Moving in with my boyfriend...

LittleBeans9

Hello,
I wondered if anyone could advice me on my upcoming living situation.

I currently live with my parents and my boyfriend has asked me to move in with him. He owns a house with his brother, he lives in the house but his brother does not. At present his brother pays half the mortgage amount on the house (only that, not any council txt etc.) and my boyfriend pays the other mortgage half and all the bills. He has asked me to move in with him and contribute to the payments, which I was willing to do. However, he has suggested half of the money I pay monthly will go to his brothers to pay his half of the mortgage.
I don't agree with this as I won't be moving in as a tenant and I will be sharing a room with my boyfriend and therefore contributing towards the bills and his payments.
Can anyone advise?

Thank you

Pixie5740

I'm not surprised you don't agree and neither would I.

Once you start making co tribute one towards the mortgage you'll start building beneficial interest in the property. All well and good but difficult to enforce should the relationship end.

silvercar

So you and boyfriend have the place to yourselves. Sounds to me that you are renting the brother's half of the property from him. Not unreasonable. What would half the rent on a similar property be?

Lord_Baltimore

silvercar wrote: »

So you and boyfriend have the place to yourselves. Sounds to me that you are renting the brother's half of the property from him. Not unreasonable. What would half the rent on a similar property be?

But she's effectively a lodger not a tenant, so a contribution toward the bills seems most appropriate. This will all end in tears if she pays more in than she should imho.

LittleBeans9

I wouldn't be renting the property. I would be living there at my boyfriends request as he already lives there. The brother chose to move out of the property. It is big enough for him to live there.

Pixie5740

The OP would be neither a tenant or a lodger. Lodgers don't share a bed with their landlords and have their own bedroom. Lodgers' landlords are legally required to get a gas safety certificate (if there are gas appliances) boyfriends asking their girlfriends to move in do not.

Pixie5740

What's prompted him asking you to move in? Does it feel like a natural progression in your relationship or is his brother no longer wanting to continue paying half the mortgage.

LittleBeans9

It's the next step in our relationship, we've been together a couple of years now so we want to live together. It isn't because of his brothers situation. I just feel I need to know where my money is going if I do and I don't agree with what has been asked.
I don't own the property and I won't be renting another room in that property so I'm concerned with paying the mortgage on that property.

Derboy

Do I have this right?

Your boyfriend and his brother own a property. Only your boyfriend lives in it. Currently your BF pays half the mortgage and all the bills and his brother pays the other half of the mortgage.

Your BF now wants to make this home to you and he. That being the case, if you two are living in it as a couple, why should the brother continue to subsidise your BF? Yes, he's investing the property by paying half the mortgage but he's effectively renting out his half to you both as a couple.If he were renting it out to a stranger he would have the benefit of his half of the mortgage being covered by the rent so what's wrong with what's being asked?

Additionally, aren't you splitting hairs here? If you and your boyfriend agree to a certain monthly contribution what difference does it make whether your boyfriend chooses to spend your contribution on his brothers half of the mortgage or on other bills? He's brother's half of the mortgage needs to be covered somehow. It's not like you're putting your name on the Mortgage.

I previously shared a flat with my brother before relocating for a job. I chose to help my brother by continuing to pay half of all the monthly bills, as his earnings were much less than mine at the time. When his mate moved in, I stopped. This seems like a similar situation to me.

TBagpuss

Why would you expect *not* to contribute?

Think of you and your partner as a unit. You-as-unit are, effectively, going to be renting your partner's brother's half of the house from him. You two living there and he isn't.

So, as between you-and-your-partner on the one hand, and the brother on the other, it seems entirely fair and reasonable that the you (jointly) pay the brother's share of the mortgage.

As between you and your partner, you would need to discuss with him how the two of you split the outgoings, and whether, as a result of the payments, you will start to build up an interest in your partner's share of the house.

If your partner takes the view that your contributions should be treated like rent rather than as starting to build up an interest in the house, then you would need to decide whether you were happy to 'rent', or whether you prefer to stay where you are, and pay rent to your parents instead (or, if they don't charge you rent, to put the money away to start to build your own deposit)

marksoton

This has relationship mess written all over it.