Renting out a spare room - Azaria's story

Azaria shares her experience of renting out a spare room in her home in Swansea, South Wales.

"I'm happy to say that taking in a lodger has been a huge success for me. I was a 24-year old graduate working in marketing when I bought my first property (lucky, I know). It's a two bed flat in the town centre and I advertised the room on SpareRoom. Within a few days I had quite a few responses to choose between, and arranged two viewings the following Saturday.

One of the viewers decided within a few hours that she'd like to move in with me - she's a 31 year old Mexican who'd been living in Manchester and needed to be in Swansea for work. We get along brilliantly - she's lovely, quiet, polite, funny and clean. We don't see each other all that often, we're both busy people with activities that keep us out of the flat on different nights of the week.

My boyfriend moved in with us in January. If anything he's more of a pain in the butt than having a lodger - if he could be as clean and considerate as she is, we'd never argue again!

So I've gone from living by myself to living in a happy busy household of three adults, and it all works out just fine because we're considerate and respect each other's space. I'd recommend a lodger to anyone who'd otherwise be living by themselves - even if you're not in constant conversation, sometimes it's just nice to have that extra person for company, and of course the financial side doesn't hurt either!"

Azaria benefits from room rents in Swansea averaging around £350 per month, which means that all of her rental income is tax free, thanks to the Rent a Room Scheme.

If you'd like to make your spare room work for you, post a free room ad now, and start getting enquiries.

Or, to find out more about your tax free rental allowance under the Rent a Room Scheme, download your free guide.