Lodgers and tenants are governed by different statutes, with different notice rights, deposit rules, eviction routes and tax treatments. The dividing line…
A friend wants to rent your spare room. You agree a price, shake hands, and the next question is what to actually sign. The honest answer is: it depends on a single fact about the arrangement — whether you are still going to be living in the property — and on that single fact turns whether you are dealing with a lodger or a tenant.
This is not a semantic distinction. Lodgers and tenants are governed by different statutes. They have different notice rights, different deposit obligations, different eviction processes, and different tax treatments. Getting it wrong produces consequences in both directions: the agreement can fail to do what the parties intended, and the occupier can end up with either more or fewer protections than either side bargained for.
Loading interactive view…