Cohabiting

[GemGems125]

Hi All

I was hoping for advice on how this whole cohabiting stuff works when you have kids. I've been with my partner for 2 years and we are discussing moving in together.

I own my own home with my 2 kids. I will lose my tax credits if he moves in so I don't want to be out of pocket but also really don't want him to have a claim on my house if he contributes.

This all seems so complicated. We haven't talked about this in depth yet - but I was thinking if he paid 1/3 towards bills (water, electric/gas, Internet) and then 200 (potentially as rent) I've worked it out about on average what a lodger would pay in our area.

If we did this and wrote an agreement/contract between us would that mean he won't have a claim towards the property or could he still take me to court if he wishes?

Plus does that seem reasonable? I don't want to screw him over but I don't wanna be down on income either. This in total will cover my loss for tax credits.

Sorry for long post - thanks for anyone that has got this far.

If you are a family of 3 and he makes it up to 4 - then I would expect him to pay a quarter of the bills, as they aren’t his kids/ he shouldn’t be paying for them

don’t know about the house though. If he’s paying towards the mortgage via rent then he would have a stake I expect

Thanks for replying - appreciate it.

See originally thats what I was thinking, there not his he shouldn't contribute but then I was thinking a lot of the bills are set direct debits and doesn't change whether kids are here or not - so then I was thinking is it fair its not like they contribute but it definitely not he's responsibility to pay. But my financial support for these kids will go and so I can't financially afford to pay 3/4s without losing a lot of my spare cash. Its working out so its fair for both which is what I'm struggling with.

Thanks - that's what I worry about. I don't want to take the risk and then realise he struggles living with children (it's a big adjustment) and then want to make me sell and I potentially screwed as a result.

He won't have a claim on the house unless you allow him to undertake house renovations or improvements. It's your house, in your name, and realistically he'll just be a lodger.