Renting out a spare room - Wendy's story

Wendy shares her experience of renting out a room in her home in Balham, SW London.

Wendy & her lodger, Sophie

"I have had 'lodgers' – who I prefer to call flatmates – on and off for more than 20 years!

I own a two bedroomed garden flat in Balham and like to share with someone, normally a female who likes cats (my title has been “Fun Feline Loving Female”!), although I have had male lodgers too.

While I prefer to advertise amongst friends and colleagues when I am looking for someone new, I have used Spareroom.co.uk several times and had some lovely flatmates. My current flatmate is more than half my age!

I am a (very young at heart!) 56 year old and my flatmate, Sophie, who moved in last October, is just 25!  We have quite a lot in common despite our age gap – we both have non-identical twin sisters, both work in the recruitment industry, both watch too much awful reality TV, and have both dabbled in online dating!"

Wendy benefits from room rents in London averaging over £725 a month, and what's more, much of her income from taking in a lodger is tax free! The Rent a Room Scheme allows you to earn £7,500 a year tax free from renting out a furnished room in your own home.

If you're ready to test the market and see what interest there is in your room, why not post a free ad on SpareRoom today?

Or, to find out more how to benefit from your tax free rental allowance, download your free guide to the Rent a Room Scheme.