Money Moral Dilemma: Should I tell my friend I want to pay less rent?

angel549

Sorry if this sounds harsh, but - if you rent off him, he is your landlord. Landlords make money. And rightly so - renting to anyone is a risk. It is his responsibility to fix things when they break, you could become a squatter or trash his stuff ( you're friends, so im sure you wont, but you'd be suprised - i know someone who's 'friend' ended up squatting, gave them a sob story and it went on for months).

The harsh truth in my opinion is that you agreed to pay it, and if you dont want to pay that much anymore, then move out.

Be honest with him over WHY you are moving out though when he asks (which im sure he will), and he may decide to reduce your rent. You're friends afterall. But dont be annoyed with him. He has worked hard to own a property, as you probably know, it isnt easy or cheap!

Please also remember that your rent is paying towards more than just the mortgage. It's paying towards the council tax, water and sewage rates, tv license, and plumbers/electricians etc as needed to fix things.

Hope that's come across how I've meant it - to try and help you understand his reasons and see that he's not a bad friend or anything, but he is just careful, cautious and savvy with his money.

All this said, some people will disagree with me and say i should be more generous. And that's true. I am the person who would use my clubcard vouchers to pay for my own meal, not half of everyones! #sorrynotsorry

Plankton

I have a house and a lodger. After my Mortgage every month I pay for Water, Council Tax, Broadband, Buildings Insurance, TV License. There are things I have to do like get Boiler serviced each year. And general up keep of the house. I doubt you are just contributing to the mortgage. Are you paying more for Gas and Electric?

Voyager2002

The owner's mortgage is completely irrelevant...

All that counts is whether the lodger could pay less elsewhere for an equally good room. If so, he should either tell the owner this and adjust the amount of the rent, or else simply move.

saajan_12

1. The LL pays more than just mortgage.. there can also be council tax, ground rent, service charges, utility bills, repairs, maintenance..

2. The mortgage payment just reflects the loan amount. They have also invested a deposit which they don't get a return on, so your rent partly compensates for that.

3. Even if the owner has no/minimal costs, rent compensates for them sharing part of the house, and the extra wear / lack of privacy..

Ultimately, you agree a rent level for you to rent the space in accordance with market rate (ie how much you'd spend elsewhere for something similar or how much the LL would get for someone else in your place). It has nothing to do with the LL's financial position/costs just as it has nothing to do with yours and your income.

bandanaman

His mortgage does not cover the furniture / security / companionship that you are getting free.

parkrunner

The mortgage payment is irrelevant. The only thing that matters is what was agreed, unless of course morals don't come into it.

BaldacchinoR

I assume that 'rent' means exactly that and does not include any other expenses like utilities, food, etc. On that basis, you are being charged too much and there are examples of getting redress when this happens, e.g. Mis-selling ppi. There are regulations where you can make a claim for being overcharged, called the unfair trading terms in consumer contracts regulations but in your case, i'm not sure if you have a consumer contract. Its a contract though. Hope you've got it in writing! You may want legal advice - you may have a telephone legal advice service within an insurance policy or union membership. Find out the legal position before you re-negotiate your contract to a fairer price. If you're paying more than his mortgage maybe you can afford a place of your own? The problem is if you get legal with your friend, chances are you will end up moving anyway, which will depend on how you approach the issue with him.

theartfullodger

There's morality with property/renting? Think you'll find that's news to many landlords and most agents... (but yes, there are good ones of both categories...).

As Proudhon put it some many years ago (in French..) "Property is theft!", "La propri!t!, c'est le vol!" ... see..
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Property_is_theft!

parkrunner

theartfullodger wrote: »

There's morality with property/renting? Think you'll find that's news to many landlords and most agents... (but yes, there are good ones of both categories...).

As Proudhon put it some many years ago (in French..) "Property is theft!", "La propri!t!, c'est le vol!" ... see..
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Property_is_theft!

Well for me there certainly is, if I agree to something then I've agreed to it, plain and simple. Agreed that morals mean nothing to some people though.

dickavis

So, if they were mortgage free I assume that you would want to live there rent free.