Please contribute to the Dos and Don'ts of having lodgers...

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Pilsbury

Joined: 13 Dec 2004
Posts: 5645
Location: East london/Essex

Posted: Sun Jan 27, 13 4:42 pm Post subject:
As I understand it if you don't have to do a tax return you don't have to tell anyone about it. At least trays what my uncle had said and that's,the reason he is charging less, he has the space but its not worth the hassle of having to do tax returns every year. Sorry, link was in the other thread https://forum.downsizer.net/about75727.html&start=15

chez

Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 35934
Location: The Hive of the Uberbee, Quantock Hills, Somerset

Posted: Sun Jan 27, 13 4:46 pm Post subject:

I think, generally speaking, living with an adult is different from student-sharing nightmares you may still be revisiting.

IIRC, we actually had spare space for a second fridge and they used that; it saved a lot of hassle. And I just made sure that I charged enough that I didn't feel put upon deep-cleaning round once a week (not their room) and keeping everything sanitary. I found that making the mental leap from having a weekly cleaning routine directly to the income we got from them made me a lot less cross about cleaning communal areas; although of course they cleaned up after themselves.

I recommend rules about overnight guests; and that can be whatever you are comfortable with. It's your space you are inviting someone else in to, so you set the ground rules.

If you wanted to, I guess you could have a list of housekeeping tasks that one week you did and the next week they did. Or something like that?

Re rent, don't forget that if the did rent a house for £400 a month, they would still have to find full council tax and all the bills on top of that. So paying you a share of the bills would be less for them. I would work out what extra you think they are likely to use and add that on to the rent rather than divide your bills by three.

Also, don't rule out people having some of their rent paid by the local authority. Not everyone on housing benefit is a skank; and it's guaranteed income. Your LHA weekly rate is £59.50 per week, which should give you an idea about what rent to charge. I think a third of prices are supposed to be less that that figure.

Katieowl

Joined: 01 Jun 2006
Posts: 4317
Location: West Wales

Posted: Sun Jan 27, 13 6:27 pm Post subject:
No but if they were getting HB they'd more than likely be in the house all day using leccy... when MJ wasn't there. They'd also probably need to be working to have some kind of transport, cos' MJ's a hike from the shops! Kate

jamanda
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 22 Oct 2006
Posts: 35056
Location: Devon

Posted: Sun Jan 27, 13 6:35 pm Post subject:
Many working people also claim housing benefit.

toggle

Joined: 30 Dec 2006
Posts: 11622
Location: truro

Posted: Sun Jan 27, 13 7:47 pm Post subject:
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/tenancies/majority-of-new-housing-benefit-claimants-in-work/6521183.article?MsgId=50359 that would include 90% of new claims. pilgrim and i get HB, that i still got some while I was working 70 hour weeks and he was also working says a lot about the level of wages and rent.

chez

Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 35934
Location: The Hive of the Uberbee, Quantock Hills, Somerset

Posted: Sun Jan 27, 13 7:53 pm Post subject:

Jamanda wrote:

Many working people also claim housing benefit.

Sorry, wasn't heavy enough on the irony there. We claim it and get the full applicable amount. I'm probably a skank, though, if the Carpet Auditing Police did a check.

Katieowl

Joined: 01 Jun 2006
Posts: 4317
Location: West Wales

Posted: Sun Jan 27, 13 8:00 pm Post subject:

Chez, I would be the last person to cast any stones about benefit, you know that's not me.

There's not much in the way of work here at all, let alone full time and well paid work, as my kids are all finding to their cost, and my comment was more a reflection of our local economy.

You'd be far more likely to be getting it as a family, or a couple where only one of you was working, or under-employed as they rather euphamistically call it, if you are on your own as far as I can see they'd quite happily let you sleep in a cardboard box.

