question:- I'm mortgage free. should my girlfriend pay me rent ?

boliston

Girlyshopper wrote: »

Yes I do see what you are saying, but not every one sees a relationship as a free house/money making deal, I certainly don't see my relationship that way and the majority of the population wouldn't either. Anyhow the law in respect of unmarried couples as changed and, for example, if I were to split up with my OH, I would be entitled to try and make a claim as we have been together for nearly 6 years.....
GS

There was talk in the news a year or so ago about "common law" rights being introduced to "protect" unmarried couples but I'm not aware that any such law was ever actually enacted. If any such law were to be introduced it would make anyone who owned property very wary about having a live-in partner. The risk of loosing tens of thousands would simply not be worth the risk.

dannyjebb

Me and my girlfriend live together and put all our wages together each month and pay the bills between us. I earn nearly twice as much as my partner but wouldn't dream of expecting her to pay the same amount that I do and have no money to live on. When she first moved in did you ask her for rent? surely you cant decide you now want her to pay you to live with you? She must feel loved!!!

laurenjs88

This all seems really bizzare to me! Whilst I see the OP's point & his girlfriend should contribute 50% of the bills.

In our case, I pay the rent,council tax,sky, tv lisence, car insurance (both cars), phone, broadband, my mobile, about half the food & petrol for my car & some of his petrol, some of our impluse spends etc (depends on who's got money in thier account) & my debts

My OH pays, the contents insurance, Gas & elec, about half the food shop, most of his own petrol, the finance on his car, his mobile, his laptop, his mobile insurance, his laptop insurance & all of his credit cards & debts

Ive never ever considered asking him for a penny into the house, the only reason contents & gas & elec are in his name is that we needed proof of address when he moved in for his new job (he relocated 140 miles)

However he paid most of the deposit, fee's & first months rent to get our house together when we first moved in. (he was living at home, me in a flat with my DD1)

As long as all the bills are paid I do not give a monkies which of us the money comes from, Maybe he should split the bills equally with me, but we now have 2 children & im on MA, I expect him to support me paying the bills now, where as before it just didnt matter. The fact that were crazy about eachother is much more important

Girlyshopper

boliston wrote: »

There was talk in the news a year or so ago about "common law" rights being introduced to "protect" unmarried couples but I'm not aware that any such law was ever actually enacted. If any such law were to be introduced it would make anyone who owned property very wary about having a live-in partner. The risk of loosing tens of thousands would simply not be worth the risk.

Hi totally agree. I guess the main reason for changing it is that a lot of couples these days don't bother getting married. Again, like you I wasn't sure if there was actually a law passed regarding this, but chatting to one of my firm's solicitors a few weeks ago, it seems so in certain terms. I mean you can even make a claim if you contribute to home improvements or if you can prove that your homeowner partner promised you anything financial. As long as you can prove it in court, it could go in your favour as such. It does suck big time for those who do own properties in the relationship and want the other partner to commit financially. I have added a little snippet from one law firm's website - I personally think this information shouldn't be freely available as it is:

'If you can show your partner made promises that you would have a share of the property and you relied on this and spent money on the property, the court may stop your partner from going back on his or her word.

The court can decide how much your stake in the property is worth. The court can make orders to restrict or exclude one partner from occupying the property. Or set conditions that the person remaining in the property pay all the bills and other expenses, or take over any responsibilities connected to the property. The court can also order that partner to pay compensation to the partner who has to leave the home. The court can also order one partner to give up any payment or benefit connected to the property, for example rent'

It is quite ridiculous really.

stleonardsc

justwondering25 wrote: »

okay , so should my girlfriend pay rent ?

we've had a debate about this tonight, she seems to think that I'm profiting from the situation ! , basically to put some figures into this, similar property to rent 600-650 , propery value 140k , I said I would not expect half of what the property would rent for , but I said how about let's prentend half the value was in the bank in a high interest account at say 4% , work out the interest and divide by 12 = 250 a month ( plus half of bills) , she still seems to think I'm profiting ! to me it seems fair , she does except that she should pay something , but has yet to come up with the figure she has in mind.

considering I had to work hard to pay off the mortgage , what should I do ?

she also posed the question , what if we where married with 2 children would you I still expect her to pay , after a short thought I said Yes !

well am I been a right old meanie or am I using plain old common sense !

like they say love don't pay the rent , not even on a paid for house etc ! I.M.H.O

No if you are a couple call it helping with the bills.

