Hi all, slightly unusual situation so please bear with me!
Me and my ex g/f (together 12 years) bought a house together 5 years ago. We split up 2 years ago and she moved out at this time and into a house with her new partner (whilst she didn't "cheat" on me, she definitely "set the ground work" until I overheard a questionable conversation with him one morning).
Despite this we kept on good terms (I know, sounds crazy, but at the time I found out about the 'affair' I was ready to tell her I wanted out, so it sort of suited me, especially as it turned out I would stay in the house). She agreed at this point to pay half the mortgage and I'd pay the other half. We are both paying around £280 each, the mortgage being £560. This has continued for the past 2 years.
I'm now at the stage where I want to move my new g/f into the house, living in the main bedroom with me of course, and out of courtesy I told this to my ex. She has now turned around and asked for my current g/f to pay her £350 a month, citing rental conditions and her feeling like she'd be "subsidising" my current g/fs living conditions if she were to move in.
My current g/f is not happy with the suggested amount - not only because emotionally she is wrangling with the idea of moving in to my old house anyway, but it's a lot of money (as she currently lives in a family home nearby, rent free - some people eh!?) but it's also that it is more than the mortgage she is paying. We would rent elsewhere but it would literally add around £1200 to our joint expenditure.
Effectively, we feel she's asking too much. Because me and my ex are on good terms I have tried arguing the case that this is more than the mortgage, and whether we could agree on something a little lower. She has so far said this is not enough - she has her own rental costs to pay, and that all her friends and family believe she should be asking for way more - up to the rental value (which, for the house, is £950 a month).
Apologies again for the lengthy backstory but it is all relevant I feel. I am now at the point where legally I'm not sure where I stand, or whether to force the issue.
You are probably all wondering why we didn't sell the house at the time of split - this was mainly because we live near the Crossrail development so knew house prices would increase, so selling up didn't make sense, and that at the time I was happy to remain in the house whereas my ex g/f didn't.
Most of the advice I've had is "sell up" which is all well and good (and I do see benefits to) but due to Crossrail not having arrived yet we were happy waiting for another year, before this scenario reared its ugly head. I could really do with some advice apart from people suggesting this, if or where possible. Even advice to if you think I'm being reasonable/unreasonable. Many thanks