That sounds like a complex thing to consider.

Absolutely!

I'm 19 and I had to go live back at home for a short period last year, during which time I paid £40 a week to my mother.

If I can do that at 18 then your son can definitely do the same at 26!

Depends on how soon you want him to leave. Charge him rent and he might not be able to leave for awhile. Don't charge him rent and he might not want to leave. Here's what my parents do to keep their nest "empty."

Don't charge rent, but drive him nuts with chores, nagging, and unwarranted parental control.

You need to look at this in terms of relative value. What is the value of the space your son is occupying in relevance to your standard of living? Do you like having your son there? If yes, then his mere presence is of value and you shouldn’t charge for the pleasure of his companionship. What about the pleasure of knowing you are being a good father/mother, does that have a value? Do you have other uses for the space he is occupying? Are there other areas where labor would be of more value than money? Example, I pay my Gardner $75/ month. Personally, I would make my son do the work and apply $50 toward the rent. In this case, the work itself has more value than the money it he would pay. I would continue adding chores to his day which would cost me to hire someone else or disdain doing myself. I would create a work for lodging/food relationship.

At 26 he is more like a border isn't he?

If he has a job he should pay board or just rent ( board would help pay for things like his food and doing laundry and contributing towards the rent ).

If he doesn't have a job and that's why he moved in then ask him to contribute by helping around the yard and house until he does get a job. If he's not doing that he's being lazy.

Being a son doesn't mean a free ride, but it doesn't mean you have to treat him like a stranger either.

Yes, he is too old to live for free. He will need to do the laundry, eat, use electricity and it all costs money. I think rent is a very fair and reasonable request.
It all depends on you however, we can't tell you what to do just advise you on your available options.

Has he moved back home to save money for his own house or has needed to move home for a reason?

If so, then no. Don't charge him rent.

If he has moved home as a simple stop-gap between apartments or he just finished school, then yes. Charge him fair market value rent and set a steep yearly increase. Out of his first couple of rent checks, buy him his own mini fridge and tell him to stay out of yours too ;)

I believe even a small amount will cause the son to be responsible. Even if he is paying less than at an apartment and even if you save it for him and give it back once he moves, I believe it teaches him responsibility to pay.

no family is always welcome at my home. In fact i let my youngest son and his wife live in our nc home for seven years rent free so they could save enough money to purchase their own home. It is nice to have our nc home again but i would let my other son have use of the place if he wanted.

I do not believe in tough love. I believe in kind and generous love.joe

yes hes old enough to be paying rent.

If he has a job and is making enough to pay a reasonable amount for rent, yes. If he's home because he hasn't been able to sustain himself and is trying to get back on his feet, give him a month or two to figure something out, then charge him rent until he is confident to be on his own again.

Recently, I was facing a similar fate (moving back home) because I was having trouble taking care of myself. If I had moved back home, the first step would've been to find a job, then once the money started coming in, start paying my parents to live there until I was able to save up enough to move back out on my own. He's an adult and responsibility for his living should be a condition of ANYWHERE he lives! Don't stress it. Give him time to establish a job if he doesn't already have one and start charging him a few hundred dollars to cover the rise in your expenses each month.

I think you should charge him rent, or else he will never leave the nest again. The only exception to this is if he moved back home to take care of an ill parent or family member.

If he has any income whatsoever, absolutely yes. If he has no income, he needs to be actively looking to rectify that.

It is our job as parents to teach responsibility. He'd be paying rent (and a lot more) anywhere else he had a roof over his head.

Well it depends on his employment situations> If he have income coming in then he should provide unless he is putting groceries in the house or helping around the house in any way. I am 26 just moved back home in June and i don't have income and my child lives with my mom as well but i provide food and she still not happy so Just give them something because they won't be satisfied anyways. BUT NO he shouldn't we're their kids. But every little bit do count. Clean the house, yard work,or anything.

I don't think there is a simple answer to this. My daughter has moved back home a couple of times.
It isn't so much whether they should pay rent but rather, they should pay there way in life. Whether that is by monetary means or by sharing in the upkeep of the home. If a son or daughter has no work at the moment then rent may not be an option. However, there are many ways to show your appreciation for the support your parents give you.

I would say it depends on both of your financial situations. I would make him buy his own groceries, and share things as equal as possible, possibly, even just charge him for the garbage, or the electricity, or maybe the property tax. Do somthing that benifits you, but also doesnt put him out. The way I am looking at it, is, if hes moving back to the place he grew up, it would be weird to make it a tenant/lanlord thing. Keep it as family as possible, im sure any loving son would want to help his parents out as much as he can for such a caring and huge gesture.

Yes for sure charge him. In life nothing is free. If you can afford to save the rent money he gives you and save it for him. give him the money when he is able to move out.

Dear Parent,

Please don't let the money control you. If your son 26 or 62 year of ages that don't matter. Maybe he just want to live with you so that he can take care of you. Have you ever sit down and discuss with him in short or long time goal for his life?

I guess you are always busy to working and shopping, so you didn't have time for the last 26 years to teach your son how to be a responsible person. However, It is not too late, you still have time to ASSIST him in his life.

Good luck,

Henry Tran,

I feel you should charge him, it's called RESPONSIBILITY, what you can possibly do is apply that money towards emergency fund or money he might come back asking you to borrow ;)

My son just turned 18 last month, just graduated high school in May 09, still living at home with no job but his only excuse that I'm granting him from not paying is that he just had major foot surgery so he is in process of recooping but will get a job as soon as we receive an "ok" from doctor for his mobility. He's starting college early 2010 too.

Best of luck!

