Mums have been left divided on whether or not a 16-year-old should be charged rent.
After what seems like a trying time for one mum, she took to popular forum Mumsnet to ask if she was being unreasonable to charge her daughter £30 a week for 'rent'.
However she was met with a mix of opinions, with some arguing she 'just wants money'.
READ MORE- Fury as Edinburgh NHS dentist goes private and emails patients new £250-a-year cost
Remaining anonymous, the mum wrote: "My DD [dear daughter] is 16, 17 in September and finishes school this month. Well, I say finishing school, but she has only attended twice through the whole of the year.
"She suffers with mental health quite badly but the last 12-18 months she has given me hell. She’s extremely rude to me at times. We don’t really have a relationship anymore.
"She's settled a little now and has a weekend job. Barely comes home still but I know where she is. But she treats home like a drop in centre and I find it so disrespectful.
"She’s not going to college, she has no plans. She’s going to go full time at her weekend job and will be earning more money than me as a single Mum with another young child.
"Is it fair that I charge her maybe £30 a week ‘rent?’ The way I see it is if she doesn’t want to stay at school and wants to be an adult then she needs to get used to the real world. She has no outgoings, all her money goes on takeaways.
"Her answer is she’s barely here. But she comes here sometimes at midnight to sleep, or in the day to use the bath and do some washing. It’s basically a base or somewhere to go when she can’t stay at her boyfriends."
While some agreed with charging rent as long as she's working, others suggested it might make the situation worse, arguing that it sounded like the daughter didn't feel welcome.
One wrote: "I wonder where she considers "home" then. Her actions using your home as a "drop in centre" makes me think she doesn't feel at home there. That doesn't mean it's your fault though. She's still young and it's true she has yet to learn of the real world. I hope she can find her way.
"As for charging "rent", I'd worry it would make her feel less welcomed but I understand the lesson you want to teach. If you do charge make sure she understands why."
A second added: "Personally, I think 16/17 is very young to be charging rent/board. Especially if she’s ‘hardly’ there. It does sound like you’re just wanting money from her. It would be different if she spent every waking hour at home, using the electricity and gas everyday."
"Based on how little time she is home I think YABU [you are being unreasonable]. If you try to charge her I doubt you will see her at all", a third piped up.
Another interjected: "Your DD isn’t living with you. You say she comes in during the wee hours of the night, sleeps, uses the bathroom and leaves the next morning and then you don’t see her at all for another few days. You can’t charge rent for visits, and she’s not affecting your household bills with a fly by night visit twice a week at most."
Offering sympathy, one said: "16 is a difficult age, things should improve with time".
Meanwhile, many agreed with the mum: "Absolutely charge her rent, if she is using your house like a hotel, then I definitely would. She might realise her priorities (one way or another), but it’s not fair for her to treat you or your home like this."
And speaking of her own experience, another said: "I'd fully expect her to be paying rent. I started working at 18 on £77 per week. Paid my own train fares and about £25 a week rent. I think you should charge her a bit more than £30. Even if it means you put some into savings to help when she eventually moves out."
