How to rent out a room in your home in Australia

If you own the home, you can generally take in a housemate, but check your mortgage terms, strata by-laws and any council limits on the number of unrelated occupants.

If you rent, you almost always need written consent from your landlord or agent before adding a person to the household. Subletting without consent is a common cause of eviction.

Even where a formal residential tenancy agreement is not required, a written house agreement prevents most disputes. Cover rent amount and due date, what is included (electricity, internet, water), notice period, guests, cleaning, parking and shared-space rules.

Record any bond you take, how it is held, and the conditions for returning it. Some states require boarder bonds to be handled in specific ways — check your state's fair trading or consumer affairs guidance.

Look at what comparable rooms in your suburb are advertised for, then adjust for room size, whether the room has an ensuite or built-in wardrobe, bills included, furnishing and parking.

Rooms priced within ten per cent of the local going rate fill in days; rooms priced above it sit for weeks and attract the least reliable applicants.

Meet in person or by video call, ask about work or study, expected length of stay, lifestyle and cleaning habits, and request one contactable reference.

Never accept a deposit before meeting. Overpayment and sight-unseen deposit requests are the two most common rental scams in Australia, in both directions.

Tell your home and contents insurer. Many policies restrict cover once you take paying occupants, and an undisclosed arrangement can void a claim.

Rental income from a room is assessable income and must be declared. You can usually claim a proportion of interest, rates, insurance and utilities based on the floor area rented, but claiming deductions may expose part of your home to capital gains tax on sale. Talk to an accountant before you start.