Rent free lodger

zzzLazyDaisy

missile wrote: »

I would suggest it is dangerous to give him a tenancy agreement. This may confer tenants rights and make it even more difficult to evict him.

To be honest, I think it would be better to give him tenant's rights - since that would be an AST and any tenant can be given notice of eviction after 6 months - which is better than giving him some sort of open ended right to stay there, which might be viewed as validating his belief that he has some entitlement.

Having said that - I doubt the his solicitor would advice him to enter into a tenancy agreement for the same reasons.

RabbitMad

he won't get tenancy rights until 2 years after the OPs Aunts death.

I would kick him out immediately, he is a lodger you only have to give him reasonable notice.

He can't challenge the Will until probate has been granted. Has probate been applied for? If it has and he is challenging the Will you need a decent solicitor on the case.

A offer of say £5k to get the old git to settle would be a good idea as it is unlikely that any costs will be awarded out of the estate if he looses, and if he is awarded less than £5k he would have to pick up all costs for not settling. if he wins then its the testators has caused the litigation so the estate would pick up the costs.

Mallotum_X

I thnk you need to be a little more careful than some people are suggesting. If the old guy was your aunts partner for 18 years then he may well have a claim on the house. Is there a reason why he was excluded from her will, was the will reasonably up to date?

It seems dreadful that people on here want to chuck out a 70 odd year old man from what has been his home of nearly 20 years shortly after his partner has died.

What sort of relationship does your sister have with him, are they on freindly terms, his welfare must really come quite high up on any consideration, and im sure the courts would take a similar view. By the sounds of it hes obviously smart enough to contest what is going to happen, so it would be better to find a solution that keeps everyone happy.

zzzLazyDaisy

Mallotum_X wrote: »

If the old guy was your aunts partner for 18 years then he may well have a claim on the house.

The OP has referred to the 'old guy' as a lodger and as a companion, but has not suggested that they were partners (in the sense of living as man and wife) though that may have been the reality -who knows?

But in any case, even if he was her partner, the rights of cohabiting partners are very much weaker than married partners, and the difficulty in acquiring property rights is well documented.

But a partner (or anyone who has been financially supported by the deceased in their life time) may be able to challenge a will that has not made any financial provision for their ongoing support.

imported_jac

Hi Mallotum X

My sister is looking at the situation in the same way as you. She doesn't feel able to kick him out and has resigned herself to the fact that she won't be living in the house any time soon, hence my original question as to what sort of insurance she should take out. They were not living as man and wife, just companions, but he is saying that she was supporting him because of his ill health, and that he was dependant on her. My sister is on good terms with him and is thinking of going up to the house once a week to clean, as she used to for her aunt. That way she can keep an eye on the place. Yes he is very smart and he has numerous law books that he has consulted over this.

Thanks
Jackie

macman

So, he's got rent-free accomodation, no maintenance-and now she's offering free cleaning services!
To say that your sister is being utterly naive over this would be an understatement...

KateLiana27

It does seem that there is more than meets the eye here.

Was your aunt's death entirely unexpected? If not, I'm wondering why she deliberately chose to exclude the companion from her will. And it does seem deliberate - someone as legally savvy as him would surely have raised the issue with her, and she must have decided against it.

Why would he choose to go straight for a lawyer before trying to work it out with your sister (who sounds like a kind-hearted person)? Surely the money would have been better spent on, well, house maintenance.

I may be completely wrong, but I worry that your aunt was being taken advantage of during her life, and her wishes (expressed clearly in her will) are not being carried out now.

C_Mababejive

Google..TOLATA

Yorkie1

There is so much differing advice and opinion on here that the OP / friend, as previously advised, must go and see an independent solicitor who can take a full fact-find on the history of the claimant's position in the house and the specifics of the claim which he is purporting to make.

Just because is he aged 70 does not mean he a) automatically has a claim, or b) cannot be turfed out by those who are named as specific beneficiaries.

Even assuming he has a valid claim under the Inheritance etc Act, it does not mean that he has the right to live there whilst the named beneficiaries have to maintain, insure etc a property that they may not gain access to for 10 / 20 / 30 years.

Once the OP / friend has been fully and properly advised of their rights in the situation, and the pitfalls of adopting one route over another, a proper decision can then be taken about how they wish to proceed in the light of all the circumstances.