Page 3 | How much rent should I charge?

reetas · 2022-05-24T14:21:40+00:00

Yes another how much rent should I charge my son! Trying to keep it simple here by not going into all the issues we are having etc so.... How much should we charge for a double size room, all bills and food cooked, washing done the lot?

Ratsindahouse · 25/05/2022 02:14

This thread is exactly the reason why the system in England is rubbish. I completely understand why some parents don’t have enough money to top up the amount of student loan their child will get to the maximum. I can only assume that everyone saying you’ve had 18 years to save and prepare have never had to struggle for money even though your household income is above the required amount. It does not take into account other outgoings, debts, other dependent children etc.

But, this is not the child’s fault. There should be a system where the parent/s are unwilling or unable to contribute that the student be assessed as an individual, currently the only route is a declaration of estrangement in England. In Wales any student can choose not to declare parental income and get the full maintenance loan which is a much fairer way of doing things. Their decision to go to university, their debt.

autienotnaughty · 25/05/2022 04:37

My children went to uni. They got a fees loans and maintenance loan which covered rent with a bit left over. I gave £100pm same as pocket money and they got a part time job for rest. I wouldn't charge rent unless children had a full time job. Then roughly 1/4 of wage.

Waxonwaxoff0 · 25/05/2022 09:16

TooManyPJs · 25/05/2022 01:20

I don't think you should charge him anything and you need to pay the parental contribution to top up his loan in order for him to go to university. You don't charge a child rent while they are studying, certainly at undergraduate level.

Unfortunately almost all undergraduates need to incur debt to get degrees these days. But student loans are not like normal debt. They are written off after a period (I think 35 years now), repayments don't kick in until you earn a certain amount and they are not treated as a liability for the purpose of taking on other debt like a mortgage. You need to think about it more like a graduate tax.

There's not really any other way of doing it unless he's able to save up getting on for £50k! And that's not going to happen.

We gave our DS £300 per month during term time, and his Dad gave him about £150 from memory. He was only able to borrow the minimum loan because of our income. He also worked to top that up.

It's a lot to find but it was also important to us that we supported our son to achieve to the best of his ability. Because of the way the loans work some students are forced to rely on parental contributions. That's not your son's fault. If you have a problem with it contact your MP, don't not support your son.

If they physically don't have the money though they can't do that. Cost of living is rising dramatically.

LindaEllen · 25/05/2022 09:42

reetas · 24/05/2022 16:31

He's 18 and wants to go to uni, pay £144 a week rent there. We are trying to prove a point really that at the moment he cannot afford to go. We are advising him to delay uni to earn enough money to go. The rent we charge would be put away for him but I wouldn't tell him that. He's being very immature about it all and doesn't understand or really mind the debt he will be in.

That's what student loans are for.

Comefromaway · 25/05/2022 09:47

He should go to uni and you should support him according to your income.

Comefromaway · 25/05/2022 09:49

LindaEllen · 25/05/2022 09:42

That's what student loans are for.

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Unfortunately if parents are higher earners then the child only gets a smaller amount of student loan which for many doesn't even cover their rent. Some parents are unaware of this and do not plan for it and some don't care and refuse to contribute anyway.

Crazykatie · 25/05/2022 09:49

Part of their education is realizing how much it costs to live, getting a job and earning money to pay the rent a buy food is a good start, a parent is negligent if they don’t do that.

What you do with that money is up to you, in my case it went into a savings account as part of a deposit when they bought their first flat.

BarbaraofSeville · 25/05/2022 10:21

Or they genuinely can't afford to make a meaningful contribution because they might not always have earned at that level, have other DC, gone through divorce or had other expensive life events etc etc.

Don't they start to reduce the loans above around £25k? That's not a high income for a family to cover rent/mortgage/bills etc.

Comefromaway · 25/05/2022 10:26

Between £25-£30k the parental contribution is about £700 per year.

It's when you hit the £40-45k ish mark it starts going up (just under £3k per year) then steeply as you hit the £60k mark.

For years we had a family income of around £40k per year then in recent years our income has shot up to £65k so we are going to be stung but I did start saving from when the kids were very little.

Comefromaway · 25/05/2022 10:28

It's also caught me out because for almost the whole of ds's secondary school career it looked highly unlikely that he would go to university. College changed everything and he suddenly started to achieve! Added to this is the fact that covid delayed things with dd so we will be supporting two at once.

Courante · 25/05/2022 10:32

I think more facts are essential her OP. I can think of circumstances where I would just pay this £144/wk rent for him and support him through uni and others where I would be very reluctant and thinking along your lines - mainly related to the quality of the degree. Maybe not fair but I'm afraid to do view some degrees as a massive waste of time and money for certain students, and would rather our money went towards a first home.

DH and I were not financially supported by parents beyond 18/19 (they couldn't really afford it anyway and it wasn't really needed at the time either) but very much expect to financially support ours to some extent up until at least 21 tapering to 25.

With our 18 yr old son (degree apprentice for 4 years on £21K/yr) we're not charging him anything under the proviso that he saves at least 1/3rd of his salary in long-term savings and makes the full pension contributions under his employers scheme. He isn't starting until September so we're see how it goes. If he doesn't save we will charge him board at £100/wk and save it for him - we've been through how much it would cost him to rent a room in a shared house and pay for share of bills and his food, and he understand he would really struggle to afford that without help - he also appreciates that this is a massive opportunity for him to save.

bigbluebus · 25/05/2022 11:05

My DS got the minimum cost of living loan when he was at Uni (left last year). He worked FT during the Summer break (June - Sept) and that topped him up enough to get him through most of the Uni year with us only topping him up at the end of the final Semester.
Is there any reason why your DS can't do this or get a pt job whilst at Uni to pay for his living expenses. The people DS lived with worked pt in Sainsburys/McDonalds/Taco Belle. One was a mature student (in his 40's) so I'm pretty sure his parents weren't topping his money up!

newbiename · 25/05/2022 11:09

reetas · 24/05/2022 16:31

He's 18 and wants to go to uni, pay £144 a week rent there. We are trying to prove a point really that at the moment he cannot afford to go. We are advising him to delay uni to earn enough money to go. The rent we charge would be put away for him but I wouldn't tell him that. He's being very immature about it all and doesn't understand or really mind the debt he will be in.

But he'd get loans for uni wouldn't he ? No one can really afford uni unless parents pay for everything