Would you like some extra cash from letting out your spare room and possibly receiving a £1,000 pounds grant to set up? The YMCA in Dulverton has started the Somerset West Lodging Scheme that has a dual purpose:

  • On the one hand it is helping people with extra rooms to earn money by setting up as landlords. This often helps people who have the space but are struggling to make ends meet.
  • On the other hand the scheme is trying to alleviate the shortage of single room accommodation by matching lodgers with potential landlords.

The scheme is particularly helpful to people who may not have the experience of taking in lodgers or who don’t know where to start with the rules and regulations. When a would-be landlord enters the scheme they go through Landlord/Room Accreditation and are issued with a landlord’s pack which contains guidance notes regarding their legal obligations, interviewing documentation (including reference forms), lodgers agreement and inventory.  A landlord matching and advertising service can also be arranged at the landlord’s request.

Lisa Godfrey, who is running the scheme says, “During my time managing this scheme I have become aware that the majority of people who have shown interest and signed up to the scheme are those who feel that letting out a room is a final option to make ends meet, they have already been financially struggling. For homeowners I have found that a large percentage of landlords have used the grant money to make the essential repairs and safety checks to their properties that they haven’t had the spare funds to be able to do previously, therefore the scheme has given them a helping hand to enable them to start earning that much needed income.”

Download a pdf leaflet about the scheme

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash