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

haycorns

I have a friend who bought a house with a partner, but she put down much larger deposit as she had a flat to sell and he didn't. Lived happily ever after for a few years sharing bills and mortagage then all went pearshaped.

He was entitled to half the equity in the house regardless of how much they each originally put in. Even if the OPs partner doesn't pay directly towards the house, she may well have a claim if she is paying other shared costs such as council tax, utility bills (admittedly he was on the deeds of the house)

I wouldn't 'charge' rent. I think if you are living together as a long term relationship, then money should be pooled and used for household expenses and holidays etc. Salaries are rarely equal, we have always paid all our salaries into a joint account then paid ourselves an equal amount of pocket money.

Joint expenses such as meals out holidays, furniture and household bills come from the joint account, personal spending such as clothes , cds etc come from 'pocket money'

angelicmary85

Just a quick question (sorry if this has already been asked)

Are you going to throw that fact that the house is yours, back in her face if she wants to re-decorate or tells you that maybe the t.v stand would look better somewhere else?

Paying the travelling costs to see the woman you're apparently in love with shouldn't be an issue, why would you ask her to pay for your petrol or train ticket/bus fare? You are supposed to be visiting your partner.

Doing all the 'chores' in exchange for rent is laughable...

Doesn't sound like this poor woman is going to be in for an easy time.

bebebelle

Wow!!!! ............I will never complain about my other half ever again.

I wish the lady all the luck in the world, she is gonna need it.

FelixTCat

I think that it really depends on why she is moving in with you.

If it is just for convenience and to save the cost of her existing rental, then she should pay rent and split the bills; I am sure that you could find out from rental agencies what rent you could get and she should pay a bit less than half this.

If she is moving in because you want to set up a permanent relationship (marriage or whatever) then you shouldn't charge any rent, but all outgoings should be shared. In this case, I would recommend a joint account into which you both pay and which pays all the outgoings. You will both benefit from the fact that she has extra spending money since you will be partners.

I wish you a successful relationship.

Butti

Whoever said romance is dead?

Talent

Rent the property out. Rent another property or buy another property on shared mortgage, move in with the girlfriend, share the cost of everything.... simples....

jax1305

Sorry if I end up repeating what anyone else has posted. Initially saw this on weekly email MMD and thought of a few choice names for OP and intended to suggest GF makes a run for it! But then had a rethink about the practicalities .... does seem the OP is being somewhat clinical in his assessment of the situation but if GF is happy enough with him to want to move in, who are we to judge!
When I moved in with my (then) BF (now OH), he already had a mortgage, so I made a contribution until we put the mortgage into joint names. As there's no mortgage, perhaps consider themselves as joint tenants - if they were renting, they would pay half each. She could pay half of what it would cost as rent, but save it up in a separate account (for the wedding?).
We then put all our income into a joint account, keeping £100 a month each for our own spending (avoiding the 'do you mind if I spend money on X or Y?' scenario). All our joint spending then came out of the joint account - 'our' money. Never any distinction between who earned what or had put in the most, who deserved more etc.
IMHO, if you start your cohabiting life being too rigid about who pays what etc you might be on a hiding to nothing. As the GF earns more, she might want to start imposing her rules about finance!
As long as the couple have a fair, open & honest discussion and are both happy with the established rules, then there's no reason not to discuss things and get them straight - makes more sense than arguing about it later!
But remember to declare the income on your tax return! Good luck - and keep us posted how the relationship develops.

scoobydoobydoo

well I would happily pay rent if I were her, of 50% of the monthly mortgage payment was before you paid if off, keeping receipts for EVERYTHING. then after 5 years of living with you i would take you to court for my share of the house that I would be legally entitled to, but like you i am an old romantic at heart!

they say money dont buy you love, and I hate to tell you this, but love dont make you money either.

sounds like you love her bank balance more than her and if she has any sense at all she will bin you off for someone who appreciates her for her and not the fact that she earns a good salary. I wonder if you would be considering this if she was working at minimum wage?! And they say that only women are gold diggers!

oscar21

As your OH I would happily split the bills, but agree that rent is not something I would feel comfortable with. Whilst I recognise one cannot live "rent free" if you have a genuine desire to have a future together I would open a savings account and deposit my monthly "rent" for a joint holiday, wedding or more probably, deposit on a new place we could buy together. Or perhaps suggest she buys new curtains (or whatever!) as her contribution to the home, whilst also making it feel like the place is a home for both of you without the rigidity of a contractual agreement. There's no bigger turn off! Here's the engagmenet ring darling...here's your last 6 months rent back!!

Moving into someone else's space never feels like your own and if this is "the one" surely this your funds are pooled not his 'n' hers?

scoobydoobydoo

Actually, further to my post above, would you even be with her if she worked on minimum wage?