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What to charge my grown adult children for living at home

67 replies

missc1984 · 10/12/2018 11:03

I'm looking for advice as to what is a reasonable amount that my 2 full time working adult children should be contributing to the household expenditure each month. I am a single working Mum with rent & all the usual bills to pay. My rent is just under £1300 pcm & then I have all my bills on top of that.

OP posts:
missc1984 · 15/12/2018 14:29

Ragwort I have sent you a PM

OP posts:
jessstan2 · 15/12/2018 14:42

I would say £85 per week each which is roughly a quarter of an £18,000 salary. That should not shock either of them and leaves plenty left over for their own use.

Do try to get them to do a few jobs around the house though, it's not fair for it all to fall on you. Maybe you could employ a cleaner for a couple of hours every week if your kids paid you a bit more.

ivykaty44 · 15/12/2018 15:20

If they don’t want to do jobs that’s fine - it’s £15 per hour to pay the cleaner 😊

If they don’t want to clean then you all put 3x £15 in the pot to pay the cleaner - you can hire one for that

ViragoKnows · 15/12/2018 15:32

Maybe asking them to move out would be better? (With a few months warning.) The dynamics sound terrible.

Graphista · 15/12/2018 16:25

Whenever I see posts like this honestly I think the "children" concerned haven't been parented in a way that makes them realise how the real world works, that prepares them for adulthood.

I'm a Lp to a now almost 18 year old who is working full time. She pays 1/4 of her take home to me in keep - which I have on occasion been flamed for! I am disabled and unable to work and on benefits. When she left school I lost a lot of income but she still needed to be housed, fed, clothed etc no way I could afford to do that on the benefits I receive which are only intended to provide me enough to live on.

I have talked with dd since she hit high school age about how much running a home costs honestly, not least because at times she's asked for items or to do things I simply can't afford and I've explained to her why.

She knows how much our rent & bills are. As its just the 2 of us tbh I could argue she should pay half of everything - which would be double what she does pay but I still want her to be able to enjoy her early years of earning.

Op you need to toughen up - seriously!

The pittance they're currently giving you I very much doubt covers even 1 of the things that they incur costs on! (Badly worded sorry) they need to at least cover the additional costs THEY incur - the energy they use, food, other groceries, wear & tear on furniture & appliances, the extra rent due to needing a larger property, ditto council tax plus the loss of single adult discount...

I hope to god you're not paying for their personal expenses eg phones?

As for your son smoking weed against your wishes (I am vehemently anti drugs, dd isn't into them thankfully but even if she were she wouldn't DARE Bringing them into our home let alone using them here!) you say you "can't" stop him doing that - of course you can! He stops using or storing in your home or he gets the fuck out! (What are the terms of your tenancy on smoking? Because many don't allow smoking in the property any more, certainly where I live!)

You are choosing to let them disrespect you & your home. You need to stop that right now!

Dd also keeps her room clean & tidy, does her own laundry, tidies any mess she makes elsewhere, cleaning the bathroom thoroughly once a week is her one job that benefits us both that I insist on, but off her own back she'll tidy things that she knows I'd struggle with and runs the Hoover round and is generally good if I ask her a favour.

It won't be you they hate, it will be getting called out on their freeloading, lazy arse attitudes! They've got it really bloody cushy at the moment!

You're not doing them any favours either. Again frequently seen on mn "kids" of all ages not expected to do chores - utterly unacceptable and unrealistic in my opinion.

They will find running their own home so much harder if they have to learn how to do so from scratch I'm guessing in their 20's!! And their housemates/partners/spouses definitely won't thank you!

Arrange a family meeting, possibly even a coffee outside the house to ensure suitable behaviour? (Shouldn't be necessary but I suspect it will be with these 2), have a plan in your mind and possibly written in black & white what the household outgoings are, perhaps with a separate breakdown of what they individually incur within those costs. I think pps suggestion of knowing what a local houseshare ave cost is too. So if they try and say you're asking for "too much" you can say to them "well it'd cost you £X extra to live elsewhere but of course that's your choice. Either live with me and pay £X (equal to or slightly less than a houseshare would cost them + the benefit of certain chores - but not all - done for them in a familiar safe home) or take your chances elsewhere! Also set out minimum ground rules (which is no different to what they'd have in a houseshare tbh) of they clean and tidy their own rooms/mess plus at least one chore that benefits everyone.

