Do You Live At Home With Your Parents?
This page is for people living rent-free with their parents who need a statutory declaration or a living rent-free letter stating that they don’t pay any rent. A rent-free letter is helpful whether you’re looking to buy your first property or you need to refinance an investment property that you own while living at home.
By providing evidence that you don’t pay rent, you can significantly improve your borrowing power– with the right lender.
What Is A Rent-free Letter?
A rent-free declaration is simply a letter stating that you live rent-free with your parents. The letter is fairly basic but as a minimum it should include:
- Your full name and that of your partner if you’re married or in a de facto relationship
- The address
- Your parents’ signatures, with the date
Some lenders require you to have a statutory declaration – or stat dec – which means the letter must be signed in the presence of a Justice of the Peace (JP) or other authorised witness, such as a lawyer or medical practitioner.
Check out the stat dec page for more information.
Some other lenders don’t have this requirement but getting a stat dec is not difficult.
If your bank is being unreasonable in its requests to confirm that you live rent-free, please call us on 1300 889 743 or complete our free online assessment form and we can help you qualify with a different lender.
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- Your maximum borrowing power
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Example: Living Rent-free With Parents
The below template preview can be downloaded, printed and then signed by your parents or a JP if your lender requires it. Please return the completed letter to your mortgage broker as soon as possible so they can submit your home loan application.
I/We: John Smith
Of: 1 Pitt St Sydney in the State of New South Wales, do solemnly and sincerely declare as follows:
Joshua and Georgia Smith have moved into our residence at 20 Nice Road Saint Clair VIC 3995, and are not required to pay rent or board.
And I/we make this solemn declaration conscientiously believing the same to be true and by virtue of the provisions of the Oaths Act, 1900 (as amended).
Subscribed and declared at Sydney NSW
This 1st day of January 2018
(SIGN)
John Smith
Before me:
(SIGN)
Name: (Name of JP)
Justice of the Peace #: 123456
Some Lenders Apply A Notional Rental Expense
Even if you provide a living-rent-free letter, some banks still apply a notional rental expense of around $150 a week, in case you move out of the home.
Lenders Can Be Strict With Investors Living At Home
Are you living at home and looking to buy an investment property? Some lenders don’t like lending to investors who don’t own other properties. In particular, for home loans over 80% of the property value, they often require someone to have 10-20% equity in another property. So for a $500,000 property, you’d need to have $50,000 in equity as a minimum.
Do You Need Help?
Please call us on 1300 889 743 or complete our online enquiry form and we can help you qualify for a home loan if you’re living rent-free with your parents.