Room to let in East Ave; short lets are fine!

There is a lot to read but, on the plus side, I don’t use a written contract or require guarantors or references, so (if I feel I can trust you) the right person (female preferred, this time around) could move in very quickly. I just need to see your passport (if you’re British) or your Right to Rent code (if not).

The last lodger who moved in for just two months (a Japanese student on a short course) then decided to stay on for two years - until her working visa expired!

An Indian moved in just two days after our very first video chat, as we felt able to trust each other - and she stayed a year. We’re still in touch - texting only last week!

Five or six minutes spent on reading my entire ad now will also reveal the informality and flexibility of being a lodger (i. e. sharing with a live-in landlord).

A tenant may have to sign a six- or twelve-month contract, and might even have to pay for the remaining term (or at least find a replacement tenant) if you need to leave early.

Just a month’s notice applies here, but only after you have been here a full month (unless we agree a shorter term at the start, at a higher rent). If you don’t love it here you’re certainly not obliged to stay any longer than two months!

As I don’t use a contract, we just need to have a good, long chat when you come to view the room, a bit like an interview where we can learn a bit about each other and whether we’ll get on. If you don’t have a profile up, then please don’t simply ask to view, but tell me about yourself, where you will be based, what you do, and when and for how long you want the room (and which one of the two). I would prefer to know all of this before spending time texting to and fro and then showing you around and still having a long chat.

I also need to check you know how to cook without melting my microwave (this has happened!) and won’t cook on plates in the oven, or go out leaving the front door open, or the gas on the oven hob or candles lit, all of which have also happened! I’d also rather avoid regular stir-fry wok users, due to all the steam and grease. People who only eat out or use the microwave are fine (I might even make a slight reduction in rent!) - or those who can bake cakes and also tidy up afterwards!

Many past lodgers have said they found it much cheaper and nicer to live in a real home, perhaps listening to Sixties music (Bob Dylan, Rolling Stones, etc.) or watching films together, rather than renting a room as a tenant with others who barely meet.

My home is a warm, charming, cosy and colourful, Victorian 4-bedroom, 2-bathroom terraced property, at OX4 1XR. I’m up in the loft; any lodgers (including the Indonesian doctor who has been here seven months) are on the first floor.

Recent foreign students have loved it here! I’m still in touch with most of them plus some others from over 20-25 years ago. I can show you many lovely photos of day trips out to Stonehenge or the Cotswolds, plus some wonderful leaving messages! They are also grateful for the fact that I like chatting - and helping to improve their English grammar.

One past Japanese lodger (who also recommended me as a live-in landlord to the last Japanese lodger) told me that she actually cried at the airport when she first left my house to fly back to Tokyo during Covid. She has even returned for two more stays!

A quick look at the photos will give an impression of the main living room, kitchen and garden, all kept nice and welcoming.

I can probably only take in one more lodger besides the Indonesian, so would prefer to rent the double room for the higher income, but I will consider renting either (but only to a female, as the downstairs bathroom will be shared with the Indonesian).

I would love to keep on having three lodgers in my home, as I did for most of the last 29 years living here, but Oxford CC say that I must apply to become an HMO first, despite the housing crisis! That could cost me c. £15K for self-closing fire doors everywhere. Therefore I can only have one more long-term lodger, but a short-term one may be fine as well.
East Avenue runs down to the O2 Academy on Cowley Rd, next to Jing Jing, a SE Asian supermarket loved by many past lodgers. We also have Seoul Plaza and others nearby, plus Tesco’s is only minutes away.

In my experience over the years, foreign students are often happy to share with an older male - and they also appreciate not needing to bring a duvet, sheets, pillows and towels from abroad, nor any mugs, plates, cutlery or saucepans…

Having had a lot of interns or foreign PhD students staying here means that I have met a lot of lovely, intelligent people over the last few years!

UK students or professionals are obviously also welcome, provided you are sociable and can also help keep the house clean and tidy. I just find that foreign students reply to my messages more often, plus appreciate living in a home - due to being so far from their own.

My house is just a few minutes' walk from South Park and is also within very easy walking distance of Oxford Brookes Uni - or Teddy Hall (17 minutes?); Carfax (22?) the Warneford Hospital (7); the Churchill (18-20) and the JR (about 25-30 minutes on foot, or far less by bike).

I usually only write out to people who will be working or studying nearby. I have had three lodgers from Teddy Hall alone in the last five years, as they all recommended me to each other, which is a good sign.

St Clements (with its X13, Oxford Tube and Airline bus stops) is under 10 minutes’ walk away. I have met many foreign students arriving in the UK off the Airline Bus there. The 15 bus to town (down Morrell Ave) is just one minute away, or the 5 and 1 buses run along the Cowley Rd, all the way to town and even the railway station.

Although not everyone wants a live-in landlord (and I certainly wouldn’t have in my youth!) you get the benefits of living in a lovely warm home, with good quality bedding, towels and furniture (plus desks, chairs and lamps) provided in each room.

There are two fridges, a washing machine, large freezer, microwave and a new (gas) cooker. There is a shed for storing cases, plus the garden itself is also a bit of a sun-trap.

