An Australian renter has claimed their housemate is demanding extra payment because their partner stays on the property multiple nights each week.
The person posted within the AusPropertyChat Reddit group and said that the “head renter” reached out to him via WhatsApp after noticing his partner had been spending more time at their share house.
“Two-day rule for partners. Third day? You pay for every week rent,” a screenshot of the message read.
“Please pay the additional week of rent. I hope you understand that it costs me money.”
The poster then asked the forum if “that is allowed?” before lots of of individuals weighed in with their two cents.
One commenter said the person was being “inconsiderate” and “annoying” by having his partner over so commonly.
A second agreed he was “taking greater than (his) fair proportion”, and a 3rd said it could be “unreasonable” to beat back on the request.
Aussies who’ve lived in shared houses also chimed into the discussion and theorised about what prompted the message.
“It’s the upper utilities and the awkwardness of coping with someone not on the lease but living semi-permanently there,” explained one. “Plus one other person within the shower rotation.”
“I didn’t enroll to live with other people’s partners,” added one other user. “So if you desire to sleep over, sleep at their place. Every week of rent is fair.”
Alternatively, another person thought it was “ridiculous to ask someone to pay every week’s rent because their partner stayed two nights in a row”.
Meanwhile, one commenter called it “steep” and suggested the partner should “chip in a little bit of money” as an alternative.
The query of whether a partner who stays over steadily should contribute to rent often hinges on how much they contribute to the household overall, said property market expert, Eric Wong from Lucca Property.
The frequency of overnight stays can impact utility bills and shared resources, but an equally vital consideration is how much the partner contributes to house responsibilities.
“If the partner consistently helps out — whether by pitching in with chores, grocery shopping, or minor repairs — it might create a balance that offsets among the financial burden,” Mr Wong told news.com.au.
“If the partner neither pays toward rent nor contributes to household tasks, it might create resentment, as the first renter may feel they’re shouldering extra responsibilities and so might want some financial contribution.”
Mr Wong said it’s commonplace for renters to expect a partner who stays over steadily to contribute, nonetheless, “the specifics vary widely depending on the character of the connection”.
He encouraged renters to have an open conversation to set clear expectations early on, which may prevent potential disagreements down the road.
With reference to the query of legality within the scenario in query, the top renter must make sure that the sublet situation doesn’t cause a breach of the lease.
“If a lease is signed between owner and tenant and the lease stipulates that only two adults can reside on the property, if the subtenant has a partner who stays on the property steadily they might be deemed a resident, which could put the leaseholder in breach of their lease as there could be now three residents and never two,” said Jo Natoli from The Rental Specialists.
“I should add, nonetheless, that rents will not be determined by the variety of occupants in a property, so the owner, in the event that they selected to permit the third person to stay on a more everlasting basis, can’t increase the rent for this.”
An Australian renter has claimed their housemate is demanding extra payment because their partner stays on the property multiple nights each week.
The person posted within the AusPropertyChat Reddit group and said that the “head renter” reached out to him via WhatsApp after noticing his partner had been spending more time at their share house.
“Two-day rule for partners. Third day? You pay for every week rent,” a screenshot of the message read.
“Please pay the additional week of rent. I hope you understand that it costs me money.”
The poster then asked the forum if “that is allowed?” before lots of of individuals weighed in with their two cents.
One commenter said the person was being “inconsiderate” and “annoying” by having his partner over so commonly.
A second agreed he was “taking greater than (his) fair proportion”, and a 3rd said it could be “unreasonable” to beat back on the request.
Aussies who’ve lived in shared houses also chimed into the discussion and theorised about what prompted the message.
“It’s the upper utilities and the awkwardness of coping with someone not on the lease but living semi-permanently there,” explained one. “Plus one other person within the shower rotation.”
“I didn’t enroll to live with other people’s partners,” added one other user. “So if you desire to sleep over, sleep at their place. Every week of rent is fair.”
Alternatively, another person thought it was “ridiculous to ask someone to pay every week’s rent because their partner stayed two nights in a row”.
Meanwhile, one commenter called it “steep” and suggested the partner should “chip in a little bit of money” as an alternative.
The query of whether a partner who stays over steadily should contribute to rent often hinges on how much they contribute to the household overall, said property market expert, Eric Wong from Lucca Property.
The frequency of overnight stays can impact utility bills and shared resources, but an equally vital consideration is how much the partner contributes to house responsibilities.
“If the partner consistently helps out — whether by pitching in with chores, grocery shopping, or minor repairs — it might create a balance that offsets among the financial burden,” Mr Wong told news.com.au.
“If the partner neither pays toward rent nor contributes to household tasks, it might create resentment, as the first renter may feel they’re shouldering extra responsibilities and so might want some financial contribution.”
Mr Wong said it’s commonplace for renters to expect a partner who stays over steadily to contribute, nonetheless, “the specifics vary widely depending on the character of the connection”.
He encouraged renters to have an open conversation to set clear expectations early on, which may prevent potential disagreements down the road.
With reference to the query of legality within the scenario in query, the top renter must make sure that the sublet situation doesn’t cause a breach of the lease.
“If a lease is signed between owner and tenant and the lease stipulates that only two adults can reside on the property, if the subtenant has a partner who stays on the property steadily they might be deemed a resident, which could put the leaseholder in breach of their lease as there could be now three residents and never two,” said Jo Natoli from The Rental Specialists.
“I should add, nonetheless, that rents will not be determined by the variety of occupants in a property, so the owner, in the event that they selected to permit the third person to stay on a more everlasting basis, can’t increase the rent for this.”
