What’s a fair amount?! £££

[greenleaf01]

What is a fair amount?

So new boyf is moving in at the end of the month & still to discuss finer details in regards to finances.

I have a mortgage & he is moving in with me after he’s been renting for a few years paying in the region of £1600 pm + bills…….

what would be a fair amount to ‘charge’ I was thinking of about £900 inc all household costs & food shopping, but unsure if that’s too much or not enough ……. Help

Halve the bills and the food.

Do not let him pay anything towards the mortgage. Protect your house. Make sure you have a piece of paper that says he's not paying your mortgage.

Frame it as household expenses etc.

As for what's fair half the bills (gas, electric, water, etc) and food.

How ‘new’ is new?

I’d work out whatever your monthly expenses are inclusive of the mortgage, bills, utilities etc and then just ask him for half of it. If you’re worried, get him to sign a cohabitation agreement clarifying that his monthly payments are towards household costs and are not made in exchange for a beneficial interest in the house.

Half bills and food. Also he should be saving a chunk into a savings account so that he can buy out a half share of your equity (or equally contribute to your next house bought jointly) should it become permanent.

I feel like only paying for half bills is as sexy as shacking up with your parents. So he should bring some benefits not just be a golden cock.

No way should he be paying half the mortgage of a property he doesn't own and doesn't have any security in. If she is happy for him to buy equity, that's different, but I would have thought it was to early for that.

But profiteering from your partner isn't exactly "sexy" either. If he's paying towards the mortgage he should be buying equity and have housing security.

I'd go for half bills and food only until she's ready to let him buy equity.

Don't you have some noise about possible upcoming laws that could entitle unmarried partners living together in one of the partner's home to be entitled after a few years to a portion of the house?

I might be being very cautious here, but I would not let him move in with consulting a lawyer about rents and bill paying and your home and how this could affect you down the road. Also, having a legal agreement drawn up where he gets no legal rights to your home and he signs it.

He shouldn't live there for free, you shouldn't be out of pocket for him living there, and he shouldn't be entitled to a portion of what is possibly your biggest financial asset.

That’s exactly what he’s been doing all this time. That’s what renting is. He’s about to make a monthly saving on account of OP owning her house (with the mortgage being cheaper than the rent he was paying elsewhere).

Also, could you be attracted to a man that moved into your home and squabbled about paying half? I couldn’t!

I would build in some wear and tear money, I was shocked how much faster my things needed replacing once 2 adults were using them. Even my mattress had to be replaced much much faster than I expected, due to the weight of someone much heavier than me in it every night. Cups and plates got chipped more often etc So either agree in advance how things that need to be replaced will paid for.
Food and alcohol can be another tricky one, if you eat mainly veg and dont drink much, then someone moves in who wants meat with every meal and drinks regularly your bill will much more than double. So rather than just halving it, might be worth having a chat first about what each you want and expect to eat. And dont fall into the trap of doing everything, including the mental load of organising what needs to be done. Agree in advance on a full and fair split of the work.

starting point- £800 rent plus half of food and bills.
this way he is £800 better off by not renting and you are better off by £800 making it equal.
plus or minus money if there is any other advantage/disadvantage.
relationship goes south at a later stage you are both in an equal situation (albeit one may have saved the money and the other spent it)
I don’t agree with the idea you shouldn’t profit off someone by paying towards their mortgage. The person moves in and profits by not paying rent. They were perfectly happy paying a landlords mortgage without equity. By splitting the difference of the rent (and adjusting if something else isn’t equal) means that neither are profiting from the other.

to add..would also look at a cohabitation agreement. House maintainence still falls on you financially and agree to review in 3 months time just incase you find out he takes 4 showers a day, has the heating on all the time and only eats steak for dinner