I am taking in a lodger to rent the spare bedroom in my 2-bedroom flat (I reside in the other room). I found the lodger from an advert on SpareRoom and I’m in England.
Can I use the RentNow service to create the tenancy agreement, take the deposit handle the rent payments, etc? Taking an initial look at it, RentNow seems to be designed an AST for a whole property but I could be wrong.
Any recommendations for an “all-in-one” type of service that could manage a lodger tenancy? I’m reluctant to handle these processes myself as feel it is more official/professional when using a service like RentNow.
Whatever you do, don’t give the lodger an AST agreement. They are a lodger not a tenant.
You really don’t need an outsider to manage the relationship with this person, who after all you will be seeing and sharing your space with every day.
You only really need a one or two page agreement. It doesn’t need to be complex, but you should agree house rules, e.g. regarding whether guests are allowed, use of the kitchen, responsibility for cleaning of communal areas, and notice periods for when they move out.
There is no need to protect their deposit (which can be 5 weeks rent). But you should set out what it can be used for.
To further evidence that it is not an AST, they should not have a lock on their bedroom door. Though a thumb-turn bathroom-style lock that they can only lock when they are in the room may give them peace of mind.
As I said this person will be in your kitchen, lounge and bathroom every day. You have to be able to deal with them on a personal level. You can’t realistically outsource this.