Quick summary: I own my house. It's a 3 br, 2ba home, and I only use one bedroom and bathroom for myself. Recently a friend of mine proposed moving in. I've thought about it, and decided to offer them the other 2 rooms and bathroom to them for $500/month + half utilities.
I told another friend of mine (someone not directly involved) about this in passing, and they began to personally attack me for being a sham of a communist, and being a capitalist, and a landlord. They claim that what I'm asking for is steep. I understand essentially the place where their criticism is coming from, rent is a system of accumulation whereby I would be gaining wealth, and my friend would be receiving merely the permit to exist in my house. So on some level I understand and agree with the fact that this arrangement is essentially at odds with my beliefs.
Does this make me a sham? Brutal honesty please.
IMO, if they are not gaining ownership of the home in some aspect (equity, whatevs) then you should only charge them for their relative portion of property tax and utilities
them paying your mortgage is exploitation if they gain no equity.
Truth.
An option could be tracking the rent they pay, subtracting a proportion of that rent to cover property tax, utilities, and wear-and-tear, then return the rest at the end of the year or when they move. Either put it in a savings account until they move, or give it back once taxes are filed.
Covering the expenses of owning a home with a temporary resident will likely be much more amenable with a contract than with figuring bills out as you go. But balancing this back to them so you are not exploiting them can be a good solution.