Renting a room
Lodger vs tenant: which are you?
A lodger lives with the landlord and shares their kitchen, bathroom or living room. A tenant has a home, or a room, to themselves, and the landlord lives somewhere else. The difference decides how much notice you get, whether your landlord needs a court order to evict you, and whether your deposit is protected.
England only · Checked against GOV.UK on 23 October 2026 · Independent, not a government service
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Check a property freeThe test: does your landlord live with you?
- Your landlord lives in the home as their only or main home, and you share a kitchen, bathroom or living room with them or their family: you are a lodger. The law calls this an excluded occupier.
- Your landlord lives in the same house, but you share none of those rooms with them: you are probably an occupier with basic protection. Shared hallways, stairs and storage don’t count as sharing.
- Your landlord doesn’t live there: you are almost certainly a tenant, whether you rent the whole home or one room in a shared house.
Behind this is a legal idea called exclusive possession: the right to keep other people, the landlord included, out of the space you rent. It is the usual sign of a tenancy. But sharing the landlord’s kitchen, bathroom or living room still makes you a lodger, even with a lock on your own room.
Lodger and tenant compared
A tenant here means someone with an assured periodic tenancy, which since 1 May 2026 is the standard private tenancy in England.
| Lodger (lives with the landlord) | Tenant (assured periodic tenancy) | |
|---|---|---|
| Notice the landlord must give | “Reasonable notice”, usually one rent period. It doesn’t have to be in writing. | Depends on the legal ground: four months to sell or move in (and not to end in the first 12 months), four weeks for serious rent arrears. The landlord needs a legal ground. |
| Court order to evict | Not needed. When the notice ends the landlord can change the locks on your room, but must give your belongings back and can’t use or threaten violence. | Always. If you stay after the notice, the landlord must get a possession order from a court, then a warrant for bailiffs if you still don’t leave. |
| Deposit protection | Not required. You should still get it back, less any fair deductions. | Required: in a government-approved scheme within 30 days of paying it. |
| Rent increases | Whatever your agreement allows. On a rolling agreement the landlord can raise it at any time; in a fixed term, only if you agree or the agreement says how. | Once a year, not in the first 12 months, on Form 4A with at least two months’ notice. You can challenge it at the First-tier Tribunal. |
| Repairs | The landlord must keep the home safe and in good repair, and have gas appliances checked every year. | The landlord is always responsible for the structure and exterior, heating and hot water, sinks, baths and drains, gas appliances and wiring. |
| Council tax | The landlord pays. They can include part of it in your rent. | Usually you, if you rent the whole home. If you rent a room on your own agreement in a shared house, usually the owner. |
| Right to Rent check | Yes. The landlord must check you can legally rent in England. | Yes, the same check. |
| Fees | The Tenant Fees Act covers lodgers, so most fees are banned. | Most fees are banned under the Tenant Fees Act. |
| Rent a Room scheme | Lets your landlord earn up to £7,500 a year tax-free from furnished rooms in their home (£3,750 if the income is shared). It doesn’t change your rights. | Doesn’t apply: it’s only for landlords letting space in the home they live in. |
| Leaving yourself | Give notice under your agreement. In a fixed term you can’t leave early unless it has a break clause. | Two months’ notice in writing, at any point. No fixed term to sit out. |
More on each: is my deposit protected?, who pays the council tax, right to rent checks and assured periodic tenancies.
A “licence to occupy” label doesn’t decide it
Some agreements call themselves a licence, a lodger agreement or a room licence. The courts look at the reality, not the label. If you have the space to yourself, for a period, in return for rent, and the landlord doesn’t live there, you probably have a tenancy whatever the paper says. A clause saying the landlord can come and go or move other people in doesn’t count if it was never meant to happen.
Living with your landlord, the label matters even less: sharing their kitchen, bathroom or living room makes you an excluded occupier whether the paper calls it a tenancy or a licence. The thing to watch is a landlord who says they live there when they don’t: the lodger rules only apply where the landlord lived there as their only or main home when the arrangement started, and still does when it ends.
If you are a tenant, check your agreement against today’s rules before you sign. A fixed term or a section 21 clause usually means it was written on an old template.
