noun
A person who rents a room in someone's house, often with meals included. Slightly old-fashioned; 下宿 itself is less common nowadays.
彼は学生時代、下宿人としておばあさんの家に住んでいた。
When he was a student, he lived as a lodger in an old lady's house.
居候 implies living rent-free as a dependent, whereas 下宿人 is a paying lodger.
Compound of 下宿 (boarding, lodging) and 人 (person).