How much should I charge my child for rent in an SSI loan agreement?

When you are drafting a loan agreement for your child during the SSI application process, you will need to determine how much to charge your child monthly for rent and their share of food and household expenses. Here are two key points to remember:

• The rent needs to be 1/3 of the monthly SSI amount, and then it’s worth rounding up a little. At this point that’s about $400. Bear in mind that this is specifically for rent and not utilities or food.
• The loan agreement has to NOT say that repayment is contingent on them receiving SSI. It can say they’ll pay back the loan when they are able, but should NOT say they’ll pay back the loan if they get SSI.

Note that some important SSI rules have changed as of fall 2024 so that there are fewer reductions for in-kind support and maintenance.

For more information, see our article about SSI for individuals age 18 and up.