Preventing my tenant selling my house

RabbitMad

I'm probably just parnoid but my tenant* has access to my ID documents and is acting very funny. Is there anything I can do to prevent them selling the property?






*I say tenant, my id and my property to simplyfy things. They are actually the lodger of an elderly deceased relative.

Seanymph

who is the property registered to at the land registry?

RabbitMad

the dead relatives name still, the lodger has had access to all the relatives ID and now lives in the property on their own. I'm the executor and live miles away

sequence

Remove access to ID ? Kick him/her out, you don't have to give lodgers hardly any notice.

DVardysShadow

Contact the Land Registry and take advice. I believe that similar thefts have occurred in recent times and the Land Registry have had to pay compensation, so they have put measures in place to prevent this sort of thing.

DVardysShadow

sequence wrote: »

Remove access to ID ? Kick him/her out, you don't have to give lodgers hardly any notice.

Tempting. But keep your friends close and your enemies closer. It might be a better idea to know where this one is for the tiem being? But take advice on whether this lodger could acquire tenancy rights.

RabbitMad

sequence wrote: »

Remove access to ID ? Kick him/her out, you don't have to give lodgers hardly any notice.

not quite so simple - see agricultural occupancy condition thread for more details and also fact that the Will possibly leaves everything to surviving pets who lodger is caring for

RabbitMad

DVardysShadow wrote: »

Tempting. But keep your friends close and your enemies closer. It might be a better idea to know where this one is for the tiem being? But take advice on whether this lodger could acquire tenancy rights.

From a thread on landlordzone where landlord moved abroad one of the regulars posted the wording of the relevant housing act - it appears 2 years from date of death

theartfullodger

Given the risks (loss of valuable property..) in your shoes I'd try bribing lodger/tenant to go: I'd be prepared to pay a lot.

Agree about contacting Land reg & explaining: It will at least put them on the alert for changes to the deeds.

IMHO as lodger now has exclusive possesion to the property they have become a tenant rather than a lodger.(See Street v Mountford 1985..)
http://www.letlink.co.uk/case-law/licences/street-v-mountford-1985.html

As Lord Templeman said, “The manufacture of a five pronged implement for manual digging results in a fork even if the manufacturer, unfamiliar with the English language, insists that he intended to make and has made a spade.”

I fear you need serious, heavyweight, professional (solicitor) advice. (Nope, I'm not a solicitor..)

Most high street solicitors, while excellent chaps/chappesses are not specialised in LL/Tenant law.. find one who really is..

G_M

1) the lodger would need to convince a solicitor and/or Land Registry that he /she was th owner. If the ID is sufficient for this, it is possible (though see notes/advice above)
2) what else does the lodger have access to? Bank account details? Bank cards? Pension books? ...... Valuables items like pictures? Or even marginally valuable items.... easy to sell via ebay whatever.
3) Now that the 'lodger' has unrestricted access, he/she can do anything in the property, including running up bills. Who is paying the gas? electricity?
4) More importantly, now that he/she has "exclusive occupation" (no longer sharing with landlord) (s)he'll become a tenant, not a lodger. This gives him far stronger rights, and you far heavier responsibilities.

For all the above reasons, and since in any case you don't seem to trust him, get him out. Now.

As a lodger he can be evicted without a court order. Personally, I would temporarily move in myself
a) to ensure his status remains lodger, not tenant and
b) to keep an eye on him until he's gone.

Give the minimum notice you can (there is no law giving lodgers a notice period), balancing fairness (has he otherwise been a good tenant? will he be homeless?) with your need to secure the property.

As soon as he's gone, change the locks. It is not enough to get the key back - he may have a copy.

edit: I imagine the above, as well as being common sense, is also your duty. As Executer you have a legal responsibility to protect and manage the assets of the estate.

m_13

The Land Registry are piloting a new form called "Updating Registered Owners' Contact Address' to combat fraud. You have to provide a passport size photograph and one document from List A or copies of two documents from list B.

List A is:
Passport biodata page (the page with your photo on)
Photocard driving licence (not a provisional licence)

List B:
Utility bill less than three months old
Council tax bill for current year
Mortgage statement for last completed year

It's not possible to gain ownership through this form but it is possible to use a power of attorney to update the contact details to your own whilst the execution of the will completes. There's no charge to process the form.

I think you need to ensure that the property is correctly registered and that the Land Registry hold the correct details.