Moving in together as widows

nicken61

I have been widowed and have now met a lovely man who also lost his wife. Our plan is for him to rent out his house and move in to mine. I have a mortgage and still work. We both want to protect our children’s inheritance and so want to keep our money separate. Do you have any idea how we should Fairly arrange our household budget bearing in mind that he has the benefit of rental income from his property? 

Keep_pedalling

The simplest way is to split all household expenses 50/50 with the exception of the mortgage which you should continue to pay yourself. If he pays anything towards the mortgage then he will be able to claim a financial interest in it if things went pear shaped. 

Does your partner have any experience in being a landlord? If not he should have a read through this

https://www.your-move.co.uk/landlords/guides/first-time-landlord-guide

silvercar

He has the benefit of the rental income (less the costs of renting it out) that he wouldn't of had if he hadn't moved in with you.
Either half of that should be spent on things that otherwise you would have had to pay for, or if you don't need that money for general living, all the rental profit could be used to fund holidays/ treats for you both.

swingaloo2

I think 50/50 on all bills. The rental income should not come into it. That's his just as your wage is yours. If he is not expected to profit in any way from your house then his income from his house is a separate issue. He is profiting from renting his house out and living with you but you are also profiting from having your bills halved.  If he is not working  then presumably his share of the bills is coming from his rental income.

KP20

He should pay the going rate of a room in your area - otherwise he is living rent-free AND keeping his rental income from his own property while you pay out the full cost of your mortgage. It's ridiculous and I will never ever understand this advice. It is no different to if he was living as a lodger in anyone else's house.

If worried, you should be able to get an agreement written up to say that he understands this is a contribution to bills/living expenses and has no rights over the property in future. Consult a solicitor.

theoretica

Does he have a mortgage too?  How much of your mortgage is interest and how much repayment?

AskAsk

the bill split is easy.  the board cost is more dificult to determine.  depending on how much rent he gets and how much the total bills are, he could pay all the bills and live free in your house or he could give you cost of renting half of your house to you as he is getting full rent for his house.

maman

KP20 said:

He should pay the going rate of a room in your area - otherwise he is living rent-free AND keeping his rental income from his own property while you pay out the full cost of your mortgage. It's ridiculous and I will never ever understand this advice. It is no different to if he was living as a lodger in anyone else's house.

If worried, you should be able to get an agreement written up to say that he understands this is a contribution to bills/living expenses and has no rights over the property in future. Consult a solicitor.

Not really. When someone rents out a room surely they don't ask the lodger to pay half the landlady's household bills?🤔

swingaloo2

This is a couple moving in together not a business transaction. He is a partner not a 'rent a room' lodger.
They both benefit if they share the cost of the bills. She is paying the full mortgage yes, but she would be paying that anyway and he has no claim on the house nor on any increase in value during the time they are together.  They both have an income, hers from her job and his from his house rental. Bills are split so she benefits that way. He benefits from his rental and both keep control of their own properties.  Why shouldnt he keep his rental income, she is keeping her house and her wage. 

AskAsk

swingaloo2 said:

This is a couple moving in together not a business transaction. He is a partner not a 'rent a room' lodger.
They both benefit if they share the cost of the bills. She is paying the full mortgage yes, but she would be paying that anyway and he has no claim on the house nor on any increase in value during the time they are together.  They both have an income, hers from her job and his from his house rental. Bills are split so she benefits that way. He benefits from his rental and both keep control of their own properties.  Why shouldnt he keep his rental income, she is keeping her house and her wage. 

but if you look at it like that, it would be more beneficial for the OP to rent out her house and move into his house and pay 50% of the bills there.  she would end up in a better position.  it is not a financial arrangement as you say, but it needs to be fair.

maman

swingaloo2 said:

This is a couple moving in together not a business transaction. He is a partner not a 'rent a room' lodger.
They both benefit if they share the cost of the bills. She is paying the full mortgage yes, but she would be paying that anyway and he has no claim on the house nor on any increase in value during the time they are together.  They both have an income, hers from her job and his from his house rental. Bills are split so she benefits that way. He benefits from his rental and both keep control of their own properties.  Why shouldnt he keep his rental income, she is keeping her house and her wage. 

That's how I'd interpret it too. If the guy moving in earned a living from property developing and BTL then that would be his income. Just because the house he's renting out happens to be his current home, the principle is the same IMO, it's just his income as would be a pension or any other job he did.