The lodger is back and here to stay.

With house prices and interest rates on the rise more and more home owners are taking in lodgers to help pay the bills.

[UKPRwire, Wed Apr 18 2007] With more and more people renting and sharing property as they can't afford to buy it seems our old favourite the lodger is making a comeback. Forget Rigsby and co. today's breed of lodger is made up of young professionals who, whilst financially independent, simply can't afford to get a foot on the property ladder.

Spareroom.co.uk, the UK's leading flatshare site, has reported a 50% increase in traffic over the past 6 months and by far the biggest growth area is live-in landlords renting out a spare room.

Rupert Hunt, Spareroom's founder, says "Not only are we seeing people taking in a lodger to help pay the mortgage we're also seeing a rise in first time buyers going for 2 bed properties specifically to rent out the 2nd bedroom. Some lenders such as Bradford & Bingley and Stroud & Swindon now offer specialist mortgages allowing buyers to factor in a certain amount of rental income".

In addition the government's Rent a Room scheme allows people to earn up to £4,250 a year tax free by taking in a lodger.