How much should I be paying my parents for rent?

Marktheshark

Hands up who clicked this to see if it was your lazy slacking child who started the thread.....

enthusiasticsaver

It is a negotiation between you and your parents. Personally we only took around £50 from each of our daughters per week to cover food/utilities as our mortgage was paid off and they were only living with us temporarily so they could save up for deposits on house/flats. The understanding was that they saved a high percentage of their income to help with this and they did this and now both have their own properties.

I think if I was unsure whether they would save or could see they were wasting money I would have asked them for full market rent but they were both saving monthly more than moving out would have cost them in rent and bills. Luckily they are both sensible with money.

takman

Here's a summary that I have posted in previous threads:

takman wrote: »

These threads have been done to death and always get the same types of responses again and again:

1. The "Pick a number out of thin air" response where someone specify's an amount they think is fair with no justification whatsoever - I think this is a poor way of doing it because you have no way of knowing how much this covers in relation to the actual bills/increase in bills based on the OP's circumstances.

2. The "Percentage of their wages response" which is usually suggested as a fairly high amount of around 25% - 33% - again this doesn't take into account of actual bills and at these percentages is likely to result in a profit for the parents.

3. The "Split bills by number of adults in household" or "Pay the extra costs" response - These are one of the most fair ways of doing it because you actually know exactly what they are covering and also shows your on top of your household budgeting which you can explain to your kids.

4. The "Don't charge them anything" response - With this one at least your not charging an arbitrary amount and if your well off and don't want to charge then there is nothing wrong with that. But this obviously doesn't apply to a lot of households and most people asking what they should charge are likely not looking for this answer.

5. The "Save some/all of the money they pay and give back for a house" response - This is one of the silliest ways to do it in my opinion. Whats the point in secretly saving money for them they aren't little children. If you don't want the money then teach them the importance of saving themselves and how to get the best interest rates. Secretly saving just shows you don't trust your children to handle money correctly and then you get the slightly twisted scenario at the end where you give them back all THEIR money and expect them to be grateful for it.


The most popular justification for them paying at least some money is that it teaches them some kind of lesson about living in the "real" world and teaches them they must pay bills. Now i can understand this to an extent but this is only relevant if you actually go through the household finances with them and explain what a house costs each month and what bills need to be paid. By the time they are 18 and out working they should understand this already. But them simply paying an amount each month is not teaching them anything useful.

Some people also talk about having a "shock" when moving out at the cost of living this definitely shows they didn't prepare properly before they moved out. The most valuable lesson that a parent can teach their children about money is how to budget properly. If your children know how to budget and plan ahead then they will never be "shocked" at the costs when moving out.

bertiewhite

Yes, well done for offering and I think that's a very fair amount.

Like others have said though, sit down with them and chat about it.

How about getting them to work out how much your share of all the household bills & mortgage/rent comes to.

Then work out how much it would cost you to move out to live on your own and pick a figure somewhere between the two?

Bear in mind you might want to be saving a deposit for your own place someday though.

takman

BOBS wrote: »

Well done for offering !! - when i was at home my parents took 20% of my wages which they gave back to me when I was making wedding plans to help purchase our first home - which was so thoughtful and considerate. A generous gesture I will never forget

How is that thoughtful and considerate?. Basically your parents didn't trust you to save any money so they felt they had to secretly save money for you. If they didn't need the money they should have taught you how to save it yourself instead and how to get the best return on your savings.

Also don't forget this was your money they gave back to you so don't feel too grateful!

Cakeguts wrote: »

Pay them what you would pay in rent if you moved out. It will help you to learn how to budget on that amount so that you won't get a shock when you do move out.

I don't understand the logic behind this answer at all. How would paying such a high amount help you in any way?. The only thing it will help you do is save less money for a house deposit which is the exact opposite of useful.

Also there is no reason why anyone should get a "shock" when they move out. The cost of running a house can easily be found online and a budget can easily be created so you know exactly what you will be paying before you get your first house.

Mojisola

danaleigh wrote: »

I've just finished university and started a new job where I'll be living at home. I was just wondering how much would be a fair amount to contribute towards the house for food/rent/bills etc.

If your parents don't mind sharing the information, it would be a very useful exercise for you all to go through the household accounts with them so that you can see all the expenses involved with running a household.

Exactly what you end up pay depends on you and your parents - do they want to get just enough to cover all the extra costs that will arise?

Do you want to pay one third of things like the council tax and insurance?

Jlawson118

Your best bet would be to all sit down and discuss how much both of your parents contribute towards the bills and work out your share.

When I started my current job, I was paying £50 per week, so £200 per month but I realised I wasn't eating meals at home due to work and asked my mum if I can pay £150 but I pay for my own toiletries and things and she said she'd been thinking the same.

It just depends on how much you can all afford But it's good that you've offered to help out because many wouldn't!

DoubleDoors

Just save your 'rent' money for a few years and get yourself a flat.

74jax

You could try the rule of thirds, 3rd on rent, 3rd to save, 3rd to spend.

annandale

My monthly rent is less than 400. It's 243.