Housemate’s boyfriend moving in-split rent?

[Lampyshady]

I live in a flatshare with 3 others. One of the girls has a much bigger room and an en-suite and pays a bit more rent and the other 3 of us share a bathroom and pay a bit less. Girl with big room has asked if her boyfriend can move in and share her room for about 6 months, and said we’d split the bills by 5. We all said we’d think about it. He’s here a lot anyway and has been going through a very hard time and we get on well so it wouldn’t be so bad-and we’d still be sharing a bathroom between 3 so it wouldn’t add to bathroom waiting times.
We suggested that he should pay rent and the girlfriend said oh he’s going to pay half of my rent so it’s fair. I think this is unreasonable, since there will be 5 of us in the house/using the kitchen etc so I think the rent should be split by 5 and the rent should be lowered for the rest of us too as a result of having one more flatmate.
I think it’s unfair that they will get to live in a nice house, in a big room in an expensive city for half the market rate, with the convenience of having their partner with them, while the rest of us pay nearly double and have the inconvenience of living with more people.
Their argument is that the rent is per room and it is only 1 room they are renting so as long as that room is paid for it’s none of our business/their finances are up to them.
Who is being unreasonable? And is this even legal-we weren’t planning on telling the landlord he’s moved in because it’ll (probably) only be for a few months.

About half a dozen posters have said the op will be getting reduced utility bills because of him. Heating - yes, same costs regardless of number of people. Everything else - no - costs go up as number of people goes up, so him contributing is only covering himself, no advantage to other house mates.

When I moved in with my then boyfriend, we agreed with his house mates that we’d all split everything equally so they all paid less. There had been 3 of them, so when I moved in we split everything by 4, even me and my boyfriend were only in one bedroom. I was still using the kitchen, living room, etc so it seemed fair.
We also asked the landlord first and they agreed with it.

Once he has his feet under the table life could get very difficult. Is he an action man type. Will you have bikes and paddle boards and other shite in your hallway. If she goes away for the weekend will he be in the house without her. Presumably he will. Will he decide to have a group of male friends round. What will you do if they stay over. They will all be puking in your bathroom/ kitchen sink. When he has the hangover from hell who will clear up the pizza boxes and kebab rubbish.

Last time I stayed in a hotel I didn't also get a lovong room, kitchen and utility room. I didn't have to share communal areas outside my room with others and I didn't have to do my laundry there.

This argument only makes sense if he is ONLY going to be using the bedroom and en-suite. Which he clearly won't be.

Completely disagree with most comments.

The rent is based on room. There are not housemates paying more rent because they use the lounge the most, or use the kitchen a lot. So that's redundant.

As long as he NEVER uses your bathroom I see no issues and you all get a far cheaper bill - energy etc is going up so i'd grab onto the help.

It's either that or him sneakily living with you and contributing nothing which is pretty easy for them to get away with. You'd have a long old trouble trying to get him out - pick your battles.

I agree it changes the dynamic a lot to be living with a couple. It's very different to partners staying over. You can feel a bit like a gooseberry in your own home.

Also, once they're living together, they won't want to stop living together, so he's there to stay unless they split up!

Not saying don't do it, but go into it with your eyes open!

Might it invalidate your insurance? Also the landlord’s?

If he is not a student , he will be liable for the full council tax on the property, as someone else has said. It bears repeating though

@Gowithme

I don't think the rent should be split 5 ways as she is already paying more for the bigger room which will now just be shared. However I think her rent should go up a bit as you all now have to share all the common areas with another person - can you all meet in the middle that way?

this sounds fair

N’ah, I wouldn’t accept that.

She already has the best room with ensuite, and now she wants to have it for less rent than you’re each currently paying for smaller rooms plus sharing a bathroom??

She thinks you all have written on your foreheads!

@Tiger401
They don't all get a cheaper utility bill. The bill will have increased dues to extra person charging their phone, having a shower, using the microwave etc etc
They may get a marginally cheaper bill as heating costs the same, but that's all that remains the same.

@Tiger401

Completely disagree with most comments.

The rent is based on room. There are not housemates paying more rent because they use the lounge the most, or use the kitchen a lot. So that's redundant.

As long as he NEVER uses your bathroom I see no issues and you all get a far cheaper bill - energy etc is going up so i'd grab onto the help.

It's either that or him sneakily living with you and contributing nothing which is pretty easy for them to get away with. You'd have a long old trouble trying to get him out - pick your battles.

Exactly....I cant understand why everyone can't see it like this...And OP you said in your post that you all get along well. Others are saying what in it for you..what should be in it for you anyway? If you like set some ground rules and say just don't use our bathroom etc but I just cant see why ya'll would want him to split the rent too?

This never actually works, and often happens by stealth as partners start stopping over more and more, and are practically living there even when they don't move in.

My opinion on this is that if they want to live together, then they do so in another abode. Rooms in shared houses are for single people unless explicitly stated otherwise.

