If you are a homeowner living in or around Chichester and looking for a lodger to share your home, ChiSpace are here to help.
Many people find that becoming a “Live in Landlord” or landlady is a very rewarding experience but finding the right person and managing the arrangement properly is important. That’s where ChiSpace can help– making the process of finding and managing a suitable lodger straightforward, professional and reassuring, while allowing you to enjoy the benefits of sharing your home without taking on all the hassle yourself.
We offer unique support and services for live-in landlords, from advertising-only services, through tenant finder options, all the way to full management. We can support you every step of the way.
Our personal journey at ChiSpace began with sharing our home with lodgers for 8 years, and so we understand the unique relationships that are involved in that arrangement. We emerged from that phase in our lives with experience of the balance of needs for lodgers and landlords, as well as some lifelong friends made along the way. We are here to help make it work for you.
For many homeowners, taking in a lodger can be a simple and rewarding way to make better use of a spare room. There are clear financial benefits: under the UK Government’s Rent a Room Scheme, you can currently (in 2026) receive up to £7,500 a year tax-free from letting furnished accommodation in your main home, subject to the scheme’s rules. At a time when the cost of running a home continues to rise, the additional income can make a meaningful contribution towards mortgage payments, household bills and the ever-increasing cost of utilities.
But the benefits of having a lodger can go well beyond the money. Sharing your home can provide companionship and a greater sense of security, particularly if you live alone or find yourself with more space than you need. A good lodger can also become part of the rhythm of your household – sharing the occasional meal, having someone around to chat to, and perhaps even helping with some of the everyday workload. For homeowners who enjoy having people around, a lodger can bring a welcome sense of company and make a large or under-used home feel more lived-in.
Feedback from our clients suggests that for many, the stumbling block to sharing your home can be as simple as getting started. If you feel daunted, here at ChiSpace we have a number of pathways available. More information about our services is provided below or contact us now for a conversation about your needs.
CHI SPACE PROPERTY MANAGEMENT LTD IS A SMALL, AND VERY LOCAL, LETTINGS AGENCY OFFERING AN UNRIVALLED, PERSONALISED SERVICE TO LIVE-IN-LANDLORDS AND TENANTS WITHIN THE CHICHESTER AREA.
All our live-in landlords will benefit from a free consultation to discuss the pros and cons of taking a lodger into your own home. We’ll help you decide whether or not this is the right decision for you and your property, so that you can move forward in full confidence. Included services in our most basic package are:
- Full portal advertising
- Attended viewings
- Full compliance checks for your property and help in achieving your due diligence
- Onboarding checks
- Referencing for any tenants
- Deposit collection
- Access to our legally verified contract and contract amendments as required at no extra cost. This includes creating an ancillary agreement if you are offering any additional services to your lodgers, for example, meals or laundry services.
For self-managing landlords, we will hand over your lodger with their licence signed, a deposit collected, a welcome pack in place, and any house rules agreed in advance. We will also provide you with a workflow and associated paperwork to support you if/when you decide to end the lodgers’ agreement.
Our unique managed service for live-in landlords means that, in addition to the services already outlined, we will:
- Keep live checks on your landlords’ due diligence, making sure that paperwork is kept up to date and that records of required periodic health and safety checks are documented and retained.
- We will collect rent for you on a monthly basis, protect it in a ring-fenced account, covered by Client Money Protection, and we will account monthly to you with paperwork that you can use to make your tax accounting very simple.
- We can help you to access the Rent-A-Room allowance to make having a lodger as tax efficient as possible.
- We will act as first point of contact for your tenants in the event that you are frequently away from the home or would prefer not to deal with day-to-day issues such as maintenance.
- Our fully managed landlords have access to our team of trusted tradespeople who can help you make sure that any maintenance needs in the home are dealt with in a timely and efficient manner.
- All ongoing aspects of the lodgers agreement will be managed on your behalf, including any periodic rent increases and any paperwork to bring the lodger agreement to an end if required.
- We will make periodic checks on your behalf and document these so that you have a paper trail demonstrating your landlord’s due diligence for fire safety etc.
- We will protect your tenant’s deposit during their tenancy in a scheme with industry ombudsman oversight, and we will return the deposit to them and manage any required deductions at the end of their stay.
- Our fully managed landlords do not pay any additional fees when they need to recruit a new lodger. Once you are fully managed, these services are included within your monthly fee.*
*Ts&Cs apply – minimum lodger stay is three months to access these services. In the event your lodger stays for a shorter period of time, the fee structure would fall under our short lets / holiday lets provision.
