When do you start charging rent?

I agree with your husband. It doesn't need to be a huge amount. Just a contribution towards bills and food. It will help him in the long run. One day he going to move in to a place of his own and have to pay the full scale of these costs. Teach him about them now, while he is still at home. He sounds pretty responsible, so I'm sure he will understand and be more than happy to contribute to the running of his home.

Wow :) You have a very responsible son!! I think he is old enough now to start helping out towards the food and utility bills. It doesn't have to be much but just a small contribution. Maybe if you allocate one of the utility bills to him, it might be a good way to start.

Since your 18 year old is working full time he is old enough to pay rent. If you feel guilty takeing rent, put the money away for him to use for house hold goods when he moves into his own home. He will learn better to be paying rent to you than when he get out on his own and is hit with all the bills. such as utilities and rent.

i'm thinking give it a year or so. he needs to be able to save up some first for a rainy day. he sounds like he's a very responsible guy, and i'm pretty sure sooner or later he might even decide on his own to help you out by paying rent.

Sorry to say, but your 18 year old is no longer a child. I started paying 'board' at 15 years of age, when i first started working. And since then I've always had to pay some kind of rent or board wherever I have lived. Being made to pay board at such a young age, I was ready and able to pay my own rent when I finally moved out of home, and it didn't hit me too hard. I was used to handing over a part of my income every week. It has become second nature to me. As his parents, you are required to make sure he is ready to live his life in the real world. The real world requires paying someone else to live in their house, even if youare his parents. He is old enough now, he needs to be treated like an adult. Adults have bills.

My parents chose the magical age of 21 to start charging my brother rent. I think when they are established enough where they should have enough money to afford rent, that's when it's appropriate. After he has been in his job long enough to actually be able to figure out how much has to spend on everything and has had time to save, then you should talk to him about paying rent.

I don't think it's a specific age. Rather, I think that it depends. If they have the money to be paying rent, charge them. I only make $300 every two weeks if I'm lucky it seems. So my parents know that even though I'm over 18, I won't realistically be able to pay rent without taking on a second job. Plus, if they charge me rent I'd leave for another place. Now if I wasn't going to school as well, I'm sure they'd be charging me.

Hmm.... I don't think it's appropriate to call it 'rent'. Maybe you can ask him to contribute some amount for the bills, like water/electricity/groceries. When you feel that he's gotten his footing on his new job, I think it will be ok to ask him to help out in the house.

Since he's still young and seems to have a good head on his shoulders and is pretty responsible because he has a pretty good job and pays for his own bills and everything, I don't think you should make him pay you rent! He's young still and should still have his parents to count on for a place to live and eat and shower, etc. If he goes to college then that's even more of a reason to not charge him! Seems like you have a good boy and he shouldn't be "punished" by having to pay rent because he's a good boy and has a job. You should just be proud of him that he's paying his own cell phone bill and car insurance and stuff for now because I don't know a whole lot of 18 year olds that even pay that much! Even if he was 25 I don't see the point in charging the boy rent if he's doing well in paying all his other bills and necessities, he's still being responsible!

My motto is everything we know we've learnt from someone else. I had a hard time with this too but if you don't teach your kids anything they may otherwise not learn. He's 18 and here in Canada that's legal age, and besides he's working making good enough money. If you and your husband have lots enough you don't need the money then put it in a separate bank account and believe me an emergency could hit any family at any time. I'm talking tough now because my daughter is married and supporting two children and doing a good job, but I lucked out she was forever bringing groceries home or anything else we ever needed and she still breaks her butt to do anything at all for me, but not all kids are built that way. I never kept tract of what she spent but lets just say by time she moved out she knew how to manage money and anytime she came to me for advice/help she never did ask for money. I've been told boys don't mature in the same way, I wouldn't know but I think if your son is not contributating on his own steam you really should expect him to take some responsibility for what he eats at least. He sounds like a good kid help him stay that way and not just take things for granted . I wish you luck, sorry I can't take your side in this but I'm with hubby all the way. Good Luck

i think that the only time the child has to pay rent is when he is renting a flat if he still lives in your house you can ask him to pay half of the bills of the house i think that could be a good solution

I find this discussion very strange :) In my culture there is no such thing (not that I know of anyway) for parents to require rent from their children. I agree with an earlier responder who said you should get your son to help you around the house. But to make your own blood pay rent for living with you... as I said to me at least it seems very very strange :)

I would start now ....He is making money and when he moves he will have to start anyways .....Get him ready for it! Even if you dont need to use the money, put it in a safe place and give it to him for when he does leave home! I wish you the best Stacy

That's a hard one. Me, being a mother i would probably feel like you do, but if they had to live somewhere else, they would have to pay rent, right? And why should he think he doesn't have to pay rent? Because your his parents? Does that mean he's using you?I wish you all the luck in the world, and hopefully things work out well.I have a set of 15 year old twin boy's,and i'm sure that @ some point I too,will have to go through the same ordeal.:)

I disagree with your husband as well. I don't think you should start charging him rent as long as he is keeping his job, paying his own bills and SAVING his money for something better (like his own place). The only thing I would suggest is does he have chores? I would make sure he is helping out around the house as well - sort of earn your keep type thing. I moved out of my parents house at around 19 then came back for a bit then moved out again at 20 and then moved back and forth a few times till I finally bought a house in 2004 and got married and had a baby. Not once did my parents make me pay rent. I just think that as a parent that is your responsibility to take care of them and help them out. I don't think charging them rent will help.

I started charging my son rent when he turned 18. He had a job and was making okay money. I was still providing a place to live and food for him. I didn't charge him a lot but I did charge him. It is not about the money, it is about teaching them responsibility. Charge him the rent, it is good for him.

Well, the word "rent" might not sound appropriate for a family member. What you can do is "assign" one of the utility bills to him. Start him out with one of the "lighter" bills such as water or cable TV. If he uses the phone too much you should definitely assign the phone bill to him! Also, let him pay his assigned bill personally, rather than handing the money to you. This way he will also learn where and how bills are paid. It's all part of his training to become independent.

here in the philippines we do not charge our family members for staying in our house.. because FAMILY = 1home, home = 1 family... all we do here is helping each other to pay bills and other expences

In my country, it is not the norm to charge rental so parents don't really do so but we would be expected to contribute to the household once we have graduated and already have a job. Sometimes we may also help our families with other expenses such as medical or buying a car, etc. This continues even after we leave home. Hence, I feel that it would be reasonable for you to ask him to do so as well in this case.

Hi, im from the Philippines, an Asian country, and in our culture it is usual or typical to have grown children (with their own family) living under the same roof with their parents, with the parents usually as the owners of the house. This is so because there is an unwritten agreement that when the parents get old, it is the responsibility of the children to take care of older generation. In our country, homes for the elderly are a rarity as families assign members to take care of the elderly. Money, although difficult to come by given the economic situation our country is in, is usually never discussed, as long as everyone contributes in taking care of the household expenses. Ours is a very different culture from what i understand of American culture. I dont know which is better, but both have their positive as well as negative aspects and it is good to have an insight on how other cultures deal with certain life issues.