Help needed Please.

walks

Hello folks,
I will be as brief as i can, My mum died at easter leaving me and my 2 brothers the house. But her partner that had been living with her for about 5 yrs is still living there he is 86 and quite wealthy, He as never payed anything to his up keep Mum always payed for everything, but he would take her out for lunch about once a wk when she was able, My mum was not wealthy by any means but very Kind. When she died my brothers and i said that he could stay on there, I thought that he would maybe pay some rent, but he as never offered and my brothers have said it did not matter. My feeling are that he should I have said that if he payed a small amount that it could go to any repairs that needed to be done in the future. I forgot to say the Man is very cleaver Buisness man. Anyway today he as rang my brother complaining about not being warm enough, And that the heating is not working properly, so we have had the gas man in who wants over £200 to put it right. I asked my Brother weather the partner was going to pay and he said no we would have too. He said it was our responsability as we are the Land lords, I thought we where only land lords if we where reciving Rent. I can`t keep paying out if this is going to continue i feel that he should pay it oreven some. He is the one that leaves all the doors open so he dont have to get up to let the dog out:rolleyes: he keeps two gas fires on in both rooms down stairs, all day as well as his electric blanket on in his bedroom where the radiator works perfict. The question is are we responsable for all the jobs that will need doing. He does pay his own gas elec ect but i still feel that he should pay some Rent
am i wrong
many thanks for reading this,
Pip
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BitterAndTwisted

What does it matter whether he keep two gas fires on all day if he's paying the utility bills? I don't see how that's relevant.

If you accept rent form him it will establish a tenancy and that might not be what you want long-term, although as I understand it you would only need to give him two months notice, perhaps only one. Did your mother leave any provision in her will for this chap to remain in the house?

Why don't you three spend a hundred quid on seeing a solicitor and sort out what you can do and what you really want to happen?

slummymummyof3

I think you need legal advice, this chap could live to 100, rent free in the property - what if you want to sell? Not sure if he develops rights with no contract - quite possible

walks

Hi,
Thanks for your replys, Mum did say that she wanted him to stay there for as long as he wants, And i know its up to him if he keeps two gas fires on as he does pay the bills but my bother as hell of a job to get the money off him for his bills, He always complains that there expensive, But the Man never had to worry about any bills because mum always payed everything for the house. I think there should be a contract drawn up myself. I did say to my brothers that give it a couple of months then he would start making demands.He also reminded my brother that he wants all the jewelry that he brought mum. He said this even before she died. he dont like any of us and always said that he did not want any of us to have anything of his which is fine. But i think when you give somebody something you should not expect it back, Mum knew what he was like and did manage to give a grandaughter a braclet with out him knowing. Anyway this is all another story!! I will speak to my brothers and see if a contract could be drawn up as i dont trust this man at all:mad:
many thanks again.
Pip
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princeofpounds

You have to form a consensus on what you want to do with him and the property before you can effectively implement anything. Ethically speaking if your mum wanted him to stay in the place rent free then it's not unreasonable to want to respect her wishes if that doesn't compromise your well-being.

However, he should certainly be paying for repairs as rent-free doesn't mean cost-free. You did not ask to 'adopt' and subsidise him directly.

Legally speaking if you all wanted to remove him you could probably do so.

As for the shiny stuff, that forms part of your mother's estate and should be distributed as per her will. If the executors let him have it back they are acting against the will.

He sounds like a real case of entitlement, but don't forget there will be a lot of family feelings bound up in this and a relationship with your brothers is an important thing.

BitterAndTwisted

Right, this man has absolutely NO CLAIMS on anything he gave as gifts to your mother: once given they do not remain the property of the giver. I'd pop round to the house with your two siblings immediately and remove anything of value which belonged to your mother. You might find that he's taken them and hidden or disposed of them already and might even have changed the locks if he's on the ball.

I can't see why the bills have not been transferred to this chap's name so you have to claim the money back from him but as the bills are not in his name now this might make any claims he might think he has to the property weaker. I know you said that your mother SAID she wanted this chap to remain in the house for as long as he wanted but did she make any provision for this in writing in her will?

Please make an appointment with a solicitor to get advice on how you should proceed immediately!

pie81

To echo the above:

Re the jewellery, as mentioned above, this forms part of your mother's estate and should go to whoever her heirs are as named in the will. So if she left everything to her kids then that includes the jewellery. The partner has no claim on it.

Re the house: again if she did not put anything in her will about the partner having a right to live there then legally he has no right to. However morally if you know she wanted him to live there you probably ought to let him stay. If she wanted him to stay rent free then again you probably have a moral obligation to respect that.

However you should definitely make sure that the legal position is recorded in writing even if he is not paying rent. I think you should get it recorded that he is there under a licence which may be terminated at will or on a certain amount of notice. This means he is not a tenant or owner but is more like a lodger. If you do not record this, there is a risk that down the line he could claim to be a tenant (which means he has certain rights) or even claim that he owns a share in the property.

You should also transfer all bills into his name (AFTER you've recorded his position as a licensee) and get him to pay for any repairs. If I were you I would put a clause into the licence agreement which makes it clear he is responsible to keep the property in good condition and pay for repairs. Otherwise he might let the place get run down.

As BitterandTwisted said you could really do with a solicitor's help here.

clutton_2

what does it say in your mothers will about the property ?

walks

Hi clutton i will look it out and see what it says, as far as i can rember that the property was left to us 3 there was no mention in the will about the man staying in it, I think if i remember right that her solicitor advised her not to mention her wish to let her partner stay there untill he either died or moved out.

Pip
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BitterAndTwisted

In that case I admire your mother's solicitor's advice and prescience. Good advice is always worth paying for, which is why you should get your own now.

clutton_2

if he has no legal claim on the propety - then you must NOT issue him with any type of agreement - do go and see a solicitor and take the will with you


if you and your siblings are in agreement that you want this man to leave the house, maybe (after seeing the solicitor) you could all meet, and have an informal family meeting and discuss the arrangements for the future..

if none of you want the house, (or the equity in it,) at the moment, you might consider offering him a proper tenancy with full market rent

If you do want the house vacant in order to sell, then the solicitor will advise how to do it... but before going.... you all need to know what YOU want to do... otherwise the solicitor wont be able to advise you very well...

good luck