How can you make money from your spare room? There are plenty of options and you don’t need a lodger all of the time. Renting out a room in your house is a great way to earn some extra income.
We have made good use of our spare room since my daughters started to leave home. We have got to know some lovely people and our experiences have been almost 100% positive.
1. Taking in language students
It might be that you want to make money from your spare room but can’t, or don’t want to, share with someone full time. This was our position initially. One daughter was at university but came home during the holidays so needed her room back some of the time.
We have a large language college where we live. Students come to learn English and stay anything from a week to a whole year. They are often looking for host families. You provide a room, breakfast and dinner during the week with lunch as well at the weekend. This is usually a packed lunch as they often go off on organised excursions.
You also clean the room and do the student’s laundry. I never found any of this to be a problem as it was only what I was doing anyway.
Socialising
You are expected to sit together at the table for dinner to give the students the opportunity to practice their English skills. We had some hilarious conversations at times and were only saved by the use of Google Translate!
We have had students from all over the world – including Japan, France, Italy, Spain, Angola, Slovakia and Macedonia and have enjoyed learning about their lives.
As well as the college I discovered a couple of other organisations locally that bring in school parties from Europe. They also need host families. The students are younger, of course , which feels like more of a responsibility. It generally involves driving them to their learning base for the first few days whilst they find their feet and get to grips with the bus system.
You can expect to be paid between £120-140 per week as a host family.
Pros: you get to know lots of interesting folk from around the world and forge some lasting friendships. Cons: the students tend to be under 20 and can cause some worry. We had one 17 year old who didn’t come home until midnight on her first day with us, spent much of the night throwing up and then missed college the next day! They are supposed to be in by 10.30 so this was a little awkward, but we made it clear there was to be no reoccurrence. You need to be firm from the start.
The best way to find organisations seeking host families locally is to do an internet search.
2. Airbnb
It is possible to make money from your spare room through AirBnb*. We have never done this but we have used several now between us. Me and Mr S stayed in one in Wales which was basic but extremely cheap. My daughter and her friends have rented several whole houses and flats between them for weekend breaks. She and her boyfriend also stayed with a lady near their flat whilst it was having some work done. We have all found it a generally positive experience.
But what about welcoming guests in? I would be nervous about allowing complete strangers have access to my whole house, but would consider doing the odd bed and breakfast weekend. Nikki Ramskill from the Female Money Doctor did it several times and she says ‘I had no issues with anyone as I vetted them all before I agreed to let them stay. I turned down a few people because I didn’t trust them. New profiles, unverified, are ones I avoided. I tried to put in couples and women. I didn’t allow pets or children and there was a strict no smoking policy. You can set up a deposit limit which is taken in the case of a problem. The interface is really easy to use. The calendar is fully controlled by me, and I also blocked out weekends I didn’t want people staying, like Christmas and new year.’
Potential issues
Although problems are rare, Sara from Debt Camel has come across someone who let his flat out for a long weekend but came back on Sunday evening to find the ‘guests’ were still there and had changed the locks! She recommends you check the terms of your tenancy or mortgage, your insurance policy and that you aren’t breaking any planning laws with the local council. She says you should consider that there is a risk of theft or of having your place wrecked, albeit very small, if you rent your property as a whole.
You can find information about how to become an Airbnb host here.
3. Renting longer term
Once two of my three daughters had moved out more permanently we decided to take a longer term approach and take in a lodger. We were a bit anxious. What if we didn’t get on or they tried to move the boyfriend in? What if they were really messy or noisy?
Set clear parameters
In the end we decided that we would set clear parameters for prospective lodgers and if they weren’t happy they could look elsewhere. We only accept females as we all feel most comfortable with this. It is a single room so no, they cannot bring their boyfriends home every weekend. They are welcome to have friends round and have had the odd girlfriend staying over with no issues.
They have their own cupboard in the kitchen and cook for themselves but do need to tidy up afterwards, the same as we do. They are responsible for keeping their bedroom clean but I do the rest of the house.
Our own space
We are lucky in that we have another small room downstairs that we have made into the lodger’s sitting room, so there is no fighting over the remote. Whilst I like having chats in the kitchen I don’t want to sit with them every night – I like my own space. It might be worth getting a TV set up in the lodger’s room if you feel the same.
In city areas there is also the possibility of renting your room on a Monday to Friday only basis, so you get the house to yourself at the weekend.
We found our lodgers through www.spareroom.com. I tried a couple of other sites but didn’t get much of a response. It was worth taking a paid ad for a couple of weeks as the number of contacts I received increased dramatically.
I purchased a lodger agreement through spareroom.com for just £7.50. It is worth doing this, as a formal agreement protects you both. Because you are renting out a room in your own home it is much easier to get rid of your lodger if things don’t work out.
Get a deposit
Always ask for a damage deposit and a month’s rent in advance. It is worth getting references too, but our last two lodgers had never rented before so they weren’t available. They aren’t easy to verify either!
I personally think you need to trust your gut when interviewing prospective lodgers . Our first one is now my eldest daughter’s best friend – they hit it off from the moment they met. Our current one is absolutely lovely and starting to feel like another member of the family already!
Paying tax on your earnings
The UK goverment’s rent a room scheme means that you can earn up to £7,500 each year tax free. There is a lot of guidance on this here and here.
