One in five homeowners would consider renting out a spare room to help pay the mortgage in increasingly difficult economic times, a new survey has found.

The poll by real estate agency PRDnationwide also found 14 per cent of respondents already had someone renting a room and another 15 per cent would do so if they had the space.

PRDnationwide research director Jonathan Rivera said the results were not surprising given the present economic climate.

“Having someone contributing $100 a week to rent a spare room could be the difference of struggling with bills or not,” he said.

Mr Rivera, said many homeowners had bought properties with a granny flat or spare bedroom to give them the choice of renting it out, though they have not actually done it.

“But in today’s economic climate, people are starting to take the plunge and realise the capital on this extra room.”

Still, a majority of households want to retain the privacy of their own home, with 51 per cent saying they wouldn’t consider a lodger.

AAP