You may wish to look at websites such as www.spareroom.co.uk (opens in new tab) to see what other residents in your area charge for similar accommodation.

If the income you receive from renting a room exceeds a certain amount, you may be liable to pay income tax.

If you are in receipt of a means-tested benefit such as Universal Credit, housing benefit, Income Support or income-based Jobseekers’ Allowance, the first £20 per week of any rent you receive will be disregarded when calculating your income. If you provide some meals to your lodger, only half of any rent over £20 will be counted as income.

You must inform your local Jobcentre Plus office about the rent you are receiving. If you fail to do this, you will have to pay back any benefits you were not entitled to and you may even be prosecuted.

If the person you are renting to is a relation, they will more than likely be treated as a non-dependant. This means that rather than counting the income you receive as rent, you will be asked to provide evidence of their income so that an appropriate deduction can be applied to your benefit.

• Find out more about benefits and how to report a change in circumstances

Council tax

You will remain responsible for paying council tax. If you live alone and take in a lodger, you will no longer be entitled to the single person discount.

Utility bills

An extra person in the household may increase the amount you spend on things like gas, electricity and water.

Renting out a room is also likely to affect your contents insurance as most insurers will put up premiums, but it's still important to tell them you have a lodger to be sure that your belongings are protected. If you don't tell them, the insurance may not be valid.