-hc001

Well, what many parents neglect to understand is that in today's society its takes quite longer to "get on one's feet". I'm currently working on my second bachelors degree, because all I could get with my first one is a minimum wage job at a retail outlet and I graduated in the top 5% of my class! Fortunately for me, I have my parents to provide me with free housing otherwise I'd be on the street...just some food for thought. Back 40 years ago you could work on a manufacturing line and pull in an easy $50k...now its hard to find any good paying job unless you have a medical degree, MBA and CPA, or work for the government.

Moving back home is not an answer to not paying bills. Kids need to understand that when they are an adult, that it is time to take care of themselves. Not to move back home so that they don't have to pay bills. Alot of kids nowadays think that if they move back in with their parents, that they will have it easy, and "Mom and Dad will take care of me", then they do what they want while the parents flip the bills. It doesn't work that way anymore. If anything, it is their turn to take care of the parents. Moving back home shouldn't be any different than living on their own and paying the bills. The Son should pay part of all bills if he is to move back in. Especially, if you are retired and living on a fixed income, or just living on a fixed income. I took care of my mother til she died a few months ago. She couldn't live on her own, and I told her that she did her job raising us, now it is my job to take care of her. And we helped pay the bills. Hope this has helped.

It is absolutely relation ship between son and father and circumstances prevailed at the juncture. father should not feel it is hotel to charge, either son should not feel it is orphanage to see all his needs, mutually share all the problems with cordially as they are grown up in the wonderful society.

no with this economy who isn't living with someone! If you charge him your not a parent your just like everyone else...money hungry. No matter the circumstances he should get a year free if you have any heart.

What a question (cooo cooo)

Well that all depends on how he helps out at home. When i lived with my parents i brought groceries, miscellaneous items, got the floors remodeled, and helped my mom buy her medications and i wasnt charged any rent at all but as you can see i did pay my way. I cleaned washed my mom and dad car i paid the telephone and electric bill. So I would say take a look at how he's helping out and make that decision yourself all situation are different. I showed my parents how they made me the woman i am so let him show you the man you made him.

Our 26 year old moved back with us in May and it is now October. We have only charged him $20 a week (he is working part-time)but at least it's something and we expect him to keep his room clean (not easy) and help with dishes. I know this isn't much, but we've talked with him and given him a deadline to be out. We offered to pay deposit for a new place just to make sure he gets his own place. If a deadline isn't given, your son will stay forever mooching from you.

Yes, you should charge him rent.

I am 24 years old and live at home, I pay £250 a month rent which isn't an awful lot but it does help. I lived at home whilst I was at University as well and I still paid rent - £150 a month at that time.

I think even if it is a contribution (as it depends on his curcumstances) it shows that he isn't there to get an easy ride.

If your son is 26 and moved back home thier must be a serious reason. Men usually do not want to live under thier parents rules as an adolessant and really don't after being on there own making there own rules. Get the reason on why he moved home again then discuss rent and his contribution ideas toward the house and family needs.

I would say that your son definitely needs to pay rent, unless their are other circumstances involved that you didn't mention. If he lost his job, as long as he is out actively looking for one, then I would not charge him rent. Let him know that if he stops looking he will owe you for that time once he has a job. If he is just moving home to save, or to be near family or not live alone, I would say you could absolutely charge him alot less, but he does need to be charged. I'm 24 and have lived on my own since I moved out for college. My parents have definitely helped me through hard times as I adjusted and got settled on my own, but they didn't do it for me, which made me grateful, and made me work harder to show them that. If your son is 26 and has a job, he needs to be contributing to the household he lives in, just as if he were on his own. It will keep your relationship healthier, and keep you from getting frustrated. It's much more easy to get frustrated if he is living with you and not contributing than if he is pulling his share.

@SoloManz

I find it kind of awful that this is even a question.
Are parents that vindictive that they need to start charging their own children rent ?

I'm _all for_ responsibility, taking care of yourself, and your family if you have one.

Put it this way. Look at the other side.

Does your son WANT to be there ?

Or would he rather be independent and have his own slice of rock ?

_

_

Lets put the economy aside for a moment.

A good friend of mine who was struggling paying bills and lost his job as a ambulance technician was living on unemployment in the US , struggling to find any and all work he could.
His parents and sister wouldn't accept him into their home unless he paid rent.

He moved into assisted living after he had a stroke.
Shortly after things where getting more serious for him, his brother, sister, and father(who is "well to do" and lives in FL) declined to offer a place to stay because at the time he couldn't pay rent.
I offered him a place to stay here up north, and for a brief time in 2008 he did stay with me, but moved out because he felt like he was intruding on me and my family. We told him he could pay us when he got some money. He declined and one day packed up and just left. I was shocked. I knew he was a hard worker and he would pay me something when he got it, but he wouldn't have it.

Fast forward September 2009 , he's found dead in someones doorway. Someone who wanted money (ironically enough) saw him sleeping in a doorway and hit him in the head with a blunt object. As if his stroke wasn't enough the strike caused a hemorrhage in his brain and he died in the doorway. His death was classified by the local news network as the 13th murder in that city for the year.

See my friend was a veteran, it was instilled in him since day 1 of service that he doesn't take a handout. That he needs to do what he says and say what he does. (Do what he needs to do to take care of HIM)
And do everything that is expected of him to fill his void in the world. Never asking others to live for free.
In his mind he felt that if he didn't pay rent, that he didn't earn the right to live their.

So senseless.

I realize this is your son, I realize you PROBABLY expect him to have some responsibility at his age.
But think of EVERYTHING from the other side and what he might be going threw before you start taxing him for a place to stay.

Instead of asking weather or not you should charge him rent, maybe you should be asking how you could help him out at this stage of his life ?

Do you want to know what the next death in the city was ?

The guy that hit my friend in the head was caught, arraigned, and then committed suicide 10 days later.