If you decide to do it, ensure it is a month-to-month tenancy and charge the full fair market value. Separately, offer her babysitting hours at the market rate ($25/hour in my neighborhood), then apply those to future rent, so 40 hours per month for her to free rent. The lease itself needs to hold up as a standard short-term lease with a termination right for convenience.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you need full time child care? Get an au pair and she can stay in the basement. While you don’t get rent from an au pair, she’s living there in exchange (+ a weekly stipend) for childcare.

Probably not anymore. OP’s kid may be old enough to stay home by herself now.

Ha, yup, I need to remember to check the date of the original post 🤦‍♀️

Don't do this. Once you have a tenant, they are very hard to evict and she could easily just pay you $400 and not watch your kid.

Anonymous wrote:Rent at full price. Then pay them by the hours for babysitting. Totally 2 different transactions.

Np, and agreed. There's something cringe about making this a "twofer" transaction that could easily put the child in harm's way trying to save a buck.

Anonymous wrote:Do you need full time child care? Get an au pair and she can stay in the basement. While you don’t get rent from an au pair, she’s living there in exchange (+ a weekly stipend) for childcare.

Probably not anymore. OP’s kid may be old enough to stay home by herself now.

You are looking for a live in nanny or au pair. Stop trying to cut corners with childcare.

I wanted to do this too. Except I have an in law suite with a kitchen. I was willing to let a nanny stay there full time in exchange for 15 hours of work (I only need care from 2:30-5pm) and less pay. I was told it was illegal and I still needed to offer $25-30 an hour. My apartment would easily rent for $1500.

Do you need full time child care? Get an au pair and she can stay in the basement. While you don’t get rent from an au pair, she’s living there in exchange (+ a weekly stipend) for childcare.

Anonymous wrote:May not be legal.

Also, sorry, but you are not going to get someone trustworthy to watch your kids at that "rate" and for that kind of deal. A reliable babysitter with experience could make way better money in this area for babysitting 3 times a week than a couple hundred dollars' discount on rent.

Yeah, I am pretty sure this is not legal.

In California $20 an hour is reasonable rate. I settle on the rate of $700 for rent to to a woman and her cat. to watch my 2 girls for 1-2 hous at a time when they just woke in the morning for two hours. she soon there after started sending me "scarcity projections"like she might not make ends meet. (like she could pay double that at her last place(right next door to my residence) and now suddenly she starts to mention this problem and that ailment. I could sense it was only a matter of time before shes begin taking advantage of me so I sent her on her way. I sent her away, fast bc we didn't have a contract between us yet. Babies are so precious please trust your gut feelings and do the right thing before it gets out of hand. old women be trifling. this world ...nope. not today Satan. my second bedroom is worth $1234 per month.

So $20/hour is now the market rate for a babysitter? Honest question, as I haven't hired one yet.

Rent and use the money to pay for a sitter you love.

I wouldn't pay rent AND watch your kid.

You're looking for Charles in Charge.

also DC tenant laws are insane... so if it doesn't work out with babysitting you may be on the hook for renting out the studio at like $400 month until the person wants to leave. I really would encourage you to rent the apartment at market rate. there are so many colleges here find a reliable AU/GU/GWU girl who doesn't have class on the days you need and pay her a good market rate ($20)