Success story ~ Louisa & Andy
Hear from one of our landlord and lodger pairs about how they've found a way of living that perfectly suited their needs.
Louisa lets out a spare room in her house in Northamptonshire.
"I moved in here with my ex-husband. He left in 2007, and I started taking Monday-to-Friday lodgers in 2008 because I wanted to stay living in a place that is idyllic – and the only way to do that was to have a lodger. They break the back of the costs of living in the house on my own.
The Monday-to-Friday boundary is perfect. It is not their home, it is mine. They come to this area to work and some of them are out from 6am to 8pm, depending on the season. They have a home and somewhere they would rather be.
We talk if I happen to be in the kitchen when they come through and they want a chat, and we become friends, but I have no desire to look after them. Andy came two years ago, and the arrangement works perfectly."
"I’ve been lodging in different places for the past eight years. My job means I move around the country. I find it’s better value and more convenient than Airbnb and hotels or guest houses.
I get on well with Louisa and we’ll have a chat if our paths cross, but sometimes I won’t see her for a week. It’s a base, not a home – my home is in Nottingham. The commute otherwise would be up to a couple of hours, and when you consider the fuel savings, it works out cheaper to rent a room. It’s important to be somewhere you feel comfortable and get on with the homeowner."