That is absolutely not asking too much and if they try to say it is don't listen to them!

"On money, I don’t think it’s fair to charge the going rate for a house share or a random percentage of their wages. For me, the following would be fair: Additional costs (e.g council tax), fair split of bills and food and in your case a portion of your rent as you’re in a bigger place than you need for their benefit." Usually what you're suggesting would actually work out to MORE than the amounts/percentages most are suggesting on thread.

Eg if I made dd pay as you suggest she'd need to pay at least £90 more than she does. That's around the amount of local houseshares BUT she'd have to buy groceries and personal items, plus bedding etc on top of that.

My siblings and I all paid 1/4 of our wages if we were living at home and working full time. A fraction/percentage is a fairer way of doing it especially if more than one "child" because it accounts for different wages, inflation etc.

missc1984 · 15/12/2018 18:52

They don't do any jobs. They can't even keep their own bathroom clean between them.

OP posts:
missc1984 · 15/12/2018 18:53

Yes the dynamics are terrible in the house & until quite recently I had their alcholic father in the house too. Had to ask him to leave.

OP posts:
ChoudeBruxelles · 15/12/2018 18:55

I’d charge them a percentage of their salaries so they both pay proportionately. 20% maybe?

ivykaty44 · 15/12/2018 19:34

Where has there father gone to live?

missc1984 · 15/12/2018 20:06

Their father has got a room in a shared house, he has no responsibility for them whatsoever, they meet up with him & he buys them dinner, I expect he gives then money too. He has a lot to do with the problems I have with them.

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Graphista · 15/12/2018 20:07

They CAN keep their bathroom clean they CHOOSE not to.

Let me guess you're still shopping, cooking, doing laundry inc ironing, tidying their rooms for them?

If so you need to stop!

Also - you say "their" bathroom so presumably you have one separate you can use? Great! Just let them deal with a grubby bathroom then! Don't deal with damp towels or a shitty loo - their problem!

Time for a "shape up or ship out" talk as previously suggested by myself and others.

They're massively taking the absolute piss! Literally!

Personally IF I were ever in a situation like this I wouldn't be shopping for them even - they wanna eat? Best they buy food then!

I know someone who (admittedly their own fault) had similarly spoilt DC and the worm turned following them refusing to help out in an emergency situation. So she got locks for the fridge, freezer and her bathroom and bedroom.

Someone else I know changed the locks on the "kids" payday - following lots of arguments - and refused to let them in until they paid their keep.

Extreme but sometimes necessary to make the point.

Graphista · 15/12/2018 20:10

Their father and his behaviour attitudes will of course have influenced them - but you raised them too. And you're the one that needs to deal with things as they are now, you're the one paying/out of pocket now.

You've done very well to get rid of arsehole ex, use that strength to deal with the DC.

Dimsumlosesum · 15/12/2018 20:14

Well if your children can afford drugs and clothes they can bloody well afford to pay you rent. You've done really well to kick out the alcoholic father - keep going with finding your strength. Next step - be strong with your kids. You will be doing them a favour by teaching them this respnsibility.

WilburforceRaven · 15/12/2018 20:34

They are majorly free loading off you, have no respect for you or their home, you cannot afford to keep subbing them and you are frightened of them.

I think you need to tackle your assertiveness issue.

£100 a week all in is a very good deal for anyone. But on top of that they treat your home like a doss house.

ivykaty44 · 15/12/2018 20:40

I bet you could get a nice room in a shared house op for £500 a month all bills included & save yourself £800 a month

Tell them if they don’t start sorting themselves out you’ll be following their dad to a house share and saving yourself £800 and a lot of skivying

fuzzyduck1 · 17/12/2018 09:34

£800 a month each that way you live for free. And they get a taste of what it’s like to be a adult and poor!
Then put most of it away asa deposit if they ever move out

sansou · 17/12/2018 13:11

How old are they? Would you like them to stay or encourage them to move out soon?

£300 pcm would be reasonable if you would like them to stay. £400 pcm+ is what you would charge if you want to give them an incentive to leave home which isn’ necessarily a bad thing to do!

Would you really downsize to a cheaper rental if they moved out? £1300 pcm rent is a lot and I’m saying that from the perspective of a high dual income household.

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