What would happen if you all started having partners stopping over or living with you, and suddenly there's 8 people in a four bedroom house?.

I know people have said otherwise, but at the end of the day there are going to be five people living in your house, and 5 people need to pay rent.

I think you should leave this up to the Landlord to be honest.

I’m a LL OP.
I live abroad.
I know most of the comings and going’s of my let.
The ndn messages me and I chat to my agent.

No way, he should pay all of her rent. He's using all of your amenities (electricity, shower/bath etc) and there's 1 extra person in the house than you'd agreed to.

If she's that bothered about it, they can move out and get their own place.

Even though he's stayed here so far with no issues trust me, living with a couple has never worked with me and friends in the past as on the whole the couple tend to take over and seem to think they have more rights. They're already being difficult now, when things aren't going their way.

Set ground rules that say he is to use the en-suite only as I am assuming if the bathroom has someone in you don't go into her room to use the en-suite. Same for them. They use the en-suite only.

I agree that paying a portion toward the communal use of the kitchen and living room is fair, he doesn't get a room he is sharing it. So he is to pay some money toward rent and then a share of the utilities.

If you are pricing up the common areas then shouldn't she pay less because she doesn't use the common bathroom?

@MaudieandMe

N’ah, I wouldn’t accept that.

She already has the best room with ensuite, and now she wants to have it for less rent than you’re each currently paying for smaller rooms plus sharing a bathroom??

She thinks you all have written on your foreheads!

@MaudieandMe - oh - I just saw she has the best room with ensuite. Cheeky mare.

Agreed with 'MUG'.

Trust me he won't be there 6 months, it'll be more than that, or until they break up or move out.

And it's got nothing to do with anything that he's going through/been through a tough time.

As far as I can see the only people who will benefit from your flatmate's proposed arrangement on finances are herself and her partner.
They have the exclusive use of their two rooms, plus all your communal spaces in which to sit, cook, eat and socialise.
The extra person is bound to impact on the other three flatmates, in the scenarios outlined by PPs above.
For example -- He has friends around, they monopolise the TV, the lounge and its seating. You may need a strict TV rota/arrangement.
The flatmate and her BF's use of the kitchen will increase, for cooking or eating or both, as will their use of the lounge for sitting/eating. Lastly and crucially, you may find yourselves having to share your own bathroom if one of them is using theirs and the other needs it at the same time. And this could become a habit....

Also is he messy or tidy and how will this fit in with the rest of you? . Will you be seething if he's left a pile of pizza boxes and beer cans around? Does he wash up reasonably quickly or leave it to pile up-- fester? Or is he a neat freak who will drive you bonkers due to his huffiness if you leave an unwashed plate or mug out overnight?
So the couple should pay more to compensate for the extra person's use of the whole flat, IMO.

There are very strict rules on HMO's. A certain number of unrelated people can share but once reached cap a whole lot of rules apply. Check with LL. He should be paying a bit of money towards use of kitchen, lounge etc.

I know you are reluctant to do this but the landlord, who owns the house, needs to know who is living there.

There may be maximum legal occupancy numbers due to fire codes or to prevent the neighbourhood being overrun with flophouses.

The plan you have outlined, with the BF retaining his parents' address officially, and his name not on the tenancy, is 100% skewed in his favour.

He could cause damage that the rest of you would be liable for.
His mates could make your home theirs.
He is going through hard times and you might not see a penny of the money he says he will pay toward utilities.
There will be a bathroom squeeze.
There will be negotiations wrt mess in the kitchen and the shared bathroom.

Assuming you ignore this advice and let him move in without alerting the LL, he should pay one fifth of the rent because he will be using the communal spaces. Anything less is cheeky fuckery. He is a moocher.

I’d make an adjustment like say she’s currently paying 400 pm and you are each paying 300 that he pays 200 reducing each of your rents by £50 each to reflect the 5th person reduction in amenity.

You can't count on neighbours not noticing & reporting extra person
if the young man is claiming any form of benefit it could be affected by living with gf & that will be reported because it won't just be the neighbours but perhaps his friends & others, so there is an increased chance of LL getting to know. & if you all signed a joint contract even if you have individual rooms - if you have individual room contracts you would be safer.
Quite often houses of multiple occupancy are unpopular with neighbours & you could find the landlord or the council (if they decide it has to many people) being informed as pp have said.

This happens a lot and I wouldn't tell the landlord unless you want to piss off your housemate. It's only 6 months and he's paying a share of bills which is more than I've had in similar situations. I would let it go but say the agreement is only for 6 months, if he stays beyond that you want him to pay rent. If you like your housemate and want to keep living there I think it's best to be relaxed about these things. The main thing is you won't have any additional costs by him moving in, which you won't because he is contributing to bills.

Your landlord would need an HMO license to have 5 tenants rather than 4.

I think you are right, the rent gets split 5 ways, it’s not just the room the rent covers but also the kitchen and other common areas

But you need to tell your landlord, it may be he can’t let to that many