Do you share the same BED the LAW has a funny way of looking at this time. Civil Partnerships and Co Hab is open to the LAW getting very testy!!.

Is there a question where the prop is Mortgaged and You or you better half will have stake in the property . ( I've paid more than you yah boo sucks...IT HAPPENS)

Pre Nup are all the rage if you love each other then carry on BUT a WORD of WARNNING in breakdowns of relationships it come to "What is Mine is Mine and Do you have an agreements regarding part ownership ????? No thought not.
BE HAPPY TOGETHER but watch for the unexpected within you living place ..IT COULD GET NASTY.

Be happy;)

Bluefire

I am currently in a similar situation to your girlfriend although my OH is still continuing to pay his mortgage. He also wished me to pay rent when I first moved in as he, like you, is very money minded about these things. My view was and still is that you shouldn't profit from your partner. My OH didn't want me to contribute to the mortgage, which was fine with me as the house is, and will always be, his. The arrangement we came to was that I simply paid half of all the bills. At the end of the day by asking your girlfriend to pay rent you're making her nothing but a lodger. In our house I cook for both of us, I do all the washing, the majority of the cleaning, none of which entitles me to live rent free but not all of which I would do as a lodger.

Have you also considered the fact that by having your girlfriend live with you that your monthly expenses will be reduced? This thread made myself & my OH look into this out of curiosity, and since I moved in his line rental, broadband charges, water rates (we're not on a meter) and buildings/contents insurance are all halved, he saves £250 a year on council tax and even though gas & electricity usage has increased he still pays £15 less that he was doing because that too is halved.

Overall he saves over £70 a month since we started living together, the only increase in his outgoings being £10 extra a week on groceries & household products. (I should point out that he's not paying for a food addiction of mine... more like his diet has improved tenfold since I started cooking something other than beans on toast for him to eat!) I'm not saying this should make up for a lack of rent, but surely it's a benefit to be considered.

As for the money I myself save by not paying rent, naturally I realise this puts me in a very good situation financially, however it also benefits us both. I earn a lot less than my partner, and so the money I save through not having many outgoings allows us to go on holiday, and for me to be able to contribute to improvements to the house.

I hope you can come to a resolution that you're both comfortable with. It's can be hard enough learning to live together in the first place without there being resentments over money before you even move in!

boliston

Bluefire wrote: »

.....and for me to be able to contribute to improvements to the house......

This could be very dangerous from the partner's point of view as it could give you a valid claim on a share of his house.

Gloomy_Past_Bright_Future

I have not read all the thread just want to advise you of a situation one of my friends had.

House fully paid off through death of parents leaving large inheritance, girlfriend moved in contributed to household, they then seperated and she walked away with 70k in her back pocket as she had "contributed". He reckons it cost him £250 per bonk!

Think your priority should be not should she pay rent, but how to protect what you have worked so hard to acheive.

GPBF

boliston

Gloomy_Past_Bright_Future wrote: »

I have not read all the thread just want to advise you of a situation one of my friends had.

House fully paid off through death of parents leaving large inheritance, girlfriend moved in contributed to household, they then seperated and she walked away with 70k in her back pocket as she had "contributed". .....

I'd be interested how the court came to this award, and what her "contribution" consisted of.

Bluefire

boliston wrote: »

This could be very dangerous from the partner's point of view as it could give you a valid claim on a share of his house.

It's nothing substantial, we're either talking contributions to minor things like paint/furnishings or items such as furniture that should we split up they would be 'mine' and I would take them with me. I'm very on board with the idea of what's his is his, there would be no issue of me claiming against his house. As far as I'm concerned what I contribute here financially is no different to improvements I would make on a house that I was renting; doesn't entitle me to any of the landlord's property worth!