A solicitor is warning live-in landlords and people renting spare rooms that copying a standard tenancy agreement into a lodger agreement could misstate or obscure both parties' rights and responsibilities over notice, deposits, access to bedrooms and the process for ending the arrangement.
The Renters' Rights Act introduced wide-ranging protections for assured tenants in England from 1 May 2026, but a live-in landlord arrangement may fall outside much of that regime. A document cannot determine legal status by itself.
However, lawyers say an unsuitable lodger agreement may create false expectations about whether somebody is a tenant or lodger, how the arrangement can end, whether a deposit must be protected and when the homeowner may enter the room.
"Letting somebody into occupy your home is both a financial arrangement and a domestic one," said Lisa Blythe, property recovery solicitor at SE-Solicitors.
"Disputes often begin with matters neither party thought worth writing down, including allowing overnight guests, working from home, household bills and notice."
"A short agreement is better than a long document copied from the wrong type of letting/rental agreement," she added. "It should reflect what will actually happen in the home and make clear where each person stands before money changes hands."
Five clauses for a lodger agreement
Five clauses could help prevent the biggest shared-home disputes. A status and shared spaces clause should state that the landlord lives in the property, name the room being occupied and list which kitchens, bathrooms or living areas are shared, which avoids arguments over whether the occupier is a tenant or lodger and which legal protections apply.
A deposit clause should cover the amount paid, a receipt, permitted deductions, the repayment date and any inventory or photographs, heading off disputes over damage, missing items or money withheld after the arrangement ends.
Notice and early termination terms should record the notice each side must give and whether a fixed-term arrangement can end early, which guards against sudden requests to leave or disagreement over how long the occupier may remain.
An access and privacy clause should state when the homeowner may enter the room, how repairs will be arranged and how belongings will be treated, preventing complaints about unannounced entry or intrusion into the occupier's private space.
Finally, a clause on ending the arrangement should cover the return of keys, removal of belongings, final bills, room inspection, deposit repayment and contact details for notices, which helps avoid disputes over outstanding money, possessions or responsibilities after the occupier leaves.
"The most important clause is the one that records the reality of the arrangement," Blythe explained. "If the homeowner lives there and shares a kitchen, bathroom or living room with the renter, a document copied from a conventional tenancy agreement may create expectations that do not match either side's actual rights."
"The agreement should answer two questions before a problem occurs: how can either side end the arrangement and when may the homeowner enter the room?" she noted. "Uncertainty over those points can quickly turn a domestic disagreement into a dispute about somebody's home."
"A well-drafted agreement should not try to manufacture a legal status," she concluded. "Its value is in making the practical arrangement clear, so the homeowner and lodger understand the financial terms, household boundaries and exit process from the outset."
