Sharing your home is a big deal, but there are good ideas around, beyond renting out properties online. You’ll have to account for allergies and medical conditions. If you have children or vulnerable people living with you, you may wish to perform CRB checks.
If you or your sharer has pets, things can get complicated, so do your homework first. For instance, learn how to make your garden safe for pets and know toxic houseplants to avoid (even brushing a tail against sago palm, lilies or cheese plants can harm). Also don’t display foliage to face windows, to help stop birds flying into windows.
Home Share and Share My Home both offers a vetted service, offering low-cost accommodation to people who can’t afford high rents, in return for some company and a few chores, for a few hours each week to someone living alone. The renters pledge to look after pets, tend gardens, do housework etc, and often chats and cups of tea are appreciated. This enables someone to sort their life out on a budget, and an older or disabled person to remain in their own home. Share and Care and Novus Homeshare operates exclusively in London.
Shared Lives Plus is a bit different, giving homes to people who would otherwise go into residential care – from people with mental health issues to those with early stage dementia. You decide what’s suitable, but you can earn up to hundreds of pounds a week with tax relief, and you get regular breaks and a support network, to change someone’s life. It’s like ‘foster care for adults’, based on shared interests. So if there’s an adult with Down Syndrome who loves rollerskating (and so do you), you could be a match made in Heaven!
