How much rent to charge 18 year old?

All the posters grabbing money from their minimum wage kids, did you at least have some kind of savings plan in place that matured when they were 18 to at least give them a financial start?

when our daughter turned 16 Dh was diagnosed with a life changing illness that meant he might never work again. (Thankfully that didn’t prove to be the case though he is now only part time & in a lower level role). So no, we didn’t. Every penny up to then had been spent on their education so they could have the careers they wanted (primarily music/dance lessons & summer schools).

I find the number of people saying nothing totally bizarre. £900 a month is a decent amount a I think one job as a parent is to teach our children about financial responsibility. Far too many bring their children up entitled to everything, it's not the real world. Once they're 18 and earning of course they should contribute to the household. It's possibly a good time to sit down with them and discuss how many household bills there are. Obviously if you can afford to you might put it in to a savings account for them but I don't think parents should be shamed for asking their children for a contribution. It's preparing them to be responsible for their own household. I think £200 out of £900 seems very fair.

Just because you don't need your DC to cover that, doesnt mean no one else does.
My DC didn't get the bus to college (our nearest bus stop is outside the college, a 5 min walk away) and took sandwiches from home/ came home for lunch. So when they left college they cost me the same as when they were there.

And in terms of the "we have to pay the bills anyway" that's true. But as a single person my council tax would be cheaper if DC weren't here. I'd have less streaming services, probably cheaper/slower WiFi, less food and I'd use less electricity. Plus, if you rent and get any help with your housing, you lose £93 pcm when DC turn 21 because it's expected that they cover the shortfall.

there is an argument that once a young person leaves education & starts work they should be the ones now looking after their parents.

that’s the attitude my dad had when he started work. He was able to contribute so his parents could live a better life than they could when he was at school.

Ours obviously pay for their own fuel, also clothes, socialising, treats, toiletries.hair cuts etc. All the things we used to pay when they were at school and college so we're actually quids in.

They just don't pay our bills because we'd be paying them anyway and parents have a responsibility imo to get them saving for their own places.

All the posters grabbing money from their minimum wage kids, did you at least have some kind of savings plan in place that matured when they were 18 to at least give them a financial start?

It's privileged to say "I wouldn't ever" on thread where numerous people have explained why they HAVE TO charge.

It's great to have the security of knowing you'd NEVER charge... but that's the privilege.

Right now, I wouldn't need to charge my kids rent or board, but who knows if I'd need tk.in the future. The last few years have been the biggest cost of living crisis (certainly in my lifetime anyway)... lone parents would lose maintenance, benefits and child benefit when kids turn 18 and go out to work. Some people's rent is income assessed and will rise when kids go out to work.

There is a difference between saying "I wouldn't charge if I didn't need to" and "I would never charge".

This comment is so sad and even sadder that you haven't noticed that.

I was never charged rent at home and am financially stable and independent. I will never charge my children rent unless I cannot afford to house them without it.

So if there are three adult children working and still living at home , no contributions towards fuel, food are required ? Blow that! Parents pay for everything, while the children have a load of disposable income? No way José!

Yes and people say well if they rented privately it'd cost more, we'll that's the point they don't ! They live at home and parents should be encouraging every spare penny to go towards savings for a deposit or rentals.

It shouldn't ever be a 'houseshare' with parents it should be home.

It really isn’t. The bizarre culture of charging DC to stay in their own homes doesn’t happen in the vast majority of countries and they manage fine.

DH is Spanish and he says it would be absolutely scandalous and the talk of thr town if it happened there.

We charge ours £200 pcm. We need it. Food and bills are loads. They both have savings and more disposable income than us. I'm still paying for the phone for our youngest until he upgrades and I also pay his car insurance and car servicing and MOT. I'm looking forward to him upgrading his car and his phone.

We charge our DD1 rent and have done since she graduated. Weirdly it’s £193/month, a figure DH and DD reached through negotiation!
But regardless of the amount it’s the point of principle. What DD pays does not cover what she costs, not even close.
when she first graduated she was given the choice of all inclusive or B&B and priced accordingly. She opted for AI so think she gets a pretty good deal.
She’s 25 now and getting established in her career and believes she’ll have enough behind her to move out at the end of the year, HURRAH 🥳

She came home from work the other day after a particularly challenging day and DH and I were in the kitchen with a bottle of wine and music blaring.
she turned to us and sighed heavily and said ‘my god it’s like living in a house share rather than a home’.
Well, that’s exactly what it is!!

We’re financially supporting DD2 through uni at the moment so any extra income is welcomed.

You didn't need to cover that. When our cb ended when college finished so did college bus fare and weekly dinner money and it evened out. Plus once kids start earning they of course pay for their own social lives so we weren't forking out 50 quid here and there everytime they went out.

They have their whole lives to pay bills, while at home any extra should be saved toward independent living not go in Mum and Dad's pocket.

That's s very privileged comment

I wouldn't ever charge my child rent

That's a lot, I remember paying less than that when I was renting in London at the same time. If you hadn't gone to live back home, I suspect she would have had to move if she couldn't afford it.

Parents are expected to contribute according to income. Several of ds’s friends receive full loan & their parents are not expected & indeed are unable to contribute. Those choosing to remain at home are even expected to contribute to their families household expenses from their loan.

I am not expected to contribute to my daughter’s uni living expenses. When she lived with us full time & was earning she paid £50 per week keep. Now she is in halls she doesn’t pay keep & we don’t charge anything when she’s at home in the holidays as we are fortunate not to need anything from her but not all families are that fortunate.

I gave my mum £150 when I first started work in 1983. I think it was a third of my take-home pay.
Her rent went up and she lost child benefit so I needed to cover that.

I didn't refuse. He just didn't need the money. And no one full loan parents are not expected to contribute. It's the kids from better off families who are expected to make it up to full loan amount. He had far more than that Id also given him the car for his 18th

Well, you the student loan system expects parents to contribute and I am perplexed as to why you would refuse to do so.

because now there an adult there’s no need to subsidise them
charged ours £130 ( have saved it for them but they don’t know)
which is no what it cost for food and utilities

Unless you need it can’t understand why people charge massive amounts or a fixed % to profit from there kids

This is very similar to us. Dd pays no rent but it’s in the condition she puts money into her ISA. We don’t pay her phone or any of her bills. She runs her own car that she pays for. Any fancy food or treats for her and her bf she pays for. She buys all her toiletries.
She’s on track to be able to buy a flat before she’s 21. I think she’s learning to be sensible with her money. She works really hard.

I wasn't actually suggesting it was left to age 18.
Reading the update OP has done a great job and raised a savvy young adult

I never charged my daughter anything when she was living here, but once she was earning, she paid for her own phone and clothes. She and her husband lived with us during 2024 and during that time, they bought and cooked their own food - they are strict Muslims and only eat organic food - but it didn’t occur to us to charge them anything for living with us. I suppose we probably used a bit more electricity and water for laundry and showering during that time, but other than that it didn’t cost us any more to have them living with us.