Should my partner be charging me rent?

TheJP

I dont think its unfair for him to charge you rent but this would need to be in consideration that you are sharing the property with a lodger as well as paying bills.

My approach would be that you and him both pay a nominal amount into a joint account that as you stated is used for necessities, improvements and possibly a nice break. If the relationship progresses then it can be used to support that, the caveat that you would need to agree with and him also would be that he would need to give you a rental agreement and insure you have the proper needs within the property, if you split the money would be his.

If he was to look at charging you higher rent i would be asking that the lodger would need to leave so you as a renter/partner can enjoy the full freedom of the property.

I also agree with most that his approach is not forthcoming of a loving partner.

grumpy_codger

dollypug123 said:

Should my partner be charging me rent?

Yes - IF he is a business patner.
If he is a civil partner, what is reasonable, is  disclosing and sharing flat-related expenses.

FrugaiMacDugal

He's not your partner he's your landlord that you share a room with.

Used to be known as, sex for rent, you were told if you don't like it move out.

He will then get another 'partner', no love in this relationship, look for somewhere else.

grumpy_codger

FrugaiMacDugal said:

Used to be known as, sex for rent, you were told if you don't like it move out.

For a shared room and "half the rate his friend pays" this will be known as sex&rent.

thegreenone

Are any other flats up for sale now or have been recently?  You may be able to find out the Service Charges from the listings.

newsgroupmonkey_

sheramber said:

Is your partner declaring his rental income to HMRC.

 £700 from his friend is already more than the rent a room allowance so he should be declaring the income and paying tax on it. 

Your rent would have to be added as well. 

I think realistically, this would be seen by HMRC as "Contribution towards living costs", seeing as they are living as partners.

pinkshoes

dollypug123 said:

My partner and I have been arguing over this for months.I cannot see the wood from the trees.

My partner owns his flat outright (gift from parent). 

2 bedrooms. 1 room is rented out to a friend. We share the other room (for the last 3 months)

We 3 split bills (electric, gas, water, internet) equally. 

My partner wants me to pay him ‘rent’ on top of bills, at half the rate his friend pays. 

He says this will cover council tax and the flat’s service charge, but he refuses to tell me how much the council tax and service charge are. I say I'd be happy to split the cost of these but want to know what the costs are. He also says the money will help him pay for a course he is doing. 

I say the arrangement feels like he is profiting from me, that I am happy to share the cost of bills but unsure about giving him money on top. He says that I am already profiting from him as I’m paying less in rent and living in his home. 

I suggested putting the ‘rent’ into a joint fund that can go toward joint things like furniture, holidays. He refuses, says that this is just another way of me not paying.
It this fair?

Just re-read what you wrote.

Is this REALLY what you want from a relationship?!?!

I know this is a housing forum section, but I think the rent he is asking for seems to be the least of the issues here. 

If you were occupying an entire room (e.g. kick the friend out) then fair enough pay rent, but you are sharing his room so don't even have your own space. 

Personally I'd run a mile! This would be game over for the relationship! I would hate to be with someone who was that pedantic and controlling over money.

Albermarle

RHemmings said:

I can't imagine charging a partner rent for a property I own completely. Even if they were richer than me. The way I would do things is to divvy up the bills, e.g. maybe they pay the energy bill, and the council tax. 

It seems to be assumed ( not just by you ) that if you own a house there are no further costs apart from the usual regular bills.
What about maintenance/one off costs?
New washing machine, plumber call out, decorator, new carpets, new furniture, new TV etc. and that is not including anything major /expensive cropping up.
Not sure I would be happy forking out for all that with no contribution from someone benefitting from them.

In reality they should work out some kind of compromise, and the fact they are struggling to do so is not a great sign for the future.

artyboy

This really needs moving to the Relationships board.

or possibly the Ex-relationships board...

RHemmings

Albermarle said:

RHemmings said:

I can't imagine charging a partner rent for a property I own completely. Even if they were richer than me. The way I would do things is to divvy up the bills, e.g. maybe they pay the energy bill, and the council tax. 

It seems to be assumed ( not just by you ) that if you own a house there are no further costs apart from the usual regular bills.
What about maintenance/one off costs?
New washing machine, plumber call out, decorator, new carpets, new furniture, new TV etc. and that is not including anything major /expensive cropping up.
Not sure I would be happy forking out for all that with no contribution from someone benefitting from them.

In reality they should work out some kind of compromise, and the fact they are struggling to do so is not a great sign for the future.

I'm not assuming any of that at all. I don't know where you got that from. I was suggesting that costs could be shared, but not by one partner paying the other one rent. 

Personally I would be happy paying for a new washing machine, if my partner had paid for maintenance on the car, or bought a new settee. And so on and so on for the many costs of living.