It’s in my interest to ensure you’re happy and comfortable here. After 10 years of working VERY long hours (twice until 4am) and living away from home with three different law firms in Birmingham, the last one as a director - with all the stress which that entailed - I now prefer not to work at all, nor to “sign on”, but to live off the rent! My pensions won’t start until I’m 65/67, so I need the rental income!

I also like amusing, intelligent conversation and enjoy introducing foreign students to British culture - especially our museums, pubs, music, art, films, TV and literature.

We have had occasional house meals and I often invite my lodgers to join me in the pub on Fridays; some like to improve their English and meet new people there. It’s not compulsory but, if you dislike pubs or never drink alcohol, perhaps don’t apply!

There is fast wi-fi, a good TV, and a cleaner for the bathrooms and common areas. I pay for all this (TV licence, fast wifi at £65pm and Sky+ at about £100pm and council tax at about £200pm) in addition to all the usual utility bills, which are also already included in the rent. Apart from taking turns to buy toilet rolls, the rent is all-inclusive. Some people in my road pay £800-£900 each, with all these bills on top! Similar houses in my road somehow have six people sharing, presumably with no living room or communal areas.

I could charge more (especially after my water, gas and electricity bills shot up) but a good atmosphere and nice, friendly company is far more important to me than the money.
Usually I prefer postgraduates over 23 who have lived away from home before; they are (usually!) bright enough not to completely fill the kettle when making just one cup of coffee, and know how to cook without using metal forks on non-stick saucepans and frying pans!

I did have a male lodger for more than 12 years and others before him. When he left in 2017, three female foreign students from HK, Malaysia and Indonesia all moved in, and so I now prefer female lodgers after some very grim experiences with males. Melting the microwave was just one; another nearly burned my house down when drunk, another was sick and denied it was him!

It’s VERY informal here. One past lodger from India moved in just two days(!) after our very first WhatsApp video chat - and stayed very happily for a year. An Indonesian ex-lodger even asked me to read at her wedding!

I'm happy to wait for the right person, someone who will fit in well, will chat and be happy to say hello or goodbye when arriving home or heading out.
You are welcome to speak to or text current or past lodgers for any reassurance (especially about me!) that may be needed. I can also send numerous photos and screenshots of lovely leaving messages of thanks from past lodgers via WhatsApp. Obviously I’ll send you my mobile number and my address if you reply to a message from me.

There are books, paintings, CDs and DVDs everywhere. Visitors (i. e. your or my friends) are welcome here and they always love the bright colours and the relaxed atmosphere. The modern art (on all three floors) was all painted about 20-25 years ago by a Peruvian lodger and artist; I was his Best Man when he later got married! We are also still in touch over 20 years after he lived here.

The Indonesian doctor and I would now prefer only a female next, partly as you will be sharing the downstairs bathroom with her. As a live-in landlord I believe that I’m permitted to express a preference in my own home and hopefully SpareRoom will confirm this…

No matter how well we get on in any initial meeting or video chat, the first month’s rent and deposit (for example £650 or £850 for each) both need to be paid before the room is “yours”. This is because I don’t use a written contract; it’s the only way I know you are serious about wanting the room. I’ll only trust you with my bank details if we both like you too.

The "worst-case" scenario here is that if you agree to take the room at £850 rent and £850 deposit, and pay the £1700 in advance (for example), but then change your mind just before moving in, perhaps to live with friends instead, the deposit of £850 would (of course) be refunded, but not the first month’s rent - as that is the notice period to leave.

Someone I trusted and who firmly gave me his “word” to pay both rent and deposit (in cash) on the day he landed in the UK, cancelled while on the Airline bus coming here. I was actually waiting at the bus stop to meet him at 8pm one winter’s night, so I’m very, very firm on this now. The room is only “yours” if you have paid.

Short-term arrangements are fine, but at a higher rental rate - to cover the extra cleaning, or the risk of long vacant periods, or just missing out on an equally nice, longer-term lodger.

I am willing to have a lodger with a cat (but NOT a dog, rats, snakes, rabbits or hamsters - I’m very sorry).

As I'm a live-in landlord, you will be a lodger and NOT a tenant (Google "tenant v lodger" or view the Citizens’ Advice website and please at least read the SpareRoom article on this website). You should also read the DailyInfo articles such as the Newbie’s Guide to Renting - which is particular to Oxford.

My house is NOT an HMO which means that things are very informal here. Your deposit also doesn’t need to go into a govt deposit scheme; if you are a tenant it certainly should, so check! I still expect a full deposit for someone staying only a month or so. You should also arrange your own contents insurance, (try Endsleigh) especially if you have a bike.

I don’t allow fans, heaters, clothes driers or similar electrical items in bedrooms due to the condensation and mould caused - it’s an “open door”.

My apologies for the length of this, but it seemed sensible to address all possible queries.

Some people have STILL asked if I would have couples here - or a dog… No! Feel free to ask me about anything else, such as partner visits, but not these two points. My ad (and this paragraph in particular) is clear enough!

If you have read this far, I really hope you have picked up a flavour of life here surrounded by books, films, art, humour and music, and might be interested in a chat or coming to view my home - despite the presence of a laid-back, live-in landlord!

Experience has taught me not to spend my time showing someone around if they haven’t read this far, especially if they still ask to bring a dog. I like them but not to live here. I want a lodger who has read the ad and understands that I’d like to share my home with someone nice, sociable and considerate. If that’s you, get in touch!