Inherited house with "tenants" paying miniscule rent

usignuolo

This is a follow on from a previous post. My friend recently inherited a house from her uncle who had had a lodger living with him, as a non rent paying "guest" for several years. The lodger is the son of a family friend of the old man, and has been there since around 1997, supposedly as a companion after her uncle had a severe illness. He stayed on and in fact got married a few years ago and started a family. Officially the family lives in the top three floors. In practice after the uncle got old and bedridden more recently they have been using other parts of the house as well, like the lounge.

When he first moved in, my friend's uncle told her the lodger was a guest, who paid no rent, was just staying to keep an eye on things for him. In recent years he seems to have paid a small amount of rent she thinks about £50 per month, which she understands he has been recording in a small rent book apparently in an attempt to safeguard his legal position. It is not clear if the uncle even knew about it (the rent book).

My friend has applied for probate, but it is taking a while to sort out as there is another relative involved who is talking about contesting the will. Meanwhile my friend has no access to the house - the lodger refuses to let her in. At first she was told there was a codicil granting them life time rights to live in the house but this has yet to surface.

However she understands they intend to remain there, as they could not afford to buy locally and has been told informally that they plan to claim as sitting tenants and contest any action to remove them. The lodger has already sent her a letter demanding essential repair work be carried out.

The house is old, large and rather attractive but it does need a lot of work doing to it. My friend does not need to live there at present herself. If she decides to come to an arrangement with the lodger, can she change the rent? The £50 month currently paid does not reflect anything like the local market value, even for three rooms and will certainly not cover the cost of repairs.

Does she have any rights or indeed other options in this situation?

Biggles

Not an area I have special knowledge of, Usignuolo, but maybe you would get better help if you clarified:-

You previously said they lived in the top three rooms (not three floors) and said that the uncle had apparently, in a codicil to his will, granted the lodger a lifetime right to live there rent-free.

MissMotivation

This would probably be better posted on the Housing/Buying Selling and Renting board as there are some really knowledgeable posters on there.

ETA......just read your other post so deleted my prior "advice" as it's a whole lot more complicated than I realised.

Sorry

Savvy_Sue

I agree with MissM, so I shall move it over there.

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Hi, Martin’s asked me to post this in these circumstances: I’ve asked Board Guides to move threads if they’ll receive a better response elsewhere(please see this rule) so this post/thread has been moved to another board, where it should get more replies. If you have any questions about this policy please email [EMAIL="abuse@moneysavingexpert.com"]abuse@moneysavingexpert.com[/EMAIL].

(For those of you who didn't see usignuolo's original post, it is here.)

mwahaha

Situation is obscure enough that it may be worth asking for more expert knowledge on the forum over at landlordzone.co.uk

My uninformed view:
-Various codicils will become clear at probate. Little point doing anything beyond executors paying bills/insurance until then.
-Assuming they shared any common areas like kitchen or toilet then they are either lodgers or excluded tenants (depending on if uncle had access to their area of house). They aren't 'sitting tenants' with some kind of special rights. He can produce his 'rent book', but that doesn't change anything.
-In either case their rights are very limited. After probate I think executors can evict them as an occupier would evict any other lodger after a relatively short notice period. But possibly court order needed since eviction is by executor not occupier, folks at landlordzone would know.
-If the top three floors are a self contained flat, and they moved in before Mar 1997 eviction would be more difficult but it seems that isn't the case. In the unlikely event they claimed this and won then you can still increase the rent to market rate from 50pcm.

In any event she'll need a solicitor with experience in this area to make sure things are done correctly.

kunekune

I would repeat the advice that a lawyer will be needed. This is quite complicated, and if the 'lodger' asks for legal advice, some further claims may emerge - there is a possibility of a proprietary estoppel if they stayed on, to their detriment, in the belief, encouraged by the uncle, that they would receive an interest in the house.

princeofpounds

I will give you very similar advice to those above. The whole matter rests on
a) the will - you will have to wait for that to be decided
and
b) the tenancy status of the occupiers. It is likely that they are just lodgers and can be quickly kicked out if they were sharing common areas, it does not matter if they were paying rent as no tenancy could have been granted. As pointed out there is also the possibility that they could win part-ownership of the house if the deceased had pledged it to them and they can prove it.

However, you really should retain a lawyer as getting this wrong could lead to a huge illegal eviction fine. The estate might be able to pay the lawyer's fees.

Savvy_Sue

usignuolo wrote: »

At first she was told there was a codicil granting them life time rights to live in the house but this has yet to surface.

I do agree with the advice that you need a lawyer who specialises in this area, however, going back to basics, I think I am right that the executors can only proceed with what they actually have. Therefore, if there IS such a codicil, it is up to the executors to look for it, BUT if they cannot find it they cannot act on it.

So if the tenants have it, it's in their interests to hand it on to the executors. The executors can then take steps to check its validity. Keeping a certified copy would be prudent, no doubt.

G_M

Yup!

1) who owns the house? Will/Codicils etc. Can't do anything till this is determined. Certainly don't spend money on it!

2) occupants status? If property shared with owner/occupier (uncle) then they are lodgers. Unless there is a written agreement saying otherwise they can be evicted instantly.
If the area of property they occupied was self-contained (separate entrance, no access for owner etc) they could claim to be tenants, with rights, and it gets more complicated.

usignuolo

Thanks for all the advice. Sorry about the error which crept in - three floors is wrong. It should be three rooms - the house only has two floors ground and first. But it seems in recent years the family had spread out to occupy the entire top floor (5 rooms) and started making intermittant use of downstairs when the old man become bedridden at ground floor level. They do share facilities.

My friend has been told that she has definitely inherited the house, but probate is still going through. There does not seem to be any money. The "lodger" told her verbally last year he had obtained a codicil to the will giving him the right to live there rent free for life, but this codicil has yet to emerge. It was not drawn up by the solicitor who made the original will, if indeed it exists. Lodger refuses to speak to her apart from email demanding repairs.

Appreciate this is all very complex, just trying to help my friend who is not very good at legal matters, get a grasp of the situation while they sort out probate. I realise a solicitor will be needed but so far the only one she has approached, has advised informally that the lodger, with a young family and having been there now since 1996 or 7, can claim to be a sitting tenant and it will cost "thousands and thousands" to get him out. This rather frightened her.

My friend also puzzled over how she can be expected to do expensive repairs to a house which she has just inherited with no prospect of earning any income from it to pay for them.

rl290

As said, you need a lawyer who has experience in this area. Complicated!