Charging Rent to Student Brother....

[cailin1974]

My 25 year brother will be moving to stay with us for a year in London while he completes his Masters. My parents are covering all his fees and costs for his study.
We are have a young family, after moving house and are struggling financially - also have a large loan from my parents for recently completed renovations on house. I would love to be able to 'host' him but we are not in a position to do so, my parents haven?t really mentioned paying us - just casually in passing that they will 'sort us out'.
My mother is visiting this weekend and we think it needs to be discussed and finalized before he comes in September. My husband thinks we should ask for 150 per month to cover all food, phone, heating etc etc. My brother is a great guy, very hands on DIY, childcare, cooking etc and I think my parents might see his role in the family as some form of payment... I'm uncomfortable at the thought of discussing it all! Does anyone have any experience of this either in what to charge family or how to broach such a topic without offending or whether to even discuss at all?
Thanks

Your brother is an adult, so presumably you can talk to him about the issue. Just tell him directly what you expect his contribution to be (£150 per month is not much at all).

Presumably he will be working part time too?

£250/month wouldn't be unreasonable for a room in a shared house and he'd be expected to buy his own food and probably chip in on bills as well. In London, it might be more than that - check your local newspaper for benchmarks. So £150 sounds like a bargain if he's getting food, bills and everything else thrown in.

If you're going to rely on family for loans, rent and income etc., then it pays to organise regular finance meetings rather than the 'casually in passing' approach. Keeps things businesslike and makes it less likely that anyone gets the wrong end of the stick.

at 25 yrs old your brother is not a child. speak to him about it. he cant assume everyone else with support him forever.
i think if you said 50-70 a week all in he would still be getting a very easy ride.

£150 pm would be very generous, we pay just below that each week for a self-catering place in a private hall of residence (not in London). I suggest you speak to your brother, he could easily get some part-time work to pay towards keeping himself and won't pay Tax & NI if he completes the correct forms and stays within the limits.

I 'll move in for 150 a month , thats dirt cheap! My experience is that you need to be frank and up front about what you want and expect. For example, would you feel ok with him bringing mates or a girlfriend home to stay? Think of all the pros and cons, consider that you may fall out with him and your parents if things aren't made clear from the start. Living with someone is completely differant from them staying the odd weekend! If you have space, then buy a small fridge which he can keep his food in, or let him have some space in yours. Agree with him that there will be times (maybe once a week) when you want the house to yourselves. Agree to be paid by standing order, then money does not have to be discussed or asked for if they forget to pay, which is embarrassing for all. Invest in a tv for his room! When do you expect him to finish his course (and move out)? blunt, but you need to know.

sorry, just re-read and I see you already know its for one year.

Does he have the funds to pay?