What is a Lodger Licence agreement?
A Lodger Licence Agreement is a rental agreement which allows a licensor (live-in landlord) to rent out a room in their property to a licensee (lodger). The property should be the licensor's main home. A Lodger Licence is an Excluded Licence under Section 3A(2) of the Protection from Eviction Act and is NOT an Assured Shorthold Tenancy (as defined in Section 19A of the Housing Act 1988) and does not create the relationship of a landlord and tenant.
What are the Licensor’s obligations?
A live-in landlord (licensor) must provide the lodger with a set of keys for the room and property in exchange for the licence fee. A lodger will also have access to shared and common facilities. The licensor owes a duty of care to the lodger and must ensure that the room and property are safe. This for example means that the furnishings are fire resistant and electrical appliances are safe.
As the property is the licensor’s main home, the licensor is responsible for paying council tax, utility suppliers and insurance for the property. If a live-in landlord collects a deposit, they are under no obligation to protect it with a deposit scheme but they must return the deposit, minus any deductions, within an agreed number of days at the end of the licence period.
What are the Lodger’s obligations?
The lodger must pay the licence fee to the licensor in exchange for occupying the room. The lodger must also look after the property in order to not damage the room or furnishings and must keep it tidy and clear of rubbish. If any damage does occur, the lodger must inform the live-in landlord immediately. The lodger must also follow a number of rules such as not using the property for business purposes or copying the keys without the licensor’s permission. The licensor must indicate whether the lodger is allowed pets or to smoke in the property.
What are the key features of the Legislate Lodger Licence agreement?
The Legislate Lodger licence template is designed to allow resident landlords to rent out a room in their property to a lodger for a fixed period of time or on a rolling basis. The terms are fair and can be tailored to each property’s specific requirements. The main features of the lodger licence agreement are:
- Lawyer-reviewed, fair, written in plain English and easy to understand
- Live-in landlords can take on a lodger for a fixed term or rolling basis
- Live-in landlords can include a utilities fee in the licence or as an additional charge
- Choose a reasonable notice period from a drop-down of options
- Upload house rules to the contract for a more
- Easily define the facilities, living space and other shared areas
- Offers complete protection to both the licensor and the lodger
- Optional special terms around pets and smoking
What are the main benefits of creating a Lodger Licence agreement with Legislate?
Creating a lodger agreement with Legislate is a delightful and cost-effective way to create contracts. For only £9.95 you can create a lodger licence agreement which is:
- Lawyer reviewed and tailored to your specific requirements and is always up-to-date with the law.
- Legislate contracts do not contain any legalese and are easy to understand which means that the live-in landlord and lodger will easily understand their legal rights and obligations.
- A better user experience for you and your lodgers who can now access their licence information at anytime on any device from a browser.
- An efficient way to automate your compliance and reporting requirements by making all your historical contracts available from one dashboard.
- Access instant lodger statistics to help you manage your contracts in real time.
What lodger licence agreements can you create with Legislate?
Legislate's lodger licence agreement is flexible enough to be tailored to most situations encountered by live-in landlords:
- 1 month licences with weekly or monthly payments, inclusive of utilities or managed by a letting agent
- 6 month licences with weekly or monthly payments, inclusive of utilities or managed by a letting agent
- Rolling licences with weekly or monthly payments, inclusive of utilities or managed by a letting agent
- Fixed term licences with weekly or monthly payments, inclusive of utilities or managed by a letting agent
How to create a Lodger Licence contract with Legislate
Creating a Lodger Licence agreement with Legislate is fast and easy. Specify the terms of the agreement by answering simple questions. Invite the lodger when you are happy with the terms and the generate licence agreement. You can also brand the agreement by adding a logo should you wish to do so. Legislate will then take care of reminders and communication with the lodger until the contract is signed. Once the lodger has reviewed the contract and accepted the terms they can sign. Legislate also supports witnessing should you require this.
For more information on how to create your agreements with Legislate, sign up, read our lodger licence tutorial or book an introductory call with one of our team members.