How much rent to charge 18 year old?

[TakeALookAtTheseSwatches]

My daughter left college last year and started looking for a job, she started working just after Christmas. She works part time hours and her take home pay per month is around £900. She's putting £50 in to a lifetime ISA and she has no other bills (I currently still pay her phone contract which is about £30 a month)

We provide all her food, she eats tea with us and we have breakfast things/snacks in the house. She doesn't usually eat dinner but will sometimes buy herself a meal deal if she wants something.

So what would be reasonable? I was thinking around £200 a month and I'm happy to put £50 of that in her lifetime ISA too if she wants. She is saving up for a car so isn't spending frivolously. Is £200 too much?

I charge my DS19 £100 a month. This is mainly to go towards food of which he eats ALOT! We can afford for him not to pay but I think it's important that he starts to learn that life is not free

I wouldn’t charge rent but would as others have suggested say she needs to pay £200 into her isa in lieu of rent and that can be used towards a house deposit in the future. Or she pays it to you and you hold it for her.

I don't charge my 4 rent. They are saving hard to move out could take years with the price of buying.

I think most of London is expensive. He is obviously not buying in Kensington. He is very sensible with his money, so not living a lavish lifestyle no.

I’m sorry but this is absolutely insane. Paying for his gym membership?! What on earth! He earns more than my dh who supports a family of 4 on his salary (and my disability benefits, I’m severely disabled). Your son will be living at home forever at this rate. What incentive is there to move out?

Why are some people SO judgemental about other people’s choices?! Jeez

@Mizanthrope you should do what works for you and your family, You know your daughter best, so ignore those of us who say don’t charge/charge more.

All my children are on my corporate discount gym membership and have been since young children. I have never cancelled this, because I have no need to. Your situation is obviously different, but you must understand different people have different financial situations to you so can afford to pay their children’s gym membership. Don’t worry he is moving out, but also why is that an issue for you if it’s not for me or him? We quite like each other.

I definitely think things heavily depend on where you live too, London is a whole other kettle of fish but we live in the cheapest area of the country (NE) and a first house/flat will probably set them back £80k-£120k meaning saving up a deposit will be a whole lot easier

I think it’s too much, I would encourage her to save a bit more and stop paying the phone and charge £100.

I don't call it rent, I call it "his contribution to the pot".

My DS gets between £1500 and £2500 a month depending on how many shifts he has been allocated.

His contribution is £500. He has £500 spending money and the rest goes into his savings.

His contribution covers his electricity (he games a lot) all his food, toiletries, basic clothes (underwear, socks etc - he buys everything else), petrol to run him to and from work 5 or 6 times a week, his phone, his pre-paid prescription, Disney Channel subscription and whatever weird and wonderful stuff he asks to be added to the weekly shop. He has hollow legs, has a physical job and eats twice the amount of food we do and often wants stuff we wouldn't buy normally.

He is ND and to be honest I can't see him moving out any time soon, so I don't think it's appropriate to be cover all his expenses indefinitely, when he earns more than I do most months - and in 5 years time I will be drawing my state pension, so at some point he would effectively be sponging off a pensioner!

All the people who say they'd never charge their kid, honestly I think it's a parenting fail if your living at home child doesn't themselves choose to contribute to the house. I'm the eldest and when I finished college and started earning I discussed with my parents what I should contribute. Along with helping out with younger siblings, cooking, etc. It never entered my mind that an earning adult wouldn't contribute and make things easier for the other adults in the house.
I know the world is different now and I do hope to be able to give my kids a leg up when the time comes to buy a house, etc. But I'll feel like I've failed if they feel entitled to live in the home we fund and they don't want to help out.

It's more of a parenting fail not to have saved anything for dc for them to take over and add to which would then go towards them getting their own place. I would not take money off my dc on £900 to pay my bills.

We talked about rent with my teen, they were perfectly happy to pay it. Just because we've chosen not to doesn't mean they don't contribute to the household.

Jesus some kids have it hard. She didn't ask to come into this world and the least you can do is to provide her with an extremely reduced roof over her head until she's 25. Most kids won't be able to afford to buy a property before that and if you want grandchildren, just help her a little bit more. The housing and rental crisis in this country will have a serious effect on childbirth if we're not careful.

When our kids lived at home we didn’t charge them anything but insisted they pay 50% of their take home pay into a savings account. This was so that they wouldn’t get used to having so much disposable income they’d never move out 😉

Every person is different. Every family is different.

I never had to pay a penny to my parents. They entirely and utterly lavished all they had on me and supporting me through many years of higher education including me migrating away and abroad. My mind boggles at the generosity.

My career, my progression and the pace of it, my home and family is also based on the foundations of complete financial support they built for me.

DH had the opposite. He has really struggled in life and has countless memories of parents being the other way.

we have both jointly committed to supporting our kids exactly as my parents supported me as much as we can.

Anything is too much, she's your child not some lodger!!! 😡

DS1 (21) works full time. Pays £400per month and his own phone bill. This is less than the recommended 30%

DS2 (19) on UC. Currently waiting for a health assessment as too ill to work. Pays £200 per month and his own phone bill.

When DS2 left college, which coincided with DS1 turning 21, my UC went down by roughly £400, plus my CB stopped. I can't afford for them to live for free. They are perfectly happy to contribute.

There's no "one size fits all" about how much someone should pay. And, as this thread shows, some people think they should learn responsibility by paying. Others think it's a parenting fail to charge them.

We have gone with 35% of take home wage for our 18 year old. Still a bargain for him compared to the reality of life. He saves some of his money into a LISA account.

someone i work with charges her daughter £350 a month which i think is masssssssssssssssive.

if my kid was 18 and earning i'd be nice and give them two months free and then after that £125 a month. people i know in their early twenties are paying £700/£800 for a room in a house - in the south east and the north east which seems massive but i guess that's the norm. so paying £100-ish is an absolute bargain.
my daughter drove a hard bargain and reluctantly gave me £60 a month when she was earning although it'd be more than that if/when she lives at home again.

Hard agree. Most functional adults know that at least 30 to 40% of their income will go on housing themselves.

When they can they should aim to save 20 to 30% of that same income.

Your 18 year old is earning a decent part time wage @TakeALookAtTheseSwatches , you aren't doing her any favours by not giving her financial responsibility. Or do you want her living at home at 26 with a 5 year old and another baby on the way while her boyfriend lives with his parents and the only one paying anything is you?

33% of take home pay. Stop paying for her mobile bill.

I can see it all ways, my 18yr is not paying rent as she's on a gap year so saving for uni. Her Dad is continuing to pay her maintenance in the form of giving her money to pay me rent. It's really nothing at all. We have had to help he with her car so she can drive to all of her three part time jobs.
Driving lessons were extortionate but opened up gateways for her to work but cars are expensive to run. I feel mainly uni will leave us out of pocket but none of these circumstances are her fault or ours.

As its part time I would not charge but would insist £200 into the isa she pays her own phone toiletries and clothes now and she will have to do some chores

I know this but bills and food aren't free are they.