Taking In a Lodger After the Renters' Rights Act: What Still Applies

A lodger who shares your home is not an assured tenant, because paragraph 10 of Schedule 1 to the Housing Act 1988 excludes resident landlord lettings, so most of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 does not apply. Several duties still do: an annual gas safety check, a right to rent check and, for the usual lodger licence, the Tenant Fees Act 2019 ban on most fees.

This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Landlords should seek independent legal advice for their specific circumstances. It describes the position in England.

Does the Renters' Rights Act apply to lodgers?

For a lodger who lives in your own home, largely not. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 works by changing the rules for assured tenancies, and a lodger arrangement is normally outside that regime for two reasons.

First, most lodgers have a licence, meaning permission to occupy a room without exclusive possession of it, rather than a tenancy. Second, even where the arrangement amounts to a tenancy, paragraph 10 of Schedule 1 to the Housing Act 1988 provides that a letting by a resident landlord, meaning a landlord who lives as their only or principal home in another part of the same building, cannot be an assured tenancy. The current revised text of the 1988 Act shows no amendment to paragraph 10 by the 2025 Act. Shelter's guidance on the Act states that lodgers' rights "have not changed" where the lodger lives with the landlord.

The practical result is that the main 1 May 2026 changes do not govern a typical lodger arrangement.

Where the arrangement is not genuinely a resident landlord letting, for example because you do not live there as your main home, the occupier will normally have an assured tenancy, and the full 2026 regime applies. The NRLA's lodger agreement guidance makes the same point: if the conditions are not met, the occupier will "normally have an assured periodic tenancy".

Which landlord duties still apply to lodgers?

A resident landlord is still a landlord for several statutory purposes. The table below sets out the main duties and whether each one reaches a lodger who shares your kitchen, bathroom or living room.

Gas safety

HSE guidance is direct on this. Under the heading "I have a lodger who pays me rent", it says: "You are classed as a landlord, so you need to arrange an annual gas safety check." The duty covers gas appliances and flues you provide for the lodger's use. Our gas safety certificate guide covers what the check involves and the record you must keep.

Right to rent

Section 22 of the Immigration Act 2014 applies to lodgers in the same way as to tenants, and the Home Office civil penalty table sets out separate maximums for lodgers: up to £5,000 for a first breach and up to £10,000 for a repeat breach within three years. Every adult lodger must be checked before they move in. The method is the same as for any tenancy, as explained in our right to rent checks guide.

Fees

The Tenant Fees Act 2019 is the duty most often missed. Section 28 defines "tenancy" to include "a licence to occupy housing", and expressly includes a licence granted by a licensor "who resides in the housing". The relevant carve out for a resident landlord is a narrow "excluded licence", typically a homeshare, where a charity or community interest company advises on the arrangement and the only consideration is companionship or care, with or without contributions towards council tax, utilities, communication services or a TV licence. A typical lodger paying rent is therefore covered, and fees outside the permitted list are banned. Our Tenant Fees Act guide lists what can and cannot be charged.

Electrical safety and alarms

Both sets of regulations exclude lettings where the occupier shares accommodation with the landlord or a member of the landlord's family. The electrical regulations define sharing as having the use of a toilet, washing facilities, a kitchen or a living room in common. Many resident landlords choose to have the installation inspected and to fit alarms anyway, since a lodger's safety and the landlord's own home are both at stake. The general alarm rules for tenancies are in our smoke and carbon monoxide alarm guide.

Do I need to protect a lodger's deposit?

No. The duty under sections 212 and 213 of the Housing Act 2004 applies to deposits taken in connection with an assured tenancy, and a lodger in your home does not have one. The landlord is still bound by the terms of the agreement, so a deposit should be returned in line with them, and the Tenant Fees Act 2019 caps any deposit at five weeks' rent (or six weeks where annual rent is £50,000 or more) where the Act applies.

How do I end a lodger arrangement?

How you end the arrangement depends on whether the lodger is an excluded occupier. Under section 3A(2) of the Protection from Eviction Act 1977, a tenancy or licence is excluded where the occupier shares accommodation with the landlord, and the landlord occupied the premises as their only or principal home both when the arrangement began and when it ends. Shared storage areas, stairs and corridors do not count as shared accommodation under section 3A(5).

The government's guidance for resident landlords states that once reasonable notice has expired, a resident landlord can change the locks on an excluded occupier's rooms, even if belongings remain, but must give the belongings back. Using force or threats remains unlawful, and what counts as reasonable notice can depend on the agreement and the facts. Where a lodger disputes their status, legal advice is recommended before acting.

For occupiers who do not qualify as excluded, and for tenants generally, our guide to how a tenancy ends now Section 21 is gone explains the routes that require a court.

Can having lodgers turn my home into an HMO?

Not with one or two lodgers. Paragraph 6 of Schedule 14 to the Housing Act 2004, read with regulation 6(2) of the Licensing and Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation and Other Houses (Miscellaneous Provisions) (England) Regulations 2006, excludes from the HMO definition a building occupied by the resident owner, their household and no more than two other persons. A third lodger can bring the property within the HMO definition, and licensing rules depend on the number of occupiers and the local authority's schemes, as set out in our mandatory HMO licensing threshold guide.

What about tax on lodger income?

The Rent a Room scheme lets an individual receive up to £7,500 a year in gross receipts (rent plus any payments for services such as meals or laundry, before expenses) from furnished accommodation in their only or main home without paying income tax on it, according to HMRC's Property Income Manual (PIM4001). The limit halves to £3,750 where someone else also receives rent from letting in the same residence. Whether the scheme suits a particular landlord depends on their other income and expenses, so tax advice is recommended.

Lodger checklist for resident landlords

1. Confirm the arrangement is genuinely a lodging: you live there as your main home and share a kitchen, bathroom or living room with the lodger.
2. Carry out a right to rent check on every adult lodger before they move in, and keep copies.
3. Arrange an annual gas safety check and give the lodger a copy of the record.
4. Charge only payments permitted by the Tenant Fees Act 2019, and keep any deposit within the five week cap.
5. Put the terms in a written lodger agreement, including rent, notice and house rules.
6. Keep the number of lodgers at two or fewer unless you have checked the HMO position.
7. When ending the arrangement, give reasonable notice and avoid force; take advice if status is disputed.

Keeping the record straight

Even a single lodger produces a small compliance file: a gas safety record that expires every year, right to rent copies that must be kept, and a written agreement. The LLCR platform tracks certificate expiry dates and stores documents against each property, with a dated proof of service entry when you give the lodger a copy of the gas record. The LLCR Academy publishes England-only courses for landlords who want the wider rules. LLCR is free for one property.

Letting a room and unsure which duties apply to your arrangement? The free LLCR compliance checker takes a few minutes and shows which records may be missing.