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moral question, what to charge girlfriend!

snickpan
snickpan Posts: 154
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edited 15 July 2017 at 9:52AM in House buying, renting & selling
Well: a lodger in my HMO down the road was paying £500 a month, bills inc. Now she is my girlfriend, thinking of asking her to move in with me...haven't a clue what to charge her, if anything at all!
I have money in the bank following a house sale, and I take her out for dinner 4 or 5 times a week, and a couple of holidays.
I'm still a businessman, I still need income from property, I daresay she'd be pleased if I offered her a £300 discount per month. But she'd be more pleased if I waived rent entirely :rotfl:
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  • SuboJvR
    SuboJvR Posts: 481
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    Circumstance dependant IMO.

    My husband and I moved in together when I had a full time job and he was a part time student with no loan or grants. We therefore never split things 50/50 as I had more income.

    What we have tended to do for no real tangible reason is he pays me half the rent value and that's it. I pay all the bills. He pays for weekend coffees, lunches etc :) Will be the same on our upcoming mortgage, as although we both work full time my salary is considerably more and he has much higher commute costs.

    It's something you need to both be happy with, remember you're basically setting yourselves up now for potentially a lifetime arrangement! :)
  • ACG
    ACG Posts: 23,677
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    Your gf is your gf not a business decision or a lodger. You choose to take her out 4 or 5 times a week, thats irrelevent unless you are looking to recoup some of the money you spend on her.

    Personally I would say half the bills (gas/electric/water/sky etc?). Maybe suggest she also pays a bit towards some of the socialising you do with what she is saving on rent?
    I am a Mortgage Adviser
    You should note that this site doesn't check my status as a mortgage adviser, so you need to take my word for it. This signature is here as I follow MSE's Mortgage Adviser Code of Conduct. Any posts on here are for information and discussion purposes only and shouldn't be seen as financial advice.
  • sevenhills
    sevenhills Posts: 5,838
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    snickpan wrote: »
    I'm still a businessman, I still need income from property, I daresay she'd be pleased if I offered her a £300 discount per month. But she'd be more pleased if I waived rent entirely :rotfl:

    You have phrased it like a businessman, I would word it differently to your girlfriend.
    You will get rent from another tenant in your HMO, you will be quids in ;)
    Just get her to pay share of bills, the wording will be important.
  • Bossypants
    Bossypants Posts: 1,273
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    I think it's fair to ask her to split the bills with you. In terms of rent, if she was a lodger in an HMO and you own the HMO, that suggests a significant difference in your personal circumstances. You would be fully entitled to charge her rent, but if you can afford to do so, the kinder thing to do would be to have her open a separate savings account where she would put what she was paying you for the HMO, so that she has a chance to build up a deposit and get on the property herself (which, if the relationship lasts, will also benefit you in the long run).

    Only do this if you feel you can without getting resentful, though. I'm a big believe in kindness over bean-counting in relationships, but not everyone is wired that way, and if you think the situation might annoy you, it's better to just charge her rent IMO.
  • frugalmacdugal
    frugalmacdugal Posts: 10,077
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    Hi,

    if you love her just get her in and enjoy life.

    How much extra is it going to cost you, shower together, no extra cost.

    Sleep together, still the same amount of bedding to wash, no extra cost.

    You dine out 4/5 times a week, so sounds like not much home cooking.

    Only thing will be, you will lose your council tax discount of 25%, she might offer to pay that.

    Get her in, she might even start cooking for you, that'll save you money on meals out, you'll just have to buy the wine.
  • snickpan
    snickpan Posts: 154
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    Some lovely answers so far, thank you everyone. There's always a chance of being attacked with thread like this but it's going ok so far!!
  • getmore4less
    getmore4less Posts: 46,882
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    Charge her rent as live in lover and she starts to get a beneficial interest.

    Leave her in the HMO paying rent and have her as a guest in your own home.
  • frugalmacdugal
    frugalmacdugal Posts: 10,077
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    Hi,

    you could move in with her, you'll still get the rent and freebies, and you could let out your own place, double whammy. :)
  • LadyL2013
    LadyL2013 Posts: 191
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    You're making her sound like a business transaction to be honest. If you're taking her out that's your choice, you shouldn't do it to then expect something back....
    But to give you the benefit of the doubt. She can pay bills whilst you pay mortgage or whatever is fair based upon your earnings.
  • Marvel1
    Marvel1 Posts: 7,157
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    Half of the bills expect mortgage.
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