How to rent out a property as a shared house

A number of landlords have contacted us over the last fortnight to ask us how to change over their rental property from a normal residential house to a shared house in order to gain more income writes Lea Beven.

This week I am going to give you a step by step of the essentials when swapping your house over in this way.

Many people are put off by regulations, but you should not be - in most cases many of them do not apply.

We can guide you easily.

Many house share tenants do not have cars – so don't worry too much about parking unless it is already a problem for normal tenants.

Keep your tenants noise levels down and it should also keep complaints down.

In the property you will need to ensure you have adequate fire precautions and exits. This could be as simple as having a fire door on the kitchen door, hard wired smoke alarms in each room and smoke detectors.

However, it could be a little more complicated if it is a big property over three floors (call your council for specific advice).

You will need to make sure you have enough kitchen cupboard space to allow each tenant to have their own space and a good sized fridge and freezer with at least one draw or shelf for each tenant.

Furnishing your property to a reasonable standard is essential in the current market as there is a fair amount of competition and it is better to rent quickly than to take a long time.

You do not always need a lounge and if the current one is separate and not a walkway though to another room then quite often you can make another bedroom out of it.

We can advise you on many money saving techniques that cost from as little as £10 and can save you hundreds of pounds over the years. You'll also need to keep on top of costs and bills to ensure profits.

Depending on what market you wish to aim for you may consider installing Sky TV, putting in fast broadband and having a regular cleaner and gardener.

So there we have it - the basics for setting up a house share. We can help you even more if you pop on to our website.

So my tip of the week: Don't skimp on services or you will get a higher churn of tenants.