You will need to check with your mortgage provider that they have no objections to you renting a room. It is also very important to make sure your household insurance allows for this.
4. Supported lodgings
A slightly different way of making money via your spare room is to ask your local social services department if the run a supported lodgings scheme. This is a whole new ball game. It isn’t just a way to make money from your spare room, it is more of a career choice.
What is supported lodgings?
A supported lodgings scheme is where you provide not just a room but family support for a young person leaving care. You need to be a caring family and willing to overcome some frustrations and difficulties to help a vulnerable young person move on with their life.
By providing a safe and nurturing home, you can be instrumental in helping the young person become more confident. Some young people will have experienced a lot of trauma and upheaval. They may need help with finding better ways to manage their behaviour.
You receive full training and support to do this job. Your earnings vary depending on the needs of the young person you take in. This is the most difficult of the options to make some income from a spare room by far, but will suit some people I am sure.
5. Facility Conversion
A spare room doesn’t necessarily have to be inside your house. You could decide to make an extra room or apartment within the grounds of your property should you have space. This means that you could potentially convert an old outhouse building, shed or garage into a fully functioning suite that could be rented out for a small profit.
This can be initially expensive, though, since the work required means hiring professionals such as plumbers and electricians. Depending on local planning policies, you may need to consult with council officials and lawyers..
The cost of converting a separate building on your property can range between £1,500 to £30,000, depending on how much needs to be done and what you actually want. However, the more expensive price range would essentially be a luxury apartment rather than a typical student or lodger room.
The benefit of converting an outbuilding means that both you and any lodgers enjoy complete privacy. You can also avoid awkward encounters should you not get along or you are the type of person who values their personal space when allowing people to stay in your home.
Have you found ways to make money from your spare room? It could be a great asset to up your income!
*This is my referral code. If you click through and make a booking, I will earn a small commission.
Other ideas to make extra income
You can also make money with dog boarding, online survey sites, selling clothes on eBay or by testing websites.
Margaret Powling says
There is such a lot of good advice here, Jane. We used to have students in the summer as we live in a holiday resort, two at a time for three weeks over a total period of nine weeks during the summer, i.e. 6 students in total. It was hard work, though (and I had our sons as toddlers at the time, and also had a part time job, 6pm – 10 pm, Monday to Friday, 20 hours a week; believe me, I’ve worked my passage!) and as you say youngsters can often give cause for concern, especially if some of them – boys and girls alike, they are both guilty of this – decide that they want to stop out until all hours, and you do feel responsible for them even if they are not your family – they are someone else’s sons and daughters and you are acting in *loco parentis*. It was the 1970s when we hosted in this way and in those days we had to supply three meals a day, i.e. if they didn’t return home for lunch we provided a packed lunch. And of course, some of they were picky eaters and didn’t like English cooking. Mind you, once they’d tried some of my home-cooking, they soon changed their minds. You have to admit, if you’ve never seen trifle before, even if it tastes lovely, it can look a bit of a pig’s breakfast!
But we kept in touch with some of them for many years to come and one of our German students, when adult, brought her own teenage daughter to visit us. Our early students from the 1970s will be pensioners, like ourselves, now!
Margaret P
Kirrie says
Love all the lodgers I have had from spare room. Present lodger from Australia will leave in April after 2 years. Without exception all have been lovely!. I do like the company , good morning, how was your day etc. None have been intrusive. All tend to live in their rooms like students, which is their choice. I only ever have females, not youngsters. Works well. When present lodger leaves will probably modernise the room and have another. Only long term, though do have lodger agreement from spare room and both have he right to terminate at a months notice!.
Kirrie says
Yes lodgers do become friends family. I adore my lodger from Australia. Reduced her rent from £500 to £450 no bills at all , no buying toilet rolls etc.internet included. Because she is lovely and I could!.
Louise Houghton says
We have had great success with our Airbnb room. We have never had any problems. We are always there to greet our guests and there when they leave. We are always paid promptly. No damage has ever been caused. Because our room, and soon to be rooms, are separate to the main house there is no issue with privacy, we all have our own. I block off dates when family and friends come to stay. We can charge as much or as little as we like. We also became a Super Host within our first year and this means some people will look at your listing before they seek out any others. I would thoroughly recommend this platform.
Eloise (thisissixty.blog) says
I’ve never had lodgers and I’m not sure I could cope with strangers in my home, though as Kirrie says, they can become friends if you are lucky enough to get good ones.
As a guide for anyone considering it, this is a really informative and full of good avice, Jane.
Kirrie says
My lodger from India Rupali came back to UK last year after 3 years had a 6 months visa in England.Made a beeline to my mums for new year in North of Scotland. She adores my mum and vice versa!. Brought Christmas presents for my mum, how precious not her religion, mum had parcels for her too!. Both of them drank a bottle of champagne and adored each other’s company!. Rupali should not drink her religion but hey ho. That is precious they both just got on minute they met!. She was a fab lodger perhaps when Brenna Aussie lodgers visa runs out Rupali will manage to wangle another visa in Scotland.She is trying!. Hates her restricted life in India.
Su says
It can be difficult and expensive to get insurance if doing supported lodgings.
If you live near a hospital or somewhere else where it costs a lot to park a car every day, it might be possible to rent out parking spaces.