Is he beng unreasonable ??

[Milly101]

My brother has 7 year old daughter his ex partner lives in one of his houses rent and council tax free brother also pays a generous amount in child support ( I think he feels guilty and this is a way of easiing conscience break up entirely his fault)
They've been split up for 5 or so years both have moved on and are fairly friendly ex has been in relationship with a lovely bloke for maybe 3 years brother and him have met get on fine no issues there.
Ex announced to my brother at drop of on Sunday night that her partner has his 2 bed flat on the rental market and when he finds suitable tenants he is going to move in with brothers ex and daughter, brother says fine no problems but they will have to pay the going rate for rent.
I can't help but feel this is fair,both my mother and his ex seem to think this is wholly unreasonable and a bit controlling.
Is he being unreasonable ?

Bur he is paying £950 child maintenance, then the rent of £585 and council tax of probably another £100 per month and then whatever he spends directly on his daughter when she is with him

According to op his liability is £1000 a month so he should be paying more than £950 if he's taking away the services that he used to top up the £950 to over £1000.

CM is worked out based on the paying parent being responsible for the costs of the child when they are with them deductions of liability will be worked into the end figure so you can't factor in what he spends on her when she's in his care

As I asked earlier how much more does OP brother need to give to his EX

He needs to give her at least his assessed liability in cash/goods or services as agreed by them both he can choose to give more if he wishes

I think he should set up a proper rental agreement with ex, give her 6 months to start paying rent as a tenant or move out. It will formalise the agreement and protect both of them. Her rights as a tenant and his a a land lord

Not sure I suggested a solicitor get involved ...I was asking what rights the ex had to stay in the house / claim part of the house as hers if (and only if) she had deemed to contribute to it. My reasoning is thus...if DB stops paying rent will ex try and force a claim on any of his assets? The answer could quite reasonably be no as she has not contributed to them but if she has, even indirectly, could this be taken into account and therefore should DB be mindful of this when discussing any payments.
It would also be useful to know why DB's Mum is on Ex's side (if I understand this correctly).

brother is not being unreasonable = XP and her new P are taking the piss.

It would also be useful to know why DB's Mum is on Ex's side

Chances are Granny simply doesn't want her son to rock the boat because people are getting along and her son, and she, have reasonable access.

Nauticant that is supposition - it may be true but it may not. It may be Granny agrees fully with Ex for reasons not listed here, or some other scenario. I am not agreeing that Ex should live rent free, or saying she shouldn't, I'm suggesting that DB make himself aware of his liabilities re any assets before negotiating - not suggesting he shouldn't negotiate at all.

The brother would be crazy to not charge rent. He was already being overly generous with his ex and that's great, but the ex has no right to expect to be able to subsidise her new fella at the expense of her ex. She has a responsibility to house her child too, and so far she's done pretty well in having someone else do it all for her.

If I was the brother I would feel like I was giving this man £600 per month. I can think of a million things I'd rather do with £600pcm than give it to a high earning stranger

My brother and ex have never lived in house as a couple ex and niece moved it to house when she split with brother and moved out his house so I don't think she'd ever have a claim on property, mother doesn't want brother to rock the boat over money he doesn't need as everyone is rubbing along nicely.
Brother feels if boyfriend was any sort of man at all he'd be happy to pay his way,

Time for him then to get legal advice about how to move on from here.

As I said earlier tell them they either pay full rent and council tax for the property or they move into a new place which is their 'home'. He has done more then enough in supporting his ex and their child. He can not be expected just to carry on not charging her rent after all I take it he more then one rental property.

So assuming Ex has no other claims on any of DB's assets (how long did she live with him in previous house?) then I feel he would be within his rights to charge rent. I agree with his sentiments that boyfriend should want to pay his way (but he could be to be fair - he may be giving Ex money she just isn't passing any of that onto your brother).
Would brother fall out with Mum over her siding with Ex? Or would he see it for what it is which is a desire to maintain contact with grandchild and let it go?
What a shame that a fairly amicable situation could possibly turn nasty (not that I think this means your brother should charge - just that he needs to be aware of this). Do you think that Ex sees free rent as 'payback' given that you said Db was at fault re the split?

His ex and her boyfriend need a proper rental agreement set up and to pay a proper market rate in my opinion.

Without these who is liable for any damages/accidents etc? If he suddenly needs to sell and wants them out they will have no legal time frame as they are not legal tenants.

What sort of grown adult expects a house provided by his girlfriends ex free of charge.

should...shouldn't! Bloody laptop.

The BF may have no idea about the source of her income

The new boyfriend and the ex should have approached the OPs brother and offered to make a contribution as soon as they planned on him moving in. At the very least, offering to pay what the new boyfriend is going to be earning on his own flat would be the bare minimum they should offer. It's just what civilised people do.