Do you charge your partner rent?

london21

Usually couples would communicate with each other to come with a fair way.

Perhaps paying bills etc. You mentioned she rented her property out, perhaps share the money etc.

Depends on both your income and affordability.

How much you trust them, have you been together for some time or fairly new relationship etc. 

DD06

Chris_English said:

getmore4less said:

Comes up a lot plenty of threads to cover the options.

A key one is how to avoid them gaining an equitable interest in the property.

Maybe this is just me being old fashioned, but putting in efforts to avoid your partner gaining a share in the property that you both live in together with a child seems like quite a poor way to behave.

”Sorry kid, I know you’ve come to think of me as a father, but I’ve made damned sure that you and your mother never really got a stake in this place you’ve felt was your home.”

I have been there before, so I have learnt my lesson. I own the house and none will take it away. Only thing she will claim is an extension if we buy together. But I will check all this. 

Polarkitto

I mean, do you love her, see a life long future with her? If so then surely you'd just ask her to contribute to bills, she handles all the needs of the child if that's what suits you and maybe a portion of her rental money goes into a joint account for house maint/repairs/decoration or w/e

Charging rent imo should never complicate a relationship you're not already looking for an escape route from. 

DD06

Polarkitto said:

I mean, do you love her, see a life long future with her? If so then surely you'd just ask her to contribute to bills, she handles all the needs of the child if that's what suits you and maybe a portion of her rental money goes into a joint account for house maint/repairs/decoration or w/e

Charging rent imo should never complicate a relationship you're not already looking for an escape route from. 

Thankyou, I also pay for one child too. And only work part time. It’s hard to pay everything myself so feeding two more would be hard 

Mojisola

DD06 said:

Do I charge her rent? She gets rent from her property, plus a good job and maintenance for the child.
I have no mortgage and only work part time at the moment.

One option is to work out her income and your income and divide the household bills by percentages according to income.

maisie_cat

When we were in a similar situation 20 years ago hubby gave me half the rent he got from his flat & paid half bills. From memory we had similar monthly mortgage payments so it seemed fairest.

DD06

maisie_cat said:

When we were in a similar situation 20 years ago hubby gave me half the rent he got from his flat & paid half bills. From memory we had similar monthly mortgage payments so it seemed fairest.

Yes that’s a good idea Thankyou 

TheJP

maisie_cat said:

When we were in a similar situation 20 years ago hubby gave me half the rent he got from his flat & paid half bills. From memory we had similar monthly mortgage payments so it seemed fairest.

Isn't this just the same as paying rent and half bills?

bargainbetty

Your partner should certainly contribute to all the household bills - utilities, TV, internet, food and cleaning, as she will be benefiting from those things and you should not be liable for all the costs for two extra mouths etc. I would recommend sorting out a list of regular expenditures and asking for a share of them, possibly based on your incomes or just a 50/50 split. 

If you intend to never allow her any share in the property, then bear in mind that you would need to make sure you pay in full for all maintenance and improvements and do not ask for a contribution to the upkeep of the property itself. 

Lots of people here are very quick to say that you should treat it as a partnership from the off and ask why you would have separate finances etc. Given that this is the first time you will have lived together, it makes complete sense to be cautious until you have settled into the new arrangements. When you can look at the future, decide on the future. 

I've known a couple of long-term relationships that crashed within six months of living together as they realised that they weren't nearly as compatible as they thought... 

LateStarter

Thing is, you don't want resentment to set in - on either side. When my current partner moved in, I thought she was happy with the situation as I was paying for almost everything. That is, until we had a massive argument one day about her "lost benefits" from moving in with me.  We've been much betting at talking about money since, and what our expectations are.  And I think it's important you both go into this conversation having an idea of what you'd consider a good outcome.