Lodgers and the Renters’ Rights Act
The Renters’ Rights Act changed assured tenancies from 1 May 2026. GOV.UK says different rules apply if you are a lodger, and a tenancy can’t be an assured periodic tenancy if your landlord lives in the same accommodation. The resident landlord exception in the Housing Act 1988 wasn’t changed.
- Doesn’t apply to lodgers: the end of fixed terms and section 21, the eviction grounds and their notice periods, the once-a-year rent increase on Form 4A, and the information sheet tenants had to be given.
- Still applies to lodgers: the Tenant Fees Act, as amended by the Act, which covers licences to occupy such as lodgers.
If you are a lodger and asked to leave
Your landlord doesn’t need a court order, but they must give you reasonable notice, give back your belongings, and not use or threaten violence. If the notice seems too short, GOV.UK says to contact your council, which can act against an illegal eviction. If you are really a tenant, being locked out without a court order is a criminal offence by the landlord: what to do about an illegal eviction.
Am I a lodger or a tenant?
Ask two questions. Does your landlord live in the home as their only or main home? And do you share a kitchen, bathroom or living room with them or their family? If both are yes, you are a lodger. If the landlord lives somewhere else, you are almost certainly a tenant, even if you only rent one room and share the kitchen with other renters.
What rights does a lodger have?
Fewer than a tenant, but some. You are entitled to reasonable notice, to have your belongings returned, and not to be evicted with violence or threats. Your landlord must keep the home safe and in good repair, have gas appliances checked every year, and check your right to rent. Most fees are banned under the Tenant Fees Act. You don’t get deposit protection, a court process or the Renters’ Rights Act rules on rent rises.
How much notice does a lodger get?
“Reasonable notice”, which GOV.UK says is usually the length of one rent period: a month if you pay monthly, a week if you pay weekly. There is no fixed rule, and it doesn’t have to be in writing. How long you have lived there and how often you pay rent can both count. If you have a fixed-term agreement, you can usually stay to the end of it unless it says otherwise.
Does a lodger’s deposit have to be protected?
No. GOV.UK says resident landlords are not legally required to protect a deposit. You should still get it back when you leave, less any reasonable deductions, and you can go to court if it is kept unfairly. A check-in inventory with photos makes that much easier.
Is a licence to occupy the same as a tenancy?
No, but what the agreement calls itself doesn’t decide which you have. Courts look at the reality: if you have the home or room to yourself, for a period, for rent, and the landlord doesn’t live there, it is usually a tenancy whatever the paper says. If you share your landlord’s kitchen, bathroom or living room, you are a lodger whether the paper says tenancy or licence. A landlord who calls it a “licence” but doesn’t live there may have given you a tenancy.
Does the Renters’ Rights Act apply to lodgers?
Mostly not. Its changes from 1 May 2026 are to assured tenancies, and GOV.UK says different rules apply if you are a lodger. A tenancy can’t be an assured periodic tenancy if your landlord lives in the same accommodation, so the end of section 21, the new eviction grounds and the once-a-year rent rule don’t cover you. The Tenant Fees Act, as amended by the Act, still covers lodgers.
What if my landlord lives in the house but we share nothing?
Then you are probably an occupier with basic protection: the landlord lives there but you don’t share a kitchen, bathroom or living room with them or their family. You still aren’t an assured tenant, but the landlord must give you written notice to quit and get a court order if you don’t leave.
Where this comes from
GOV.UK’s Rent a room in your home, including your lodger’s tenancy type, rent, bills and tax, ending a letting, houses in multiple occupation and the Rent a Room Scheme; Private renting: tenancy types, Private renting: evictions, Grounds for possession: guidance for tenants, Notices of possession served after 1 May 2026, Renters’ Rights Act: overview for tenants, Tenancy deposit protection, Private renting: repairs, Check your tenant’s right to rent and the Tenant Fees Act statutory guidance. Shelter England on lodgers, who is an excluded occupier and tenancy and licence agreements. The law itself: Housing Act 1988, Schedule 1 (resident landlords) and Protection from Eviction Act 1977, section 3A (excluded tenancies and licences).
General information, not legal advice. Whether you are a lodger or a tenant depends on the facts, so if your home is at stake, get advice from Shelter, Citizens Advice or your council. RenterCheck is independent and not connected with the government.
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