If your daughter’s boyfriend is living under your roof, I’m sure you can see they’re adding to the household bills – not to mention stressing you out a little!
So, it raises the question; ‘how much rent should I charge my daughter’s boyfriend to live under my roof?’
It’s a tough one to answer as you have to consider a number of factors, but you should certainly be charging them something as I’ll explain:
Should I Charge My Daughter’s Boyfriend Rent for Living Under My Roof?
There is no right or wrong answer to this question, and it depends on both your and your daughter’s boyfriend’s circumstances.
But as a general rule of thumb, you’re well within your rights to charge your daughter’s boyfriend rent if he’s living under your roof.
A lot of people find themselves in the situation you’re in, and they charge them rent.
In fact, if your daughter is an adult and she’s working, most parents would be charging her rent as well for living under your roof.
So, it’s perfectly fine and normal to charge both your daughter and her boyfriend rent if they’re adults, don’t ever feel bad about it.
Related – What to do if your boyfriend never helps out financially.
How Much Rent Should I Charge My Daughter’s Boyfriend?
When it comes to how much you should charge your daughter’s boyfriend, this is where there is quite a lot of leeway based on a number of factors.
You need to take into account:
- How much rent costs where you live
- How much your monthly bills are
- How much he’s earning
You can still charge him if he’s not working, but it might be hard to get the money out of him.
If he’s only working part-time or is a low earner, you might also want to cut him a break.
Just as you will probably cut him a break and not charge him what you would a regular tenant because he’s your daughter’s boyfriend.
Most people I know base the amount they charge on what they would be charging a tenant, then slash the number based on the fact that it’s their daughter’s boyfriend.
Why Should You Charge Your Daughter’s Boyfriend Rent?
There are a number of reasons you should charge your daughter’s boyfriend rent even if he’s not working:
To Teach Him the Value of Money and Responsibility
If he’s not paying rent, he is only going to be more reckless with his money and think that he can get a free pass around you.
By making him pay rent, it helps him realize that he always needs to pay his way and he’ll have to start budgeting.
This will stand him in good stead when he eventually moves out and has to start paying rent on his own place.
To Make Sure He Doesn’t Take Advantage of You
If you don’t charge your daughter’s boyfriend rent, there’s a danger he might start taking advantage of you and your generosity.
He might start thinking he can just live off you rent-free for as long as he wants and not pull his weight around the house.
But if you do charge him rent, he’ll soon realize that he needs to start contributing and should be working on getting his own place.
Because You Have Bills to Pay and He’s Adding to Them
You’re not running a hotel, and you shouldn’t have to foot the bill for someone else living in your house.
If he’s living under your roof, then he should be paying his way like anyone else would.
It’s only fair that he contributes towards the bills and starts paying rent.
I appreciate your daughter might be putting on the pressure not to charge him too much, and there is nothing wrong with giving him a discount.
But for the other reasons and the fact that he’s going to be adding to your bills by using your water, electricity, gas, another probably eating your food – you should charge him.
Things to Be Concerned About when Charging Your Daughter’s Boyfriend Rent
Charging your daughter’s boyfriend rent doesn’t come without some potential issues.
A few problems you might (but I hope not) run into are:
Your Daughter Might Not Take It Well
If you charge your daughter’s boyfriend rent, there is a chance she might not take it too well.
She might see it as you being unfair to him or not wanting him around.
But if you explain your reasons for charging him and why it’s only fair, hopefully, she’ll understand.
He Might Not Be Able to Afford It
This is more of a problem if he’s not working, but even if he is working part-time or is on a low income, paying rent might be tough for him.
If you’re charging him too much, it might cause problems between him and your daughter.
There is also a chance that he’ll start falling behind on rent and owing you money and this can cause some serious problems down the line.
Related – What to do if you’ve found out that your husband has a secret bank account.
You Don’t Want to Create Tension Between Him and Your Daughter
If you charge him rent and he can’t afford it or starts arguing with your daughter about it, it might cause tension between them.
This is something you want to avoid at all costs as it will only make things difficult for everyone involved.
But at the same time, they are both going to have to pay rent to live somewhere, so it may as well be paying you a little less to live at home.
If they can’t manage that, it doesn’t bode well for their future living together as responsible adults and managing their bills.
Image credits – Photo by Emil Kalibradov on Unsplash
Phil lives in England, UK, and has around 20 years experience as a professional life, career and executive coach. He started this blog to help others find and define their own self development journey. Blogging about a wide range of topics to help facilitate a better future.