What is the going rate in your area? That would differ from place to place...

Is he just getting a room? Kitchen privileges? Use the laundry?

Check Craigslist for the going rate for renting a room...and I've never knocked off $$ for not being there on weekends...if you lose the use of the room (assuming he'll leave things in the room from week to week and won't put on clean bedding and vacuum and dust before he leaves each week so that you could use it for a guest). I've rented a room for years to people I know or friends of friends and I finally also had to accept that I was being paid for extra bathroom and kitchen clean up (my tenants share the 1st floor guest bath with my other guests and me when I'm in the main living space). It kept me from feeling frustrated about different standards of cleanliness.

We won't be there during the week, so he'll have the run of the house Mon thru Fri. Do you think $20/day is too much?

Assuming everything is in working order that is way too low! Will he be paying utilities?

Is he going to have his wife/kids come hang out at the beach during the week ... it will be summer vacation. Will he let other workers stay over once in a while? Liability?

Did he ask to stay at your house or rent your house? If he had been a friend from before, I would probably consider it, but if I had just met him for the project, then I probably would not agree to it.

Where was he staying while he worked on your house and why can't he stay there now? It sounds like this will benefit him more than you...what if you want to spend weekends there and he leaves a mess? Do you know who he may also be allowing in to your home? Unless you feel very comfortable with him staying there I would say no. If you do allow it, I would charge fair market value each week. This is only fair whether or not you normally rent the house out or not. After all, I assume he charged you fair market value for the work he performed to fix your house...he should not expect a "deal" unless he gave you one. Personally, I would be wary since he is not a personal friend or friend of friend. If you proceed, make sure all stipulations are in a signed, legal contract.

I'd let him stay for 45.00 a night, much cheaper than a hotel.

I wouldn't rent my home to anyone but family without me being there. If you are really comfortable with this person staying there, you need to answer how much is it worth to you? He is needing so many days, it's basically a monthly tenant and should be charged as such. $20/day isn't terrible if you realize it is $400/mo. A bedroom monthly rental, in my area, would be around that price..... however, I don't live in a vacation destination....

If this is a good shore location, I'm sure the weekly rate is much more than $45 per night. For some comparison, rentals here in the LA beach towns, walking distance to beach, start at around $650 per night and up to $1,500 per night for ocean front. The ones I had looked up were all high quality finishes with 3-4 bedrooms and 3+ baths. Most could sleep up to 8 people. Hotel rooms in the same area start at $500/night.

Check with insurance agent first - you might need to increase your liability coverage or make other changes to your policy.

My contractor is staying in my FL house over the summer while we are back in PA, so similar situation.

He is doing work in exchange for rent. It works out to the equivalent of about $500/month in rent (house would normally rent for about $1400/month but obviously would be hard to find a six month lease in off-season). He is also paying utilities.

From my perception, it is a tremendous benefit to have someone there that I trust when I am not there. I look at it as house sitting. He's getting any mail that comes, his presence will make it less likely someone would break in, and I like having someone there to make sure nothing goes wrong w/ the house, to board up for storms, etc. and to check in w/ to make sure the house is OK.

If you aren't renting the house out anyway, any money is a bonus plus you get the benefit of having someone there if issues arise.

Check with your accountant, too.

IRS rules allow a certain amount (in either $$ or days/year, can't recall which) of "income" from casual rental of home as non-taxable. After that it's ordinary income, and taxable. (I live in an area where people regularly rent their houses for a few weeks of the summer to earn their entire year's property/school tax costs - and ours are outrageous compared to most areas of the country.)

You're mortgage lender, if you have one, may also have an opinion.

Glad your house is getting fixed back up. I was born on Brigantine Island and I grieved after the storm, even though I've haven't been back in more than 50 years.

L.

Check with your accountant, too.

IRS rules allow a certain amount (in either $$ or days/year, can't recall which) of "income" from casual rental of home as non-taxable. After that it's ordinary income, and taxable. (I live in an area where people regularly rent their houses for a few weeks of the summer to earn their entire year's property/school tax costs - and ours are outrageous compared to most areas of the country.)

You're mortgage lender, if you have one, may also have an opinion.

Glad your house is getting fixed back up. When I was a young girl, I lived on Brigantine Island and I grieved after the storm, even though I've haven't been back in more than 50 years.

L.

Obviously, you can't charge him the "going rate" for a vacation rental, or he'd loose money.
Ask yourself why you would agree to the deal: Is it to have a house sitter, to get rental income, get some repairs in exchange, or to be nice to him?