Is this reasonable rent for a stahc?

[ireallycantthinkofaname]

South east England, 22yo, not currently working, on UC and PIP, giving mum £300pcm. Do lots of the chores round the house (hoovering, sweeping, cook main evening meal, dishwasher in the morning, take recycling out multiple times a day, cat litter ditto). Just concerned with COL crisis I am not paying enough? Locally similar type set ups - so either rooms to let in shared houses, or single bed/bath flats - seem to be between £550 and £600pcm.

i need to try and do more round the house

Are your parents happy with the amount you’re paying?

So far as I am aware, yes. Their perspective seems to be as their child I do not owe them rent and will always have a place in their home.
But I just know they're worried about money.

Hi. First things first, and you and everybody in the house happy? That's the main thing. You're paying rent , contributing your labour - so that's pretty good to start with tbh when you read of a lot of the stories on here.

Who buys your food and does the shopping, out of interest?

Some food items are shared, the majority of my stuff I buy - for context I have an eating disorder. (AN BP).

That seems like a lot when you're not working and having to reply on universal credit. I think how views much rent to charge an adult child varies a lot from one family to the next and depends on personal views as much as financial situation. Personally, I wouldn't want my DC to pay that much in your situation, but if your parents are struggling then it seems fair. I don't think you should be expected to pay more than that.

Sounds pretty OK to me in terms of fairness so far. Having said that, there is presumably a specific bill that your parents are worried about over the winter? ie rent or gas. Or are they paying a mortgage? All these things have risen, unfortunately for everyone.

If you pay by bank transfer, maybe you you start by increasing your rent payment from 300 to 350. Would that work? See how it goes?

They own the home outright, and are mainly worried about electricity. afaik it's >£500 pcm, but the bulk of that comes from the ev charging point (Mum's car is a hybrid).

But I think if you were living elsewhere you’d probably get a housing benefit type element of your universal credit wouldn’t you? Or am I wrong about that

no I think they can fully/partially cover rental costs for people in receipt of uc, but I've never really looked into it, and it obviously wouldn't apply to living with parents.

I guess maybe it depends how much you are getting in benefits each month and whether your disabilities mean that bills are more expensive eg do you need the heating on more, will the heating need to be on in the day just for you etc?

Op could be getting close to 1k a month if she gets the LCWRA element of UC as well. Obviously PIP is for the extra costs that disability brings but if that means things like increased heating costs then it is fair for it to go towards that.

I don't get LCWRA

That's partly where the £300 figure comes from - my month UC payment is £292.11.

Hmm so you're giving your parents pretty much all your UC ? Have you applied to be assessed for LCW ?

Why don’t you get LCWRA?

If you receive PIP, you may be entitled to more. It's more form filling though, but it can considerably increase your income. As @Babyroobs said upthread ^^ there are recipients on PIP and UC (living in their parents' homes) whose monthly incomes are close to £1,000.