How much rent do you charge your children?

[Freddie Goodwin.]

I have 2 adult sons living at home and in full time employment. Circumstances mean they are at home, they have moved back but they would prefer their own places.

They pay keep, which is much less than they would have to pay if renting. Included in their keep is dinner on the table, laundry service, no worries about water, gas, electric, TV licence etc etc. They get a good deal. I'd charge them something more realistic but their Mum, y'know.

Even if I had the means to be able to not take a penny from them, would that be good for them in the long term?

 

[Triggaaar]

Must be nice coming from safe middle class homes where you can stay at home as long as you like and Mummy & Daddy give you back all you've paid for your keep so you can get a foot on the housing ladder.

Yeah it is

 

[GT49er]

10%

That's what I paid my Mum and Dad, and what I charged my kids. Bloody good value for money, as 10% obviously didn't cover everything, but enough to give the idea that things do have to be paid for.

 

[HHGull]

I paid £316/month 10 yeas ago. Very precise, but that's what my mum had worked out covered all the necessaries. Seemed a lot at the time - oh how little I knew!!

 

[Mowgli37]

My parents aren't charging whilst I'm in full time education (though as anyone who has been will know, Uni is hardly labour intensive). I try and help out though where I can i.e. buying food, helping with my brother etc, don't want to be freeloading.

 

[Whitechapel]

Long story but currently don't pay rent and live in our family house with my brother (22 & 19 years old). However neither of our parents put a penny towards any of the bills.

I put about £500 of my wages away a month to simulate rent (well until my birthday put a dent in that) and I'm learning how much everything costs. Hopefully means I should cope when I get my own place this summer.

 

[jevs]

I took home £39 a week as an apprentice gardener back in 1982. Gave my mum £10 a week which I willingly handed over every Thursday. I now have a daughter who is at college full time and currently pays nothing. When she gets a job, she'll be contributing 1/4 of her wages to my chicken dhansak fund lol

 

[OzMike]

Nothing, helps them save up a deposit for a place.

 

[studio150]

I must come from a different class and era. I paid 'housekeep' when I lived at home and was working. Never got a penny of it back because that's exactly what it was, housekeeping that was needed to make ends meet.

Must be nice coming from safe middle class homes where you can stay at home as long as you like and Mummy & Daddy give you back all you've paid for your keep so you can get a foot on the housing ladder. Reminds me of IDS's reasons for wanting to deny housing benefit to the U25's.

Still that's alright, all young people live in nice middle class families were one keeps a spare jerry can of petrol in the garage in case of fuel tanker driver strikes. I love Tory Britain me....it's so warm and cosy.

I paid housekeep, well when I say housekeep it was more tentkeep but living with my parents and 17 brothers and sisters in the same 2 man tent in the local rubbish tip had many advantages. The fried rat was a christmas treat.
At the age of 5, I was doing 2 paper rounds in the morning and 3 on Sunday. I received £1.25 a week and had to pay my parents £25 a week for tentkeep. If I was ever more than 5 seconds late paying I would be lashed to within an inch of life. I made up the £3.75 by selling a variety of drugs and booze to my classmates.
The tentkeep went up 50% a year until I was booted out of the tent at the age of 13 and told to stand on my own two feet.
I found my own place in the sewer and have not looked back since then.
Oh just to share a garage with the lonely jerry can would br pure luxury which I can only dream about.
I may not be middle class but I've got no chip on my shoulder about my childhood.
I just love the tories as I'm now eligible to call the sewer mine under thw right to buy.
My own two 6 year olds are now paying me £500 a month each which covers my mortgage payments.
We may have been poor but we was happy.

 

[wellquickwoody]

My very first full time job was on 'Youth Opportunity Scheme' (YOPS) where I took home £23.50 per week, the first deduction was £10 to my mum. Times have changed it seems......

 

[BLOCK F]

None of our three are at home full-time and we don't charge them anything when they come home.
One is a recent graduate and is mainly living and working abroad.Another is a student and we subsidise him, especially at the moment, as he is on a very low paid placement in London.He is always skint! Third one spends most time at her boyfriend's and is in the process of setting up her own business.We don't charge her for the odd times she is at home, but she did pay a token rent when she was here.(£15 pw)
They are all grafters though and don't expect handouts.

 

[WATFORD zero]

Charged them about 25%. It's been put away for when they need a deposit or money for something significant (they don't know) or when I need a vintage sports car, whichever comes first !

 

[Marshy]

Pretty sure when i got my first fullt time job I paid 25% of what i took home.

Mum and Dad needed it, it actually gave them a bit of spare cash for the first time in 16 years.

 

[¡Cereal Killer!]

I think I paid around a third of my weekly wages as keep.
When my kidsstart getting jobs will probably charge 30% of their wage, keep 15% as keep and the rest will be put aside for deposit for when they want to move out.

 

[Diablo]

Mid seventies I took home £20 week. I paid my Mum £30 month. My 18 year old son now brings home approx £200,We do not charge him anything.He is not extravagant but has had a £800 skiing holiday,has a phone a cheap car,plays sport etc etcand is suprised how his money just goes.
But we are not having to pay for these things so we are all better off. He`s got plenty more to worry about in the future moneywise, we are just happy to see him employed many of his friends aren`t.

 

[Titanic]

Nothing. Never did. Never will.

Took in eldest daughter and partner for a year so they could save for a house deposit a couple of years ago. Happily successful and in their own home now.

 

[middletoenail]

I didn't start paying 'rent' until I was about 22, and I had been working full time from 18. I pissed most of my money up the wall, bought a flash car and had decent holidays - none of which were deserved.

Fortunately I earn enough that I've never needed my parents support to get myself on the property ladder, but I wish they had asked me for more. It would have been far better spent!

When I have kids, I'll ask them for money, how much I'm not sure yet, but it'll go to support their first property purchase.

 

[shingle]

I've always let all the boys reside at home for a peppercorn rent. The one that's home at the moment pays a derisory £20 per week as he commutes to London and has rail fares to pay. However, It's only right that he pays something so that he understands that food, gas & electricity, council tax, internet etc cost money. I'm not on a great deal myself and the gas & electric has gone up over a £130 on the corresponding quarter last year when he was off travelling, so yeah it's only fair and right that offspring contribute, having said that I love them being at home.

 

[nwgull]

Parents didn't charge me a penny in the year I lived with them after graduating. They didn't need the extra money at that stage of their lives, and I needed to pay off my student debts.

Yes, I did grow up in a nice middle class house with parents working full time middle class jobs in middle class Horsham. I reckon I learned the value of money at age 13 when I would get up 7 days a week at 6am to deliver papers for £8 though.

 

[Triggaaar]

It's swings and roundabouts isn't it. My mum charged me and it taught me about life and capitalism. She was widowed a long time ago and is quite lonely, so when she wants to see the grandchildren I charge her.

When I have kids, I'll ask them for money, how much I'm not sure yet, but it'll go to support their first property purchase.

It had better be a lot then.