Year 12s: what will be the first way you research your future options? >>

How much should I be paying my parents in rent?

Scroll to see replies

Original post by The_Mediocre_One

Are you for real? wear and tear on the carpets? why don't you start paying them money for the brain space all the memories of you are taking up in their mind.

Ah yes, my mistake, how silly of me :rolleyes:

Alot of parents expect their adult children to fend for themselves. If you're going to continue living at home whilst working full time.. why whouldnt you contribute towards the wear and tear of the house?

Reply 21

Lord_Mediocre

Original post by Reue

Ah yes, my mistake, how silly of me :rolleyes:

Shouldn't they have the confidence that they brought you up to take responsibility and that you would naturally contribute to your "HOME"!!

Reply 22

JLysha

I reckon, anything between £20-£30 pw.

Reply 23

Sherry1993

I payed 200 a month, any extra things I wanted I payed for seperatly. I had sky in my room so I payed for that on my own direct debit, if I wanted different dinners or food from the rest of the family then I done my own shopping. If bills where a little higher than normal during some months, I.E gas bill is higher and I know I've used the heating way more than anyone else for whatever reason, I would give a bit extra that month to cover the extra cost.

Reply 24

Reue

Original post by The_Mediocre_One

Shouldn't they have the confidence that they brought you up to take responsibility and that you would naturally contribute to your "HOME"!!

They should, however as proven by this thread.. that doesnt always happen :smile:

Reply 25

Le Nombre

Original post by maskofsanity

But whether you pay rent or not makes no difference to their costs.

Only bills and food will change, which is what he said to contribute to. I don't see why a parent would try and make a profitable situation out of their child unless they usually had a lodger in their room and need that income.

How? If you pay rent, they pay less of their own money towards the mortgage.

Not profitable, but some contribution for letting you stay under their roof even though you're now pushing your mid 20s and have a salary which allows you to contribute towards the cost of the housing seems pretty reasonable.

Reply 26

Le Nombre

Original post by maskofsanity

I meant they will pay the same amount whether you are there or not, i.e. you're not an extra cost in terms of rent (apart from the minimal cost posted above but I don't think any parent would ever seriously consider that as anything more than negligible).

No, but the same is true of any rental property, the cost of the mortgage remains the same, by taking on tenants or licensees you just use income generated in order to help pay it, even though the burden of it remains with you/the property.

Reply 27

Le Nombre

Original post by maskofsanity

Right, so the cost stays the same. Whether you use your old room or not their mortgage will be exactly the same, so you are not an extra burden.

No, but most parents I don't imagine will stay in their 4 bed family house when retired, they'll down size and release some of the equity. I know mine are selling up and moving to France in the next year or so, if I rocked up and wanted housing again then it would seem fair to compensate them for hundreds of thousands remaining locked up in bricks and mortar (though thinking about it they'd tell me I'm earning more than enough to pay rent and to buzz off!).

Reply 28

Alotties

I'm 18 and my parents want me to pay £100 a month to sleep on the floor of my sisters bedroom this summer while home from uni.
So if you get to sleep in a bed you will probably need to pay slightly more.

Reply 29

Le Nombre

Original post by maskofsanity

That's true, although mine went the opposite way and got a bigger house (who knows why!)... and I rent my own place. To be honest, if someone has enough to pay their parents rent and bills each month then they may as well get a cheap house share and have their independence (and dignity). I could never move back home for longer than a few months after being a student for 3 years, even if I was on minimum wage.

True, I could never go back home for a long time now, just stifling.

Reply 30

doodle_333

what you should pay really depends on your parents situation as much as yours... i.e. if they're earning a very low wage and barely making ends meet you should make a significant contribution as it wouldn't be fair for you have £1000 disposable income a month if they were barely able to buy decent food... if they're earning £100k+ each then it would be a bit fairer to ask to pay less in order to save to move out yourself

Reply 31

Katie_p

My sister pays £250 earning a similar amount to you. I will pay £125 next year when I live at home as I will still be studying.

However, what my parents do with my sister's rent, at my suggestion, is pay eiher £50 or £100 of it into a savings account, which she will get back when she leaves home, towards a deposit or something similar. If your parents are unwilling to ask more than £150 or so pcm, I would storngly recommend either doing this yourself, or making an agreement with them. Let's face it, it you would be paying £350pcm or more living privately, you are saving any difference by living with them, and it's also good practice to get used to such a substantial part of your income disappearing!

If you don't pay (any or at least very much) rent, you will end up finding it very hard to cope when you leave home, when you have a lot less income available for the things you enjoy.

