Asking other halfs for 'rent'

BUDFORCE said:
I got very similar setup but the other way around, she pays mortgage and most of the bills, she buys the food, if we go out for dinner, petrol, add hoc expenses etc, also anything to do with the children - school holidays etc.

I then pay for all the Warhammer miniatures I need.
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She doesnt pay for the warhammer? How tight

justbeats said:
Seems to me that most of you are missing the point, isn't the OP asking about the legalities of the situation? As in will she have a claim on the property if it all goes wrong. Therefore 'just let her move in and see what happens' type comments are not helping at all...

Maybe it's me that's missing the point!
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In that case it's even simpler. House in his name only and not married? She isn't entitled to anything unless there was a written agreement (cohabitation contract) specifically stating the opposite.

The only exception would be of you were say in a 10+ year relationship with kids and you've built up assets in that time or there was a clear evidence that she contributed a sizeable chunk of money each month. That would look like a regular payment that was 50% of what the mortgage was or a big lump sum to build an extension or kitchen etc.

She "could" make a legal claim that there was a trust agreement, but that really is a case by case scenario and she would have zero automatic rights to money in a split.
 
I wouldn’t be remotely concerned about moving a girlfriend in and asking her to pay lodging fees that are broadly equivalent to half mortage and bills.

People seem to be unduly concerned about this because of the principle that someone can obtain an equitable property interest over time without legal ownership. The circumstances in which that arises are far, far removed from everyday realities of having a partner move in and pay ‘rent’, usually requiring an absolute shed load of time and some huge and quantifiable sacrifice / giving up of opportunities. I’ll make something up on that basis:

A woman sells her home to pay for school tuition fees for her new partner’s four kids on the basis that she and her two children from her previous marriage can live in her new partners house. She also gives up her job to look after the 6 kids and then lives entirely on the money provided by her partner. After 10 years the new partner tells her to get lost and take her 2 children with her, having flat out lied to her for years that “don’t worry about not having a job if you look after the kids and we split you can have a chunk of the house”.

^^^ this is far removed from a girlfriend going splitsies on the mortage.
 
Thecaferacer said:
Keep it simple. Ask her to share responsibilities, ie pay for for food, broadband, sky etc.

If she doesn't pay anything she will always feel like a guest. If she just pays you a set amount then she feels like a lodger.

Me and the wife still have clearly defined financial roles. My money covers all bills etc. She pays for holidays, meals, savings etc. A girl worth her salt will want to feel like she's contributing without feeling likes she's just paying off your mortgage.
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Post of the thread and from a new member, hope lives. The common law ownerhip thing is going to be over years and I expect involves kids, for obvious reasons thats entirely reasonable when people split in those cases. Also what Vince said, asking for nothing is inviting trouble
 
Have her pay half the bills (and make sure it's clear this is the case) and nothing towards the mortgage. Suggest she saves any extra cash this leaves her with so if you decide to make it more permanent she can put some of her money into the property or the next one if you move on together.
 
I think it's too soon to start asking for rent. That said, she should offer really. After only a month, it's too soon to determine much of anything imo though.
 
tek81 said:
I think it's too soon to start asking for rent. That said, she should offer really. After only a month, it's too soon to determine much of anything imo though.
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It's too soon for her to be playing the "pretends need somewhere to rent so she can guilt him to let her move in" card too!
 
married 17 years so slightly different, all bills just come out the joint account

wifes business lets some space off my business for a few hundred a month, never seen a penny of that though.
that said she steals our wifi office space facilities staff no wonder her business is thriving :D:D
 
Given you were willing to post the details I assume you are open open to general advice. First and foremost I would recommend not moving in together after such a short period of time. It may turn out that she is the woman you will marry/settle down with and you will revisit this thread with an "I told you so", but that would be the exception rather than the rule. A failure in the relationship while she lives with you will be messy.

In this scenario I personally go the route of a cohabitation agreement but that will cost £2k or so may not be an option.
 
Regardless of legalities, I would under no circumstances pay half of someones mortgage payments if I were not to gain some sort of interest in the property as it's hardly equitable. Half of bills is reasonable though.
 
Energize said:
Regardless of legalities, I would under no circumstances pay half of someones mortgage payments if I were not to gain some sort of interest in the property as it's hardly equitable. Half of bills is reasonable though.
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That's a strange position to take, splitting bills is a given but a grown adult expecting to live rent free in somebody else's property would be unreasonable to me. Mortgages have interest and capital elements, it's not as if the partner's contribution goes entirely towards equity. On that note, if the OP wanted to be equitable, 50% of bills and roughly 50% of the mortgage interest as a proxy rent would be pretty fair imo.
 
SpeedFreak said:
That's a strange position to take, splitting bills is a given but a grown adult expecting to live rent free in somebody else's property would be unreasonable to me. Mortgages have interest and capital elements, it's not as if the partner's contribution goes entirely towards equity. On that note, if the OP wanted to be equitable, 50% of bills and roughly 50% of the mortgage interest as a proxy rent would be pretty fair imo.
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It's not the same as wanting to be live rent free in a landlords property, you're not supposed to be trying to make a profit off your partner. The interest element is only a few percent these days.
 
Asking a question like this after a month? Lol.

Seriously, just calm down, see what happens in July and where you are at with her possibly moving in then. I assume you can afford the place you live now, so IMHO it would be a d**k move to then ask the new GF to stump up cash towards paying rent towards your mortgage, bills etc would be split though.
 
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