Rent a Room Agreement

Our rent a room agreement can be used to formalise an arrangement between a landlord and a lodger.

The rent a room agreement is also known as a Lodger Tenancy Agreement. In a rent a room agreements, only a section of a home or property is let to the lodger. This is unlike an Assured Shorthold Tenancy in which the entire property is let to one person. In an AST agreement the landlord cannot occupy the home. In a rent a room agreement, the landlord can live in the same dwelling. The agreement can be for a furnished or unfurnished room. It is up to the landlord to decide whether they wish to have furniture in the room, though it is possible to charge more rent for a furnished room.
 

Rent a rom agreements are popular amongst students or people with periodic work as it can be more affordable to rent a single room than a whole property. There are two types of a rent a room agreement. You can have a guarantor agreement and a no guarantor agreement. If the landlord requires a guarantor, it means they want someone else to be legally responsible for the rent in the event that the tenant cannot pay it and so provides more security for the landlord.

From a landlord's point of view there are many good reasons to rent a room to a lodger. The extra income can be helpful in difficult times. Sometimes the rental income is also tax free. Whatever the reason, it is always wise to put in place a room rental agreement. With lodger agreements there are also no statutory rules, which means a landlord can make their own rules about what the tenant is responsible for. For example a lodger can be removed more easily where there is a a rent a room agreement than other types of tenancies, if they are found to be unsuitable. The lodger may be responsible for cleaning their own room or the landlord can offer that service for extra rent. Any rules created for the tenancy have to be reasonable to have legal effect.

Using our Rent a Room Agreement

The typical clauses found in an agreement for renting a room include the following: interpretation, grant of licence to occupy the room, rent payable, tenant’s deposit, lodger’s obligations, assignment and subletting, utilities, landlord's obligations, ending the agreement, notices and correspondence and law and jurisdiction.

Our agreement template has been drafted by a Solicitor who specialises in tenancy law so that it is comprehensive but also designed to be easy and fast to edit. You can preview the template by taking a look at the Lodger Agreement Template preview.

Our article on Tenancy Agreements: Background Information for Landlords provides some further informatino on letting out properties.