Reply 32

Eva.Gregoria

Wow, why a parent would try to make money off their child is beyond me.

Reply 33

Silver Arrows

Original post by Eva.Gregoria

Wow, why a parent would try to make money off their child is beyond me.

It may be their child, but their child is also a grown adult. What does letting their kid stay at home for free teach them? They would be less inclined to move out & rightly so. Why go somewhere else when you can get gas, electric, water & rent for free? I'm 18 & only work 3 days a week part time in a supermarket. I bring in about £450 a month, maybe a bit extra if I pick up the extra shift here & there. I pay them £100 a month. I also pay out £120 a month in driving lessons & a £40 a month phone contract. £260 out of my £450 wage is diminished instantly. I have no reason to complain, there is no way I'll get it cheaper anywhere else.

I know my parents are quite well off, they always try & act like their skint, but I know they aren't. They want to teach me the value of money, because I might not have that much of it one day. I really do respect them

Reply 34

PinkMobilePhone

Volunteer Team

If my children are still living with me when they are working full time, I will expect them to either :

a) buy their own food if they want to eat different stuff to my husband and I, and pay their fair share of the utilities.

or

b) give me money towards their share of food (I don't mind if they just want to carry on having family dinners, that's not a problem, they don't have to eat separate food if they don't want to), and pay their fair share of the utilities.

I'll also expect them to do their own washing and cleaning and so on.

Other than that, no I wouldn't expect any rent. Firstly I don't pay a mortgage, but secondly I would want them to save up to put a deposit down on their own place. I can't expect them to be able to do that if I'm charging them rent. It seems really counter productive to charge them rent.

Of course if they're not saving, and are just pissing their money up the wall, I'd definitely be having words with them.

Edited to add : On second thoughts it might be easier to charge them rent, but actually put the money they give me in a bank account so that in effect I'm saving for their deposit on their own place.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 35

Sanddancerlass

I pay 40 quid a month as I'm only working part time but when I was in Uni getting bursary I would pay 80 quid a month. This goes towards my food as we eat differently.

I read somewhere that one family kept all the board that was paid from kid and then when he or she was gonna move out they gave it all back as a deposit for a house. Nice parents.

Some families might not ask for much to help their child to save up to move out. It teaches them the responsibility of having to pay for living costs and also saving. It all depends on your family . Don't think that just because one person pays so much that you have to it's up to your family.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 36

Bobbi!

Original post by Legal_eagle2012

Hi,

I'm almost 23 and have been working full time for about 6 months now (albeit on a freelance basis) and earn about £1600pm on average before tax etc. I live at home, and I've been discussing with my parents paying rent. As I'm earning I have no issue with this. However, none of us are really sure how much I should be paying. The only insight we've got is that my Mum's friend charges her daughter £100 per month and her son £200.

So, if anyone out there works and pays rent please give me an idea what you pay!

Thanks!

Do you pay for your own food and do you have brothers and sisters who also live at home? Also how much do your parents earn in relation to what you do?

If it's just the 3 of you at home and you all earn equally, they I'd split all the costs 3 ways, but if say you earn half as much as you dad, you should only pay half what he pays. And it's not fair if u end up paying a third if you have a brother or sister who pays nothing!!

Reply 37

Maximillion.

Original post by Alotties

Your parents are monsters

Reply 38

Katie_p

Original post by maskofsanity

But paying no rent at home means you will have much higher savings. The whole point graduates live with their parents when they first start working is because training salaries are relatively low and paying no rent gives them a lot of help in saving up an initial lump sum. In a couple of years' time, their salary will rise quickly, they will have a decent amount of savings, and they can move out.

You will have much higher savings if you save sensibly. My parents charge my sister because a) the additional support towards living costs is helpful and b) that way they know she will leave home with X amount, whereas if it were left entirely to her, she might leave with nothing.
Also the difference betwen a fixed outgoing such as rent and a flexible outgoing such as savings is important to learn, and I agree with my parents that the best way to learn that is to have fixed outgoings as early as possible. For example, my sister has just found out she has to pay £800 for no-fault car repairs. If she didn't pay rent, she probably wouldn't save any money for the next month or 2 because of this unexpected cost. However, because she pays rent, she will have a guaranteed £100 or £200 savings (what my parents set aside from her rent) and she will fully appreciate the impact that this sort of event has on her spending now and in the future.

Not paying rent is fine, if you're disciplined and your parents can happily afford it, but a lot of people aren't disciplined and equally a lot of parents should be able to expect something back after 20-25 years of paying for everything.