If you rent out individual rooms in a shared house, chances are you’ve had couples ask if they can take one. With more people looking for affordable places to live, house shares are becoming a popular choice – not just for solo tenants, but for couples too.
But is letting to a couple a good idea for your HMO property? While renting to two people instead of one can increase rental income, it also comes with extra considerations.
From legal requirements to ensuring a good fit with other tenants, there are a few factors to consider before making a decision. So should you say yes?
- Should you charge couples more rent?
- Property size and shared facilities
- HMO regulations
- What happens if the couple splits up?
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Should you charge couples more rent?
It’s quite common for landlords to ask couples to pay a bit more rent than a single tenant. However, in areas with lower demand, you might not be in a position to be too selective.
If the couple ticks all the right boxes, pushing for extra rent just because they have two incomes could put them off.
On the plus side, having two people paying rent can bring more stability. With two tenants, there’s less chance of losing all your rental income at once, which can be reassuring.
When renting out individual rooms, it’s often easiest to include bills in the rent. Tenants who aren’t in a joint tenancy may not want to deal with splitting bills, especially if they have different schedules or lifestyles.
If you do include bills, just keep in mind that two people will use more utilities, so be sure to factor that into the rent.
Property size and shared facilities
When considering renting to a couple, the key thing to think about is how an extra tenant will affect the property.
First, ask yourself: Is the room big enough, with enough storage, for two people to live comfortably? If you don’t have a living room, a small bedroom shared by two could feel cramped.
Also, think about shared spaces like bathrooms, kitchens, and laundry areas. These might already be stretched with your current tenants, and adding another person could make it feel a bit crowded.
It’s a good idea to chat with your current tenants to see if they think the property can handle another person. Not only can this help avoid potential issues, but it also shows you value their opinion and are committed to keeping a positive living environment.
At the end of the day, the decision is yours (as long as you comply with overcrowding regulations in your area), but ignoring your tenants’ views could lead to tension or more frequent changes in tenancy, which means more work and costs for you.
This could mean more time and money spent on finding new tenants and less stability in the long term.
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HMO regulations
If you’re renting a property to an unmarried couple in a house share, it’s worth thinking about how this might affect your HMO (House in Multiple Occupation) status.
For example, if you have a two-bedroom property and rent each room to a single tenant, you generally wouldn’t need an HMO licence.
But if one of those rooms is let to a couple, the property would now have three tenants from different households (the couple counts as two separate households). This could mean your property falls under HMO regulations, and you’d need to get an HMO licence, if additional licensing applies in your area.
If your property has five or more tenants from different households, it might be considered a large HMO.
So, be careful when renting to a couple – it could result in five or more tenants from two or more separate households, meaning you would need to meet the requirements for a large HMO.
To avoid any issues, it’s always a good idea to check with your local council to see what licensing rules are in place. That way, you’ll be sure to stay on the right side of the law and avoid any potential problems or hefty fines down the road.
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What happens if the couple splits up?
One of the benefits of renting out individual rooms, rather than letting the whole property to a group, is that the contracts are much simpler.
Each tenant rents their own room, is responsible for their own deposit, and can leave without affecting the other tenants. But when you let a couple rent a room together, you’re essentially creating a ‘mini’ joint tenancy.
In a perfect world, they’d split up just as the tenancy ends, shake hands, and move on. But let’s be honest, life (and breakups) are rarely that tidy.
So, what happens when love fades before the tenancy does? Here are the most common scenarios you might have to deal with…
1) Both want to move out
If the couple breaks up and both wish to leave the property, the course of action depends on whether the tenancy is still within its fixed term or has transitioned to a periodic tenancy.
If the tenancy is still within its fixed term…
The couple is generally committed to the full term of the agreement. However, if there is a break clause in the tenancy agreement, either the landlord or the couple can end the tenancy early, provided the terms of the break clause are met.
This usually involves giving written notice (typically one or two months) and meeting any other specified conditions, such as having been in the tenancy for a certain period before using the break clause.
If there is no break clause, the couple remains legally bound to the fixed term and must continue paying rent until the end of the tenancy. That is unless you agree to an early termination.
In such cases, it’s often best to reach an agreement, which might involve asking the couple to find a replacement tenant(s) to cover the rent.
If the tenancy has become periodic…
Once the fixed term ends, the tenancy may automatically roll over into a periodic tenancy (e.g., month-to-month), which gives both you and your tenants greater flexibility.
In a periodic tenancy, the couple is free to leave by providing the required notice, typically one month.
Since it’s a rolling agreement, they don’t need to stick to a fixed term and can give notice to leave at the end of any rental period without being tied down by a set contract length.
2) Only one person wants to move out
If a couple breaks up and only one of them wants to leave, things can get a bit tricky because the tenancy is still in both names. The tenant staying behind can’t just take over the tenancy on their own without the departing tenant remaining liable for the rent.
If the tenancy is still within its fixed term…
Like before, for a joint tenant to be removed from the tenancy during the fixed term all parties will need to agree to a surrender (effectively ending the current tenancy) or take advantage of the break clause, if there is one.
Or if you’re using our Rent Now tenancy creation service, then you can remove the tenant who wants to leave from the contract by renewing your tenancy, i.e. you don’t need to surrender your current contract.
If the tenancy has become periodic…
In this case, a single joint tenant can serve notice (as long as the notice is valid) to end the tenancy for both. If the remaining tenant wants to continue living in the property, they would need to agree to a renewal to stay on.
This could also be a good opportunity to reassess the rent or any other terms. For example, since only one tenant will be occupying the room, you might want to adjust the rent accordingly.
To avoid any difficult situations, it’s helpful to have an honest chat with the couple from the start about what might happen if things don’t work out.
By setting clear expectations early, you can make sure everyone feels supported and avoid unnecessary stress down the line.