Kate

chez

Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 35934
Location: The Hive of the Uberbee, Quantock Hills, Somerset

Posted: Sun Jan 27, 13 8:06 pm Post subject:

Gosh, no, sorry Katie, I didn't mean that at all. Jamanda's response made me think that I hadn't been clear enough in my own post.

I was talking to some people today who are in the Carmarthen area (not ds-ers, although I hope I managed to convince them to try us out) and we got to chatting about farmers' markets; and how it's not really ideal to be trying to sell stuff from farmers markets to the locals, because people who are local just don't have enough spare cash. I get £1.30 a box minimum for my eggs; I reckon that that would drop to £1 in W Wales, just because of the economy. It's a horrible situation

toggle

Joined: 30 Dec 2006
Posts: 11622
Location: truro

Posted: Sun Jan 27, 13 8:08 pm Post subject:

there's nothing stopping single people claiming housing benefit, that just depends on the sums of what you're earning and what the LHA rate you're entitled to is. which is dependent on where you live and is supposed to be linked to local rents.

the only difference in being single is that you're very unlikely to get social housing.

(and special rules apply if you're considered disabled)

if single working people are unlikely to be able to claim HB, that might say something about the average level of rents in your area.

although there are plans to remove HB for under 25s

Katieowl

Joined: 01 Jun 2006
Posts: 4317
Location: West Wales

Posted: Sun Jan 27, 13 8:10 pm Post subject:

Eggs here are £1.50 a half doz in the market.

We have a bit of an odd local market though. There's a lot of people who've moved to the area, who still have £££ and loads of hippies who want 'real' food, my 'market' with the GF and vegan stuff.

The locals (

) are as tight as a duck's bottom...and probably don't buy free range. There are a lot of really expensive women's clothes shops too...and I still haven't figured out who shops there

Kate

toggle

Joined: 30 Dec 2006
Posts: 11622
Location: truro

Posted: Sun Jan 27, 13 8:12 pm Post subject:
round here, that's the tourists and millionaire retirees.

Katieowl

Joined: 01 Jun 2006
Posts: 4317
Location: West Wales

Posted: Sun Jan 27, 13 8:14 pm Post subject:

toggle wrote:

I think the biggest problem would be that there wouldn't be anywhere to rent Toggle. A place in town is around £400 a month - private sector. That will be anything from a studio to two bed depending on where abouts and how decent. As both the DD's have found out to their cost some of the housing is not fit for purpose. The HB removal for the under 25's makes me

as I know a couple of people here who would fall into that category...just grrrr that's all!

Kate

chez

Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 35934
Location: The Hive of the Uberbee, Quantock Hills, Somerset

Posted: Sun Jan 27, 13 8:18 pm Post subject:

toggle wrote:

(and special rules apply if you're considered disabled)

That's against the 'applicable amount' though, isn't it? I am ferreting through all the regs at the moment, because although we are 'entitled' to a two bedroom house, because we have two children under ten, there is an argument to be made - and a precedent set by a court case last year - that because the children cannot share a room because of the nature of Nen's disability, we are entitled to a three bedroom place.

The 'applicable amount' is different, as far as I can get my head round it, with various allowances made because we are a couple, we have a severely disabled child, because I get carer's allowance and all that.

Which is thread-creep, really, for poor MJ.

toggle

Joined: 30 Dec 2006
Posts: 11622
Location: truro

Posted: Sun Jan 27, 13 8:22 pm Post subject:

sorry, but the post i replied to didn't seem to be talking about the availability of places to rent, it read a lot more like a claim that HB wasn't available to single people.

and for young people, they are already looking at a houseshare anyway. Which can work out better. we would get the rent on this place fully covered if we were 2 single people, not a couple. although you can be expected to proove you're not 'living as a couple'

stumbling goat

Joined: 20 Jan 2009
Posts: 1990

Posted: Sun Jan 27, 13 9:35 pm Post subject:
I got it wrong. apologies, CAB site says that if it is not taxable you do not have to declare it at all. VERY SORRY!!! sg

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