Would you charge your parents rent?

LCFulmer

First of all I'm a parent of two boys 22 & 15 and let me say this they don,'t owe me anything, now or later in life for doing my job and taking care of them. I.E. diapers, food, clothing & roof over their head. I made the choice to have them and it’s my duty to provide for them. Some say your kids owe you for raising them and they don't. Now to the question...I have to agree with most who say it depends on the relationship. Some people may want to pay rent because it may still give them a sense of independence. I myself before getting married I had my own house and my mom lost her job. I advised her to downsize from the large apt to a small 1 bed room, use the buy-out money to pay her rent while she look for another job. Well needless to say she didn’t listen to me and ended up getting evicted. She wanted to move into my basemen, I told her yes however; I wasn’t going to charge her rent but gave her 12 months to rebuild her credit and save her money to get another place. Since I don’t drink or smoke neither of these activities are allowed in my home especially since one of my boys are asthmatic (she does both). She didn’t take the offer and moved in with a friend who ultimately gave her the same option (but she could drink & smoke) instead of living in an entire basement she was confined to one room. She finally got it together (12 mo later).

jlapey

My mother was ALWAYS there for me when I needed her (at no charge) and I needed her a few times in my adult life. When she needed me, I was there for her. (at no charge) Unfortunately, her needs soon became something I was not trained or physically capable of handling anymore and she now lives in a nursing home. I visit her a MINIMUM of 3 times a week.

littlelaura

My parents charged me rent when I was growing up, the second I was old enough to get working papers I was told I had to get a job as a teenager during high school and my dad immediately took 30to 40% % saying I used that much in electricity, heat, water for showers or my laundry, taking up space in his house he could rent out , I was also expected to do chores for them with no allowance paid to me for it, dishes, cooking, cleaning bathrooms, vacuuming and dusting. . So while I wouldn't be unfair or unreasonable about it, yes absolutely I would charge them rent and expect them while they were able to pitch in around the house with cleaning and sharing cooking duties. My parents taught me there are no free rides in life, no one is a charity case, they should be proud to see how well I listened and learned from their example.

MyChocolateDiet

No.

MyChocolateDiet

Never.

MyChocolateDiet

No way.

MyChocolateDiet

Don't even need a reason. Just because. That's why.

MyChocolateDiet

Wait let me think about it. No! The answer is still no. It'll be no in ten minutes too. Also in ten years. Just no.

BeachIron

No way.

BUT I would take full advantage of the built-in baby-sitting availability.

This

^ yep

b7bbs

no its your mum!!! i bet shes helped you out a tonne growing up without asking for anything in return. by the sound of it your ok with cash, maybe get her to look after the kids or clean or cook once in a while

Agreed. She is your mom. Enough said.

ArtuConer

Charge mom rent??

Id rather swallow rat poison then put a plastic bag over my own head!!!!

I haven't read this wrong have I? We are talking about charging rent to one's own MOTHER!!!

dixoncrew

Nope. If she raised me for 18 years without charging me rent then absolutely not.

paintlisapurple

I would definitely not charge my mother, father (or the inlaws) rent even if they didn't live on a fixed income if I were capable of caring for them. They could definitely pitch in, in other ways such as buying anything that they might want for themselves...or if they were handy at something like gardening or fixing something up...or...babysitting! (LOL) Unless there was a considerable financial need, I would never charge those who have taken care of me. This comes from love and respect of older family members.

ryry_

Would never charge my parents rent. I lived off of them rent free for 20 years. They even paid my utilities.

Now my two brothers, bring on the cash, plus a surcharge, maybe even a family tax for some extra spending money.

CloudyMao

No, simply because I was doing fine without it, and her being in the house wouldn't increase the bills. I would expect her to pay for her own food and other private living expenses (personal bills/loans ect) though I would probably help with those if she asked me. However if her presence were to increase my bills to where I was struggling I would ask for a certain percentage, but i'd work that out with her fairly. Given the situation described though - this doesn't seem likely.

OK, now on an emotional (not rational level) I wouldn't ever be comfortable with taking money off my mother, as an adult who has been brought up and supported by my mom until I could look after myself, I feel that I only owe her the same.

BluejayNY

No. My mother has let me live rent free while I was in college and for over a year while my husband was in Korea and I struggled to work and finish college. It would be an opportunity to give back to her when she has helped me so much in life.

Bernadette60614

No. I think we're going to find many more multigenerational families with the increased cost of college/student debt load and fewer Americans saving enough to fund their full retirement. I also think you teach your kids by example.

So, charge your own mom rent now and there's a reasonable chance your kids would charge you in the future if you were in the same circumstances.

Now, the exception: Is mom spending her social security on e.g., riverboat gambling...then I'd have a talk with her.

soldier4242

Yes, I would.

I don't consider myself a cold, heartless *kitten* because of it.

You aren't a cold heartless *kitten* because you charge your mother rent.

You charge your mother rent because you are a cold heartless *kitten*.

if you know nothing about the mother or the poster, you may be way off base. some mothers are terrible people and them squeezing out a kid or two doesn't change that.

In the scenario where the mother is a terrible person you simply don't allow her to stay with you. Such a person is not likely to honor a rent agreement and allowing such a person to stay with you would be toxic to your own home life.

Not to mention in order for this scenario to be on the table at all she had to at least do a well enough job raising you for you to have your mortgage paid off and you are in a decent job. Meaning no matter how bad the mother is in the given scenario she could have done much worse.

fuhrmeister

Is she watching the kids? If yes then no rent necessary. If no I would possibly charge a small amount to cove the increase in utilities, but put it aside for things she might need in the future like nursing care or meds not covered by her insurance. Long term care of a parent can be really expensive and if you can afford to put the money away you my need it later.

In the end thought I think this kind of situation is specific to each family. My mom manages money well and has planned well for her future needs. If my mom ever moved in with me and I didn’t need her money to pay my bills I wouldn't charge here knowing that she has planned for her long term care.

On the other hand my sister should charge here FIL rent. He finally has a job but has been mooching off her and her husband for years and my sister is about to have a baby an needs the money.

sunshyncatra

Not unless I needed help paying the rent. If you can afford to support her, do it! She did it for you.