Renting out a room in your house

[JustEm]

We'll be renting a room in our house out to basically a family member. We aren't new to renting a room out entirely because my parents have lived with us for the last three years. But that is a bit different than having anyone else.

So, what things do you think need to be discussed and agreed upon ahead of time other than rent amount. We have a few things but I'm just looking for other minds to catch things I might not have thought of. Thanks

[DawnM]

One thing I didn't realize would be such an issue was noise.   One night I called him on the phone and told him that if he didn't pipe down we were shutting the internet off for the night.   It was after 1am on a work week night and he was up playing video games online with people.   

So, definitely noise.  

Are you sharing food?   We didn't deal with food, he did his own.

[JustEm]

3 minutes ago, DawnM said:

One thing I didn't realize would be such an issue was noise.   One night I called him on the phone and told him that if he didn't pipe down we were shutting the internet off for the night.   It was after 1am on a work week night and he was up playing video games online with people.   

So, definitely noise.  

Are you sharing food?   We didn't deal with food, he did his own.

He's moving into a house with 6 kids so I'm pretty sure the noise issue will be with him having to deal with it, ha. But it is certainly something we'll discuss before hand.

Food is another one I'm still contemplating. He is currently already welcome to eat with us twice a week for dinner. So, the idea of adding food cost into his rent and just always having enough for him if he joins us is an option. I'm just not sure how much to add to rent if I offer that option.

[Anne]

I have a couple of guys renting rooms at my house.  🙂

Cleaning expectations, if any.   I have one that never washes his (my!) sheets!  Yikes!  that will be discussed before he returns!

Communication expectations.  I want to know if my guys are not going to be home for dinner.   You may not need that - you may have other needs.

Parking - where is his vehicle going?

Shower & laundry times - whatever that might look like at your house.

Anne

[HomeAgain]

We have an extra living with us.  We gave them a cabinet in the kitchen for personal items: snacks, alcohol, dishes.  We also gave up our smaller garage fridge.  While everyone is welcome at every meal it is nice to have that personal space in a communal area - and it doesn't force anyone to eat just because it's included in rent.  With all different schedules here, it's helpful to have food you know no one will touch before it's your own meal time (or to pack for work).

We also had to work out kinks in parking, quiet hours, and laundry.  Given that the washer and dryer was up against a younger person's room, we had to enforce no washing from 10pm-6am.

[Bootsie]

I would want to be clear about the length of time you are committing to the arrangement.  Also, what day is rent due and what late fees will be and termination process.

Depending on the housing arrangement, other things that come to mind that could be an issues to discuss are:  access to kitchen, refrigerator, and pantry space, access to washer and dryer, access to bathroom, use of any parts of the house beyond room being rented, use of yard, parking area, and entertaining guests.

[Halftime Hope]

If you had any concerns in this area, perhaps address your expectations that this person act in accordance with the family's values while living with you, particularly if there are kids in the household.

I'd want to set ground rules in the house regarding shared bathrooms.

ETA: Discussion of food would be an important issue for me, personally. Speaking personally, I'd rather have a pseudo-family person provision all their own food, rather than eat out of my pantry, perhaps with the exception of the two dinners per week. If the extra person is eating entirely from the food I provide in my pantry and fridge, that's a big addition to the family budget. A candid conversation should lead to a plan. 🙂

 

Edited July 4, 2023 by Halftime Hope

[Hannah]

Entertaining of guests

Sleepovers

Bathroom use (including use of towel rails, storage space)

Kitchen use (cooking time, meals, cleanup, food storage)

Cleaning expectations (communal areas, own room, bedding, oen washing, etc)

Use of outside areas

Use of parking

Utilities and wifi

Length of agreement and notice period.

[SHP]

One thing I do not see mentioned is related to viral illnesses. If they are sick (define it) do you expect them to mask in communal areas of the house? If they have a known exposure to Covid do you want them to notify you within a specific time period? How will isolation be handled?

 

The only other suggestion I have is to consider a closed time for the kitchen. In addition to everyone cleaning up after themselves, having a set time that a final night time clean up (all dishes in dishwasher and run it, counters wipped down, sink cleaned, all the things put away) then the kitchen closes or is off-limits until whatever time in the morning can help save sanity.

 

 

 

[Halftime Hope]

44 minutes ago, SHP said:

One thing I do not see mentioned is related to viral illnesses. If they are sick (define it) do you expect them to mask in communal areas of the house? If they have a known exposure to Covid do you want them to notify you within a specific time period? How will isolation be handled?

