How much Rent is fair to charge teenage son?

[Rentquery176]

Hi all
I am the proud owner of an 18 yr old ds. He has recently left school and got a job earning £14k pa (approx £1000 a month). He is living at home with his 13 yr old sister and me. I am a single parent working between 20 and 35 hrs a week and have lost a total of £339 pcm with him leaving school, including the loss of the single persons council tax benefit.

I have asked him to pay £40 per week in rent. He is objecting to paying this partly as his dad has helpfully told him how much maintenance he is paying, so feels he shouldn’t have to pay so much. He has said he will pay £30 a week but I am reluctant to accept this on principle, as much as anything.

Any opinions welcome. I have namechanged as I may show him this thread.

Boxing, stop it.
Nobody is using their teenage children as a 'cash cow'. But life costs, and it's expensive.
Why should anyone be impoverished while their free lodger rakes in a grand a month?

Your house might be full of stepkids, and i can see that this makes you unhappy. But dont take it out on OP.

@boxingdaydisappoints. If you genuinely thought I was trying to off-load my son onto you - a cold, bitter stranger from who knows where - then I really think you have lost touch with reality and should stop posting on mumsnet and seek some help.

Wow Boxing you are projecting so much on the OP rn.

OP, I echo others here, he absolutely should be contributing. If you’re happy with that amount and it would be sufficient so that you can pay your bills, then stick with it or he can find somewhere else to live!

I'm another who thinks tog should be charging more than £40 a week. When I started work at 18, I used to pay my parents 1/3 of my salary. Every time I got a pay rise so did they. I still helped it round the house, did my own washing and ironing, paid for all my own clothes, toiletries, petrol if I used their car etc etc.
When I left home I already understood the need to budget.
If my son is still living with us when he goes to work, I shall expect the same from him although I may save it to help him when he leaves. He is only 13, but knows that this is what we expect of him and that as an adult he will need to contribute to his expenses.

😂😂😂 @ £40 pw makes your son a cash cow. I have no doubt he eats you out of house and home and costs you ££££. Boxing you should really find yourself a man without kids, you would be way happier.

I always paid 25% of my wages from when I started working at 15. Being on NMW that wasn't a lot, started at about £20 a week and ended up being around £200-£250 a month depending on overtime etc. DM worked away a lot so I was self sufficient in terms of cooking/cleaning etc from a young age. I officially moved out at 18 (despite not really living at home for the 2 years before that) and it was still a shock paying £525 in rent and bills for a room in a shared house, then food, phone bill, transport etc on top. I had around £75 a month spare for clothes/toiletries/socializing. I cut my cloth accordingly but realised just how easy I'd had it at home.

£40 is a bargain given his wage.

Yanbu.

Boxing day.....Stop now. Your posts have made you sound totally unreasonable and quite frankly stupid. Your posts are neither helping or wanted. Leave graciously...if you can.

Are you still cooking for him/he’s helping himself freely from the fridge? Depends where you are but at least the same as a house share or he’ll never learn the value of money. If you can afford to save some of it as a nest egg for him do so.

My DS is 18 and earning 17K. Started paying £20/week for 1st 6 months and we've now upped it to £40/week.
Paying rent, contributing to bills/food etc is a life skill and they need to learn how to budget and learn that their salaries are not all for spending on themselves.
Don't listen to these snowflake parents who say 'none'.
Even this amount is pittance to what he'll have to pay if he gets a house share but at least he's getting used to the habit.

Personally i'd be giving him two choices; pay a decent contribution (and sorry, £40 is an insult!) Or buggar off & house yourself, here's your two week's notice. Sure your dad will step in.

I get really cross when people lash out at parents wanting contributions from their working offspring. It's why i went to Uni with entitled, stuck up brats who at 22 couldn't manage their money or use a bloody washing machine. Household costs don't go down once a teen leaves education...they go up oddly enough.

OP i'd be telling him his contribution & i'd be topping it up to more than £40 a week, especially if you were to be providing food.