More homeowners offer room to lodgers

The number of homeowners letting out a room to a lodger has almost tripled in the last year, research from Abbey Mortgages has discovered.

Nearly one million UK households now include a lodger as homeowners seek to increase their income during the recession.

UK homeowners could potentially earn over £6 billion by letting out unused rooms, Abbey said.

London is the most popular location for letting out rooms to a lodger, with 6% of homes having a spare room rented out.

Offering space for a lodger is least popular in Northern Ireland and Scotland, where just one in 100 homes has taken in a tenant.

A significant proportion of homeowners offering space to a lodger are between 25 and 34 years old, with this age group making up a third of new live in landlords, separate research by Spareroom.co.uk found.

Nici Audhlam-Gardiner, director of Alliance & Leicester Mortgages, said: “If you have a spare room that’s gathering dust, its worth considering a lodger and earning £4,716 a year.

“Not only will you have some extra money each month but most of it could be tax-free too.”

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