Commuting to work is expensive business. Train fares are rising and running a car is far from cheap when you think about the cost of fuel, tax, insurance, loan payments and maintenance costs.

Yet according to the Office for National Statistics, the majority of workers aged 16-74 in England and Wales commute to work by car or van. That’s 15.3 million people or 57.7% of the working population on the roads during rush hours.

For professionals fed up with commuting, one option is lodging from Monday to Friday. Currently, there are a number of websites matching lodgers with prospective landlords such as MondaytoFriday.com, fivenights.com and spareroom.co.co.uk.

The arrangement allows commuters to have a home away from home during the week while landlords make some extra income and get their house back at the weekend.

MondaytoFriday.com, one of the big players in the working-week lodging space, was the brainchild of Judy Niner. Working in London and living in Oxfordshire, Niner found commuting on a daily basis too much and so rented a room in the capital for the working week. To cover the cost she also rented out a room in her own home from Monday to Friday. It was then she realised the same idea could work for other people in her position.

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Niner says: “I realised that everybody I had ever told thought it would be a great idea, and I had never mentioned it to one person who didn’t know someone who would find the site useful. The final push I needed was the internet really coming of age; I knew I was on to a winner.”

According to MondaytoFriday.com, 52% of week day lodgers save two or more hours on their daily commute – reducing their petrol bill or saving on ticket prices as well as benefitting from a stable home from home during the working week.

This is a potential money-making initiative for landlords who may be struggling to make mortgage repayments or even for empty nesters with too much space or people who want some extra cash for a holiday or to top up a pension – but who want to reclaim their privacy at weekends.

According to a Nationwide study this month, 85% of owner-occupied homes have at least one spare bedroom and 49% are classified under-occupied with two or more spare bedrooms.

The Government’s Rent a Room scheme lets landlords receive £4250 tax-free gross income per annum (£7,500 from April 2016) from renting furnished accommodation in their only or main home. The tax break is also available to people who rent, subject to their tenancy agreement.

The extra income can be used as an overpayment on a mortgage.

Sam Hubbard, managing director of Encompass Financial Solutions, says: “Using the tax free cash as a monthly overpayment on your mortgage could reduce your £100,000 mortgage term by over 10 years and save you over £20,000 in interest. These figures also ignore the added bonus that you will be mortgage free after 15 years”.

Niner says the risks of having a stranger in your home can be mitigated with a few simple steps: “If you decide a background check isn’t essential be sure to meet with your lodger at least once or twice to make sure your lifestyles fit. You might also like to ask to speak to their employer for a telephone reference, and send something to their home address to check you have the right details.

“It’s also worth getting a written agreement outlining whether bills are included and whether guests are allowed.”

Taking in a lodger is also a way of getting around the controversial ‘bedroom tax’. Under new benefit changes, anyone renting from the council or a housing association, and deemed to have a spare room, could face a reduction in housing benefit. According to the DWP, if a lodger moves in then the room they stay in will not be classed as an empty room for housing benefit purposes. This means there won’t be a reduction to housing benefit.

10 tips for the perfect Monday to Friday room

 

Thinking of making use of your redundant spare room to make some extra tax-free cash? Judy Niner, founder of www.mondaytofriday.com, suggests some provisions which should be made before advertising the room for rent:

1. A comfortable bed. Your lodger is staying with you to help their working life – they’ll want a good night’s sleep

2. Wireless broadband. Yes, they may want to surf and Skype the night away.

3. Light. For reading, writing, make-up

4. Hanging space. Even if it’s just a few hooks and hangers.

5. Well decorated. Your lodger will want a room at least as comfortable as their own. Wouldn’t you?

6. Clean. Make sure the room is cleaned regularly. Your competition is the B&B down the road.

7. Uncluttered. You may like your knick-knacks, but your lodger would probably prefer clear space. They will also need enough storage. S/he may want to leave a few things in their room at weekends – a couple of spare shirts, underwear, nightclothes etc, as well as toiletries.

8. Decent bed linen. This isn’t the place to use up old, un-coordinated sheets and pillowcases.

9. Effective curtains or blinds. Your lodger won’t want to be woken up by morning light because you’ve skimped on curtain lining.

10. Warmth. A cold room will force an early departure.