The only other suggestion I have is to consider a closed time for the kitchen. In addition to everyone cleaning up after themselves, having a set time that a final night time clean up (all dishes in dishwasher and run it, counters wipped down, sink cleaned, all the things put away) then the kitchen closes or is off-limits until whatever time in the morning can help save sanity.

In our household, this is a big deal, because noise in the kitchen can wake up someone who, once awakened, can't go back to sleep. I imagine this would be a YMMV thing.

[Ginevra]

One thing to clarify is pets and be sure to communicate expectations about *any* type of pet. We had the issue of a renter starting an electrical fire because they had several fish tanks and overloaded the circuit. After that we had to clarify in the lease that fish tanks or aquariums also had to be approved and no bigger than 10 gallons/1 single tank. 
 

Parking, noise, guests (IOW, do not allow a de facto additional renter because there is a sleepover guest every night), laundry access, kitchen access are all things to discuss. 

[Gil]

Drugs and alcohol.

Any Restricted Foods that need to be accommodated. I have a list of foods that can not be brought into my home under any circumstances and I mean that.

Space to store, prep and cook various foods/beverages.

Noise levels and times for noise.

Wifi Usage and times for Internet.

Illnesses and how you want them handled.

Pets or Animals of any kind.

Bathing and laundry facilities and usage.

His Guests and the logistics of when where who and how many.

Parking.

Storage of items.

[gardenmom5]

Dont' treat this any differently from a stranger rental.  
Have a contract, and spell out what they will provide for themselves, when they will move out, how much they will pay in rent by what day of the month.  What fine will be paid for late payments, damage depost,  etc. 

Even if it's a family member (or friend), if they decide they don't want to leave - you have to go through a formal eviction process to get them out.

 

[Harriet Vane]

You've gotten good advice in this thread. I have rented a room a few times, usually in exchange for cleaning. Everyone who lived with us were/are lovely people, but we had one negative experience with one person (lovely though she genuinely is in so many other ways).

There were two problems. One is that she talked on her phone incessantly, loudly. We could hear her all over the house and into the wee hours of the night. She did not understand how much her voice carried. It was many hours each day.

The bigger problem was her expectation that she would cook dinner for herself and her boyfriend at the same time that I was cooking, and then the two of them would eat at the same time but at a different table. This was never discussed or agreed upon. It just happened, over and over for a year. (Which is ultimately on me for not setting a boundary.) So we would jockey for available burners on the stove (so awkward!) and cutting boards and pans, then our family would eat at the breakfast nook while she and her boyfriend ate at the dining room table. It was like eating in a restaurant with the constant buzz of their conversation in the other room. Similarly, while working on their wedding she/they would spread out wedding stuff in the dining room or living room without ever checking with me. I am very laid back and had had quite a lot of people in and out of our home for varying lengths of time, but this person was really intrusive and we were glad when she moved out.

[JustEm]

Thank you all for the suggestions. I certainly hadn't considered everything so it'll be greta to bring to the table later this week when she and I sit down and hash out of expectations before sitting down with the renter.

Some things won't be an issue like bathroom sharing because he will have his own. Also, cleanliness won't be an as he's very clean and courteous about dishes and kitchen cleanup. But others are legit things that didn't cross my mind like laundry. 

Food is tricky because I can't afford to offer to have him join us at all meals for free. He's a professional dancers so can pack away the calories. But we are very much a sit at the table for dinner family and it'd be weird knowing he was home but not able to eat with us. So, I'll have to think a lot on that. 

 

[matrips]

Another thing to consider is what will happen if you decide down the road that you don’t want to rent. Will there be hard feelings in the family?  Will he have money saved up to move? Will you be guilted into continuing to rent?

[JustEm]

1 minute ago, matrips said:

Another thing to consider is what will happen if you decide down the road that you don’t want to rent. Will there be hard feelings in the family?  Will he have money saved up to move? Will you be guilted into continuing to rent?

Those are great questions to consider. One of his main reasons for moving in with us rather than continuing to rent an apartment is to save money. Our main reason is to have someone's rent going towards our mortgage. Assuming it goes well, I don't anticipate us not wanting to rent out that room. But if we do change our mind there won't be hard feelings and we'll certainly give plenty of time for other arrangements. But we will discuss those questions together at our meeting before he moves in.

[Melissa in Australia]

One of  my ds rented a room recently. Actually it was a converted carport. He uses the  laundry and bathroom inside the house. The landlord had one shelf in the fridge for him and a section in the freezer.  He also was able to use their WiFi. He paid $190 week. 

 Ds is extremely quiet. The landlord called ds the ghost  as they could sense his presence but hardly ever saw him.

[crazyforlatin]

Are they allowed overnight guests?