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Homeowners beat credit crunch with lodgers

Thursday, 18 September 2008 12:01 AM

There has been an 8.3 per cent increase in homeowners taking in lodgers over the last 12 months as more people seek help paying their mortgage.

Research from flatshare site SpareRoom.co.uk found an extra 27,000 homeowners took in a lodger over the last year as higher mortgage and bill payments squeezed household income.

Matt Hutchinson, director of research at SpareRoom.co.uk, said: "Tenant demand is booming as tens of thousands delay buying their first home and immigration continues to rise.

"Just over 70 per cent of live-in landlords are single. Without a partner to share the huge jumps in mortgage payments and other living expenses, and to provide a cushion in the event of unemployment, taking in a lodger is an obvious way to survive the looming recession."

Over the course of 2008, homeowners will earn £2.32 billion in rental income from their spare rooms, an increase of £162 million compared to 2007, SpareRoom.co.uk said.

The fastest growth in demand for lodgers was in the north-west and the West Midlands, with Carlisle, Stoke on Trent, Walsall and Wigan topping the table.

Many towns in the south-west, traditionally less likely to take in lodgers, are also seeing strong demand. London, Glasgow and Edinburgh, by contrast, have seen the slowest growth in demand for lodgers.

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