Rooms to rent in Jersey, Channel Islands: lodging houses, private lodgings and what to check

Your options are a registered lodging house, private lodgings in the home of an Entitled owner who lives there, or a Registered flat or bedsit. If you share a kitchen or bathroom you are a lodger, not a tenant, so the tenancy law in force since 15 April 2026 and the deposit protection scheme do not cover you. The Government publishes each lodging house's maximum charges, and for 2026/27 two in three houses list their cheapest unit at between £150 and £350.

Finding a room is less about price than about whether you may live in it: every home is Qualified or Registered, and your registration card decides which you can occupy. Our housing qualifications guide explains the statuses.

Why rooms matter on Standard status

Standard status, called Registered until 14 September 2026, lets you rent one Registered property as your main home. Gov.je lists your options as registered lodging accommodation, private lodgings and tourist accommodation, plus Registered flats where you can find them. Few are listed, as our renting guide shows, and the average advertised Registered one-bed was about £1,400 a month in Q3 2025, according to gov.je.

A room generally costs less: Income Support allows about two thirds as much for a bedsit or lodgings as for a one-bed flat. It can also bridge the months while you look for something more permanent. Longer term, buying a share transfer flat that is Registered property may be possible on Standard status, because the housing law controls land rather than company shares, though gov.je's own summary of Standard status mentions only renting; our buying guide explains it, and an advocate should confirm before you commit.

The four kinds of room

Registered lodging houses

Under the Lodging Houses (Registration) (Jersey) Law 1962, premises that provide lodging for payment must register once they house more than five people at a time, with a few exceptions such as colleges and nursing homes. Registration expires on the last day of February and must be renewed every year, with renewals due in December. The keeper must be approved by the Minister.

Registration brings standards: at least one bath or shower and one toilet for every five people, and a cooker or microwave, a two-ring hob, a fridge and a sink with hot and cold water. The certificate sets the maximum number of occupants. The maximum charge must be displayed in each unit and cannot rise until the next registration period starts on 1 March. A signed landlord and lodger agreement and code of practice is a condition of registration.

At 1 March 2022 there were 221 registered lodging houses with 4,882 bed spaces, according to a Government Freedom of Information response. The 2026/27 charges list names 217 houses, 162 of them in St Helier.

Private lodgings

Private lodgings means living in someone's home. Gov.je sets the rules: the owner must have Entitled or Permanent Entitled status and live in the property, may take up to five lodgers (children of any age count), must provide services such as cleaning and keeps unrestricted access to the accommodation at all times. There is no lease, and the owner must not ask you to sign one. The owner can also ask you to leave without notice.

Shared houses and Registered flats

A room in a shared house is only open to you on Standard status if the house is Registered property, or if it is private lodgings with an Entitled owner living there. Living in a Qualified home without the right status is an offence under Article 17 of the Control of Housing and Work (Jersey) Law 2012, so ask which category the house is before you pay anything.

A self-contained bedsit or flat, with its own kitchen and bathroom, comes with a tenancy and full tenant rights; see our renting guide.

What rooms cost

Each year the Government publishes every registered lodging house's maximum charges. They are ceilings for one registration year, a snapshot rather than what is available today.

One warning: the official list rarely says whether a charge is weekly or monthly. Only six houses mark theirs "pm". Ask the keeper, and ask what the charge includes, such as heating, electricity and cleaning.

Self-contained bedsits and studios on the open market cost more; our cost of living guide has the current range alongside bills and a monthly budget.

Your rights as a lodger

The tenancy law mostly does not apply. The Residential Tenancy (Jersey) Amendment Law 2025, in force since 15 April 2026, covers only self-contained accommodation, including bedsits and studio flats. Lodgers, boarders and other licensees fall outside it, as do lodging houses and staff accommodation where the kitchen and bathroom are shared. That means no limit of one rent rise a year, no statutory notice periods and no access to the Rent Tribunal.

Lodging houses have their own rules. The charge cannot rise above the displayed maximum during the registration year, and the certificate caps occupancy. Gov.je notes that lodgers have less protection than tenants, particularly from eviction, so read the lodger agreement before you sign.

If your unit is self-contained, you should have a lease even inside a lodging house, and the tenancy law protects you.

Deposits. Mydeposits Jersey, the Government-approved scheme, covers self-contained accommodation including bedsits and studios, and the landlord must protect a deposit within 30 days or face a fine of up to £10,000. Gov.je does not extend it to rooms with shared facilities, so get a written receipt and the terms for repayment.

Registration card. Landlords of self-contained homes must check your card before you move in. Gov.je says you do not need to show one for lodgings with shared facilities.

Where to look

• The official lodging house list. The gov.je charges list gives every registered house's name, address and, where available, a phone number, so you can ring keepers directly.
• Property portals and classifieds. The island's newspaper property portal and local classified sites carry some rooms and bedsits, and some UK flat-share sites include Jersey listings. Check whether each listing says Registered, unqualified or Qualified.
• Facebook groups. Gov.je notes that owners sometimes advertise in local Facebook groups. So do scammers: see below.
• Employers. Some hotel, farm and live-in jobs come with a room. Our guide to jobs with accommodation covers what employers can charge.
• Tourist accommodation. Anyone can stay in registered hotels, guesthouses and self-catering, which can tide you over; our renting guide covers autumn winter lets.

Scams to avoid

In February 2023 States of Jersey Police reported that islanders had lost £22,000 to fake rental adverts on local Facebook selling pages, across 26 fraud complaints. The adverts undercut the going rate, targeted people desperate for housing, including those without housing qualifications, and demanded a deposit, often a month's rent, before any viewing. Then the advertiser vanished. One family gave notice on their home and was left homeless.

The police advice: never pay anything until you have seen the property in person, meet the landlord or agent face to face, check an agent's credentials, resist pressure to decide quickly, and treat a deal that looks too good to be true as exactly that. Report suspected scams to the police on 01534 612612.

Checklist before you pay

• You have viewed the room in person and met the owner, keeper or agent.
• You know the property's category, and it is one your status allows: Registered, or private lodgings with an Entitled owner living in.
• In a lodging house, you have seen the registration certificate and the maximum charge displayed in the room, and the house is within its occupancy limit: lodgers in an over-occupied flat can be prosecuted too, with fines up to £1,000.
• In private lodgings, the owner lives there and has no more than five lodgers.
• You know whether the price is weekly or monthly and what it includes.
• You have a written lodger agreement, or a tenancy agreement if the unit is self-contained.
• For a self-contained unit, the deposit is protected with mydeposits Jersey within 30 days.
• You get a receipt for every payment.

Frequently asked questions