Own house outright but want partner to move in, what bills should they pay?

harrpau7

Had a discussion with a work colleague who told me that he owns a house outright with no mortgage, which is great. He has a g/f and they are at the stage where they wish to live together however they can't agree on who pays what bills.

From what I gather he said she should pay all the bills as he has paid for the house, she will not be paying rent or a mortgage so paying bills like council tax, water, gas, electric etc would work out a bit cheaper then if they had rent or a mortgage and the bills were split down the middle.

I agree with him to an extent however I can also see why she would not be pleased. She is basically a lodger who wouldn't get anything should they go their separate ways, however if that was to happen should she get anything? He has paid for the house and I can see his point.

Should they just split the household bills in half? Or does he have a point in what he says?

HappyMJ

Do they want to live together as husband and wife? If so, then combine income pay the bills then split the remainder. Otherwise treat her as a lodger and get her to pay a weekly amount to go towards the bills.

littlesparkles

Maybe split the household bills in half and add on a bit of money. Maybe look at similar houses nearby and see what they rent for. Add half of this amount? I don't think she should pay all the bills. To be honest if I was lucky to own my property outright then I would ask a live-in partner to split the bills and no more. Better for the relationship!!!! Maybe the partner should save so that they can buy a property together or buy him out and own the property together in the future.

diable

1. Is it anything to do with you?
2. He is taking the p155 if he expects her to pay all the bills
3. He should ask her for a reasonable "rent" and note it down in a rent
book
4. Tell him not to be surprised when she starts charging him for sex
5. This will be a short lived relationship

McKneff

If I loved someone enough to live with them, I would then only expect them to pay half of all bills, and half of all maintenance, decorating etc.

shedhead55

Does he want her to have any beneficial interest in the house? If not then the best thing from his point of view is to treat her like a lodger so that she simply pays "rent".
My partner lives with me in the house I own and pays me rent, in reality that rent comes in supermarket bags and is the food we both eat.

Mojisola

Direct him to https://www.advicenow.org.uk/living-together/

MacMickster

harrpau7 wrote: »

Had a discussion with a work colleague who told me that he owns a house outright with no mortgage, which is great. He has a g/f and they are at the stage where they wish to live together however they can't agree on who pays what bills.

If they can't agree on finances between themselves then they are certainly not at the stage where they should consider living together.