How Much Rent To Charge Adult Children Living at Home

By Christina Newberry

How much rent to charge adult children living at home is a very tough question, but the simple answer is “it depends.” That may not be what you want to hear, but it does depend on a few factors.

How to determine adult children living at home rent?

Here are some important factors to consider for rent.

1. What can your adult children afford? If they’re living at home, they probably can’t afford market rent.

2. Why are your adult children living at home? Are they going to school? If so, you may want to charge less rent than if they are working.

3. How long will your adult children be living at home? Some parents will charge little to no rent for up to three months while the adult child gets back on his or her feet after a crisis like a divorce or a job loss, then start charging rent.

So, you need to talk about what’s right for your family. Most important is that adult children living at home cover any additional expenses they add to the household – higher heating bills, extra grocery costs, more gas for the car, and so on. Working out a family budget is an important step that allows you to see what the adult child’s impact is and how they will pay for it.

If they are totally unable to pay rent, you may consider allowing them to contribute their labor instead, especially if your adult children living at home are not working. Adults should always have some standard responsibilities around the house. That could include cleaning their room, doing their own laundry, and cooking some meals. But you could add some extra chores — like painting the house, cleaning the gutters, or helping with renovations, for example — that they could do to help “pay” for their stay.

And most importantly, be sure to set a timeline for when the adult children living at home will leave. No matter how much rent they are paying, you will start to get tired of adult children living at home if there is no plan for them to get out on their own.

The Hands-on Guide to Surviving Adult Children Living at Home offers detailed information on how to establish a boundaries with your adult children living at home, including a customizable adult children living at home contract and cost calculator.