This is a room inside a home the owner also lives in — not a separate unit, not a lease with co-tenants, and not a sublet. That difference is the whole read: the agreement’s own wording on whether the owner lives on site, whether only one room is rented, and how much access the owner keeps is where the important questions start. A lodger who assumes the protections of a standard tenancy can be wrong on the points that matter most — entry, notice, and how the arrangement ends. This guide surfaces what the agreement says, and what it leaves silent, in plain language: classification flags only, owner access and privacy, notice against the pay period, deposit and rent, house rules in writing versus verbal, services promised or charged, and what happens to belongings and mail if the arrangement ends. LeaseLens makes no determination about what you legally are — ever.
The pack checklist for a lodger / room-rental review, in order. The paper is the signed lodger or room-rental agreement, plus any written house rules, deposit receipt, or services list — the review never states a rule from any summary as your agreement’s rule.
Three flags, presented as questions this raises, never as a ruling: does the agreement say the owner lives on site, does it say only one room is rented to one person, and does it state the owner keeps access to the room or is it silent? A second room renter or an owner who does not live on site can change the picture entirely — that flip is flagged, never decided here.
Entry terms for the room itself, any lock language — whether you may fit or use a lock and whether the owner keeps a key — and the boundaries for shared spaces (kitchen, bathroom, living areas). Silence on locks or entry is flagged as silence, never filled in with an assumed right.
The notice period the agreement states for either side to end the arrangement, how that period compares to the pay period (weekly, monthly, or other), and how notice must be delivered — in writing, and to where. A notice period shorter than the pay period, or a delivery method the agreement never states, is flagged as a question.
Deposit amount and how its return is described, rent amount and due date, and what utilities and services are included versus charged extra. Amounts are totalled only from figures the agreement states; a return process the agreement never describes is flagged as not described.
Which house rules are actually in the written agreement — guests and overnight guests, quiet hours, kitchen and bathroom sharing, smoking, pets, cleaning duties — and which, if any, were only said aloud. Verbal rules are flagged as not in writing, never treated as agreed terms, and missing rules are listed as missing.
Any services promised or charged — meals, cleaning, laundry — stated as written, or flagged as not in the agreement, and what the agreement says happens to belongings and mail if the arrangement ends mid-period. If the agreement is silent on belongings or mail, that silence is itself the finding.
This example is a clearly labelled hypothetical, with invented papers and figures. It shows how the agreement’s own figures and silences are laid out — it is not a real person, home, or agreement, and it proves nothing about any real agreement or outcome:
Treat each point below as a “check whether…” question, never as a conclusion about papers you have not read in full:
Check whether the agreement states the owner lives on site, states only one room is rented, and states the owner’s access — or is silent on any of them. Each missing flag is a question to raise before signing, never a classification this review supplies.
Check whether entry to the room, lock use, and shared-space boundaries are written down. An agreement that keeps owner access in general words, with no entry or lock wording, leaves the daily-privacy questions unanswered on paper — flagged, not resolved.
Check whether the stated notice period, read against the stated pay period, and the stated delivery method, are all present. A mismatch or a missing delivery method is a question to settle in writing before signing.
Check whether house rules, any meals, cleaning, or laundry services, and the belongings-and-mail wording at exit are in the written agreement. Anything promised aloud but absent on paper is flagged as not in writing, so you can ask for it in writing before you rely on it.
Copy these into an email or message so the answers are in writing. Calm and factual — no threats, no demand-letter language. Ask in your own name.
Send us your signed lodger or room-rental agreement, plus any written house rules, deposit receipt, or services list you hold, and get the classification flags, owner-access and lock wording, notice against the pay period, deposit and included-services wording, written-versus-verbal house rules, and belongings-and-mail exit wording surfaced in plain words. A first read only: no legality determination, no classification ruling, no demand letter or filing, no negotiation, and no owner contact.
LeaseLens is not a law firm and this is not legal advice. Reports are plain-English risk flags from a concierge review, not a legal ruling on an agreement or on what you are in law.
Start a review →No. LeaseLens makes no determination about what you legally are. The review flags the classification questions the papers themselves raise — owner on site, only one room rented, owner access as written — as questions to check, never as a ruling. A local tenant attorney or legal-aid service can advise on your situation.
The signed agreement on its own, plus any written house rules, deposit receipt, or services list, if you have them in writing. Verbal promises are flagged as not in writing, never treated as terms.
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