How much should i charge my partner rent?

Guest101

onomatopoeia99 wrote: »

This is interesting.

If I invited a friend to move in to my spare room as for whatever reason (landlord selling up etc) she lost her home, and I charged her rent which was calculated based on a share of average bills plus a rent contribution, would she gain an interest in my property? NO

If one night we got very drunk and did something in my bed that we both decided was not a good idea the following morning and swore never to repeat, would that change things? NO

If we seemed to do the thing we said we were never going to do again every Saturday following a couple of shared bottles of wine, would that change things? NO

If we decided to dispense with the wine and just have the sex and she rarely slept in her own bed, but was still "the lodger", would that change things? - Maybe

So, at what point does someone paying rent as a lodger who is also a partner gain this beneficial interest in a property? - A lodger cant be a partner and vice versa

You seem to know a great deal about it, so some clarification would be welcome.

The distinction is really for a court to decide, and they would on the merits of each case.


A strong indication would be 'living as one household'


Other factors:
Future planning
How you are known, e.g. are you a couple when you socialise
Do you share meals, cook for one another, holiday together
(not applicable in your case - but had you been romantically linked prior to living together)


Basically the test HMRC or DWP would carry out if they thought that someone was fiddling benefits.

awolo1

I've been seeing somebody for a while now and we have decided to move in together. I'm a FTB. Everything will be in my name (there is reasons for this, which I will not go into) but we have agreed that he will make a contribution to me every month of £350.00. He will also buy shopping. This is a fair contribution which will leave him with a nice disposable income to leave comfortably. I think this is fair.

Guest101

awolo1 wrote: »

I've been seeing somebody for a while now and we have decided to move in together. I'm a FTB. Everything will be in my name (there is reasons for this, which I will not go into) but we have agreed that he will make a contribution to me every month of £350.00. He will also buy shopping. This is a fair contribution which will leave him with a nice disposable income to leave comfortably. I think this is fair.

Great.


But a court may decide he's gained an interest in your property (or they may not of course)

Mojisola

Guest101 wrote: »

But a court may decide he's gained an interest in your property (or they may not of course)

Or, as with a couple I knew, he could hold up the sale of your house by claiming a beneficial interest in the property until you pay him a lump sum to go away.

Guest101

Mojisola wrote: »

Or, as with a couple I knew, he could hold up the sale of your house by claiming a beneficial interest in the property until you pay him a lump sum to go away.

Which is fine, as if he's wrong, she can sue for loss

HappyMJ

awolo1 wrote: »

I've been seeing somebody for a while now and we have decided to move in together. I'm a FTB. Everything will be in my name (there is reasons for this, which I will not go into) but we have agreed that he will make a contribution to me every month of £350.00. He will also buy shopping. This is a fair contribution which will leave him with a nice disposable income to leave comfortably. I think this is fair.

Now in your situation it's different to the OP as you are both starting out in a new property together and both contributing to the purchase of the house. It's more likely in your situation that your partner will get a beneficial interest in the house that you are buying together. It doesn't matter that the house is in your name only if he's paying something to you for you to pay towards the mortgage then what part of that payment is capital and how much has that capital increased from when he made the payment. You might find he's entitled to half of any increase in the value of the property.