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The Essential Guide to Flatsharing: For Sharers, Lodgers and Anyone Renting Out a Room PDF

186 Pages·2009·0.81 MB·English
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The Essential Guide to Flatsharing Visit our How To website at www.howto.co.uk At www.howto.co.uk you can engage in conversation with our authors – all of whom have ‘been there and done that’ in their specialist fields. You can get access to special offers and additional content but most importantly you will be able to engage with, and become a part of, a wide and growing community of people just like yourself. At www.howto.co.uk you’ll be able to talk and share tips with people who have similar interests and are facing similar challenges in their lives. People who, just like you, have the desire to change their lives for the better – be it through moving to a new country, starting a new business, growing their own vegetables, or writing a novel. At www.howto.co.uk you’ll find the support and encouragement you need to help make your aspirations a reality. You can go direct to www.the-essential-guide-to-flatsharing.co.uk which is part of the main How To site. How To Books strives to present authentic, inspiring, practical information in their books. Now, when you buy a title from How To Books, you get even more than just words on a page. The Essential Guide to Flatsharing For sharers, lodgers and everyone renting out a room Rupert Hunt (founder of SpareRoom.co.uk) and Matt Hutchinson Published by How To Content, A division of How To Books Ltd, Spring Hill House, Spring Hill Road Begbroke, Oxford OX5 1RX Tel: (01865) 375794. Fax: (01865) 379162 [email protected] www.howtobooks.co.uk How To Books greatly reduce the carbon footprint of their books by sourcing their typesetting and printing in the UK. All rights reserved. No Part of this work may be reproduced or stored in an information retrieval system (other than for purposes of review) without the express permission of the publisher in writing. The right of Rupert Hunt and Matt Hutchinson to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. © 2009 Rupert Hunt and Matt Hutchinson First published in electronic form 2009 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN: 978 1 84803 346 7 Produced for How To Books by Deer Park Productions, Tavistock Typeset by Kestrel Data, Exeter NOTE: The material contained in this book is set out in good faith for general guidance and no liability can be accepted for loss or expense incurred as a result of relying in particular circumstances on statements made in the book. The laws and regulations are complex and liable to change, and readers should check the current position with the relevant authorities before making personal arrangements. Contents Preface The death of the largest ad site in the world xi How to Use this Book xv Read it straight through xv Chapters of interest xv Index xvi Introduction: Flatsharing – The Basics (SH/RS/LIL) 1 What is flatsharing? 1 Why flatshare? 1 Who lives in flatshares? 3 Chapter 1: Types of Let (SH/RS) 5 Flat or house share 5 Rooms for rent (live-in landlord) 7 Rooms for rent (live-out landlord) 9 Bedsits 10 Room shares 11 Mon–Fri lets 12 A few thoughts on sublets 13 Chapter 2: Find a Flatshare (RS) 15 Budget 15 What to look for 16 Where to look 26 How to look 27 Professional house shares 29 Viewings 30 Setting up your own flatshare 33 v The Essential Guide to Flatsharing Chapter 3: Find a Flatmate (SH/LIL) 34 Who do you want to live with? 34 Where to look 38 How to look 43 Viewings and interviews 43 Interview notes 45 Chapter 4: Lodgers (LIL) 46 Background 46 How to prepare 54 Chapter 5: The Language of Flatsharing 59 Administration fee 59 Agent 59 Assured short-hold tenancy 59 Assured tenancy 60 Bedsit 60 Bills included 60 Buddy up 60 Bungalow 60 Buy-to-let 60 Buy-to-share 61 Co-buying 61 Contents insurance 61 Contract 61 Conversion 61 Cottage 62 Council tax 62 Credit check 62 Deposit 62 Detached 62 Double room 63 DSS 63 En-suite 63 Eviction 63 Ex-local authority 63 Fixed term 63 vi Contents Flat 64 Flatmate 64 Flatshare 64 Fractional letting 64 Garden flat 64 Granny flat 64 HMO 65 House 65 Houseboat 65 House rules 65 Houseshare, house share 65 Inter-sharer agreement 66 Inventory 66 Joint and several 66 Key (or card) meter 66 Landlord’s insurance 66 Live-in landlord 67 Live-out landlord 67 Lodger 67 Loft apartment 67 Maisonette 67 Mansion 67 Master bedroom 68 Mews 68 Mon–Fri renting 68 No DSS 68 Party wall 68 PCM 69 Penthouse 69 Periodic tenancy 69 Postcode 69 Purpose built 69 PW 69 References 69 Rent a Room Scheme 70 Re-signing fee 70 Room contents insurance 70 Roommate 70 vii The Essential Guide to Flatsharing Room seeker 71 Seasonal lettings 71 Semi or semi-detached 71 Sharers 71 Short-term let 71 Single room 71 Speed Flatmating ® 72 Studio or studio flat 72 Sub-let 72 Tenancy agreement 72 Tenancy Deposit Scheme 72 Tenant 73 Terraced house 73 Townhouse 73 Viewing 73 Walk-up flat 73 Interlude: Fighting Over the Remote –Flatshare on the Box 75 Film 75 TV 76 Opera 79 Chapter 6: Living Together 81 Cleanliness 81 Noise levels 87 Money and bills 88 Space and privacy 88 Conflict 90 House rules 93 Lodgers in your home 93 What to do if you can’t resolve the conflict 94 A voice of experience 95 Chapter 7: Finance and Bills 96 Rent 96 Deposits 98 Bills 98 viii Contents Food and shopping 106 Strategy 106 Getting behind with your bills 107 Chapter 8: Contracts, Rights and Agreements 110 Sharers 110 Lodgers 114 Deposits and Tenancy Deposit Schemes 115 Inventories 117 HMOs 118 Your rights 119 Harassment 122 Problems getting hold of your landlord 125 Chapter 9: Flatshare in London (RS) 126 A few common questions 126 Finding accommodation in London 127 How to look 134 Staying safe 137 New to London 138 Chapter 10: Staying Safe 148 Online safety 148 General security tips 150 Useful Resources and Links 155 Flatshare and related sites 155 Information and advice 155 Useful tools 156 London links 156 Appendix: London Postcodes 159 Index 165 ix

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Whether you're looking for a flatshare or renting out a room The Essential Guide to Flatsharing has everything you need to know. If you're: Renting out a spare room All about taking in a lodger; drawing contracts; the tax and financial issues; necessary preparation; advertising your room; and much m
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