Dollars and Sense: Should you be charging board to grown-up children still living at home?
Sunday, 3 May 2026
Senior business reporter Rob Stock answers your money questions. Got a question for Sunday magazine? Email it to sundaymagazine@stuff.co.nz
QUESTION: My son started working a year ago. He still lives at home. Should I be charging him board? How do I decide how much?
ANSWER: I am not from the school of thought that sees adult children as financial leeches or failed fledglings for continuing to live at home past when they are working.
Far from it. I see the family home as a place for family. Mine is certainly richer and happier for my elder daughter, who did her first two years of university in halls so she could build her friendships, coming home to complete her degree.
It reduces the cost of her education, which her mother and I saved for because we did not believe it was fair for youngsters to start life with massive student debts, and because we were well-enough paid to have been able to do it.
I have known many young people who return home for a spell of a few years slightly later in life, sometimes with a partner in tow. They are there with the blessing of their parents who see it as a chance to help them save a deposit for a home.
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I fully approve of that. It is a tried and tested model used by families who want to see their kids settled in a home of their own, and on the road to producing grandchildren.
If there’s space in the family home, and everyone gets on, I say sweat that expensive asset to maximise the wealth of the next generation. It’s not like you’d be renting the room to a stranger.
There has been an increase in adult children continuing to live with their parents. According to the 2023 Census, 34.5% of New Zealand families with children had at least one adult child aged 18 or over, or 15 or over and employed full-time, living at home with them.
This is normal, and as rents and house prices grew, the phenomenon grew.
Now, that’s not to say that youngsters should not chip in to cover the extra costs of them being there: food and power, for example.
And, if you are struggling, every household member that is earning should be expected to chip in to a level that means they are not adding to the struggle, and ideally are reducing it.
Only you will know what that level is.
I have known some parents do some sneaky things. One, for example, did charge board, banked it all, and then presented it back as a contribution to a deposit. This kind of strategy is designed to keep their youngsters frugal.
A few years’ back there was a loathsome advert put out by a rental property manager. It asked landlords whether they were financing their tenants’ social lives by charging too little rent.
It was staggeringly tone-deaf, especially as it was only one of a series of adverts from the property manager, with another showing a male tenant appearing to cry under the words “Your tenants may hate us. You will love us!”
But I can understand parents with adult children at home might identify with the sentiment.
Some parents may even have a school of hard knocks philosophy. They may think their children need to learn the value of money, and should pay full market rent for their rooms. I must admit to hating this philosophy. The world will teach youngsters that it is not an easy place without parents needing to help.
If you are a renter, you will be able to work out pretty exactly what their room is costing you to
You can work that out by using Tenancy Services’ market rent calculator, plugging in your area, the number of bedrooms, and then deciding how much they should be paying for their room.
Homeowners, unaware of what places rent for, can do the same.
Disclaimer: The information in this column is provided for general information only and is not intended as financial advice. If you require expert advice we encourage you to seek assistance from a professional adviser.