My DH and I have been living with our friend in her flat for 18 months. We pay rent for our room. When we moved in, the rent was agreed and no mention of bills was made. I did ask whether we could/should contribute and she didn't seem bothered about it. Our rent was increased after a year, a reasonable amount, and I again asked if we could contribute to bills. After all there are two of us and one of her so we use more electricity etc.
She totted up her bills and it came to £300/month. Well, two thirds of that amount is a bit steep for us, especially applied retroactively. We are due to move out soon. She asked if I still wanted to contribute to the bills. I suggested that we agree a flat amount since we cannot afford £200/month for the whole 18 months we have been here. She agreed and asked me to suggest a figure.
Can anyone suggest to me a reasonable amount to offer? I don't want to offer too little, neither can I afford to give her a thousand pounds in one go. She makes more money than we do, owns the flat, and would not be pushy about it since she is reasonable and none of this was agreed prior to moving in. However I would like to contribute something.