Homeowners taking in a lodger, rises.

New research has revealed a growing numbers of lodgers. Homeowners are offsetting rises in mortgage payments and other bills by taking in a lodger to help with costs.

Renting out a spare room in your home has always been a popular way to make extra money. This has been made simpler thanks to the Rent a Room Scheme tax relief. This allows you to earn up to £7,500 per year tax-free from letting out furnished accommodation in your home.

The average UK lodger pays £98 per month less than the average room rent. In London, it’s £129 per month cheaper to rent as a lodger. Annually that’s a saving of £1,176 (UK) and £1,548 (London).

Market analysis from SpareRoom (https://www.spareroom.co.uk/) has picked up a surge in homeowners taking in a lodger to help with soaring bills and mortgage payments. According to the data, there were 12,573 new lodger landlords in Jan-Oct this year, compared to just 8,015 in Jan–Oct 2021 – an increase of 57%.

What do SpareRoom say about this?

Matt Hutchinson, director of SpareRoom, comments: “More and more people will be looking at ways to make extra money over the coming months due to increased mortgage rates and living costs, especially as we enter winter where energy bills will be higher. We expect to see the number of people taking in lodgers to continue to increase over the coming months, maybe even years.”

What could I charge for a room in Harlow?

Rental costs are increasing at an alarming rate right now. In Harlow, Jukes Estate Agents have daily conversations with people looking to rent.

Geoff Flewers, co owner of Jukes says: “People are paying ‘eye watering’ amounts for just a room. We hear that some are paying as much as £750 for a room (including bills). This is not surprising when you consider that 1 bedroom flats are realising over £1,000 a month plus bills”.

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