Dad living in my house - is he a tenant?

cuffey

I could do with some advice please!

I own a flat, and lived there initially with my dad. Work and a new relationship meant that I moved a while ago, but my dad remains in the flat paying me a nominal amount towards the mortgage (£100). He pays the utilities etc himself. He doesn't pay me rent or have a proper tenancy agreement.

I'm quite naive when it comes to finance, so this seemed OK to me. However, I am trying to get on top of my finances properly, and rang my mortgage company to ask them to send me a statement. They refused to send it to my current address and said I had not got permission to have a tenant. I shut up at that point, not sure that I had dropped myself in it!!

Is he really a tenant? My gut reaction is to come clean and explain my circumstances - but I also don't want to end up paying more or losing out because my dad's an awkward character who is unlikely to want to stump up any more cash.

Secondly - how easy would it be to sell my flat if I wanted to? Presumably I can't evict him easily . . . . .

Thanks for any advice you can offer. This goes round and round in my head, and I can't decide what to do.

sleepless_saver

cuffey wrote: »

my dad remains in the flat paying me a nominal amount towards the mortgage (£100). He pays the utilities etc himself. He doesn't pay me rent or have a proper tenancy agreement.

It could be considered that the £100 is rent, which would put him in a different category of tenant than if he was rent free (and yes, he is a tenant). Have you contacted Shelter for advice on your position?

Other things to think about - did you need to tell your insurance company that you're not living there but you have a tenant, do you need a gas safety certificate etc.

cuffey

No I hadn't considered Shelter, but that's a good idea.

Thanks for the advice that he is a tenant - I thought he was just my dad living in my flat! Prime example of being utterly naive about these things.

In honesty I'd like to sell it, but that seems horribly complicated and mean too.

He will say he can't afford to live elsewhere, whilst at the same time wrecking my flat from the inside, and opening my post!!

He and my mother got me to sign up for a mortgage on this place when they divorced and originally I lived there. I just kept paying the mortgage, he helps cover it a bit. My new partner is a bit more savvy than me and wondered if I had the right type of mortgage. Now I feel as if it's opened up a whole can of worms I don't understand.

propertyman

As far as the lender, should they ask, is concerned your dad lives with you at the flat 1.

He is family member neither a tenant nor lodger IF you live at the other flat for work purposes in the week ( assuming that your residency or ownership of flat 2 is not easily proven).

Supply Dad with a batch of envelopes and stamps to forward mail as it arrives and leave personal items at the flat in Your room...

For the longer term if Dad looks to remain there it is worth considering a formal tenancy of the whole or part eg the room and use of other areas, and the rights and responsibilities you have.

Take into consideration the effect on insurance and the mortgage and more importantly the future changes

What happens if Dad meets someone or loses capability?

What if your circumstances change for the worse or better- a family is better but more expense.

Dad might object to a tenancy and rent, but it offers him security too.

As to rent there is no reason it not be a market rent, but if Dad might be entitled to assistance claiming it might be in your mutual interest.

It worth spending a few hundred on specific advice once you have all the facts to hand.

sleepless_saver

[QUOTE=cuffey;50607083

He will say he can't afford to live elsewhere, whilst at the same time wrecking my flat from the inside, and opening my post!!

.[/QUOTE]

Make sure you ask Shelter about how to evict him....

Good luck, and don't let him push you around! If his income is low enough he will get housing benefit for another rental.

cuffey

I am not named on the tenancy where I live 'during the week' but of course it's my girlfriend's tenancy and I don't really go home at weekends either!!

Thank you for your help on this. I have tried giving him envelopes and stamps actually, but it made no difference. He does it for a while, but then ignores me. Currently he's taken up the kitchen floor and now says he needs a new kitchen on the insurance. . . . but I think he said this was on the freehold insurance or something, not for the leaseholder's.

I own a share of the freehold of the block too, but I didn't understand what that meant when I signed up to it.

Hypothetically - what would happen if my GF said she could buy the flat (or a share of it) off me at a much reduced sum so that the mortgage could be paid off? It's not a huge mortgage, and she has a lot of cash in the bank. Then we would own it jointly with no mortgage? Does that sound crazy?

cuffey

Whether his income is low enough for housing benefit is debatable - it's not necessarily true that he can't pay market rent, just that he won't!!

I wish I could sell it with him in it, and just let someone else deal with him!

BigAunty

If you are accepting payment from him and it it is not your primary residence, then he is a tenant with all the rights and responsibilities it entails.

As you father is selfish, damaging your property and prying into your private affairs, you should find out how to serve notice on him to get him to leave, if he won't leave if you ask him informally. Only you can allow yourself to be exploited...

You could move back in for a period and see if you can shift him out on an informal basis, serving him notice and changing the locks if he doesn't go, but if he understands or finds out about his rights, then I guess he'll just get the police or local council involved who will let him back in, and then stay put until you get a court order for possession, since he clearly has a sense of entitlement. Harassment of tenants (which is what he is) is considered a serious criminal offence.

Perhaps you could just cut your losses on subsidising his lifestyle indefinately by offering him a lump sum towards a deposit and first month's rent elsewhere? If he's that greedy, it may be easier to bribe him out.

You may expect problems if you want housing benefit to pay for full rent now. A landlord who does not live in the property (which is what you are) can let their property to a close relative so long as it's not considered a contrived tenancy, one that takes advantage of the housing benefit system. So it is expected to be done on a formal and commercial basis, not charging low rent when in employment and full rent if paid through housing benefit. You may encounter problems with housing benefit if you try to formalise it now.

By the way, have you checked your credit records recently? Could he be ordering goods and services in your name. Not terribly unknown for criminally minded tenants to impersonate their landlord and order credit cards and consumer goods on the sly.

You should get your mail redirected by the Royal Mail to prevent it getting tampered with - why haven't you changed over all your addresses with suppliers?

The Landlordzone website will have information on the type of notice that you should serve and the eviction process (Shelter is really advice for tenants though it does give an overview of the process). If you don't fancy doing it yourself, there are companies like Landlord Action which can do all the paperwork for you.

Many posters ask about letting their property to friends and relatives and the members here always say that tenancy issues can cause relationship breakdowns, they have to think seriously if they want to evict them. This is a prime example.

By the way, it's a criminal offence to be a landlord of a property with gas appliances/boiler without a gas safety certificate - if there's gas in the property, look into this pronto (see Landlordzone).

Annisele

OP, if you can, I think you should leave Shelter out of this. As a charity they're horribly overstretched, and they exist to help people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness - i.e. your Dad, not you!

I'm not unsympathetic, I just think that Shelter's limited resources are probably best used by other people. And, from Shelter's perspective, helping you evict your Dad would cause a conflict of interest.

You'd probably be better off joining one of the landlord's associations and asking for advice that way. Or, getting advice from a solicitor.

Ultimately, I think that if you do want to sell your flat for anything like it's true value you're going to have to evict your Dad - and you're going to need paid for legal advice for that.

cuffey

Moving back in is not an option as it's too far away to commute to my job.

Strapped

I would definitely move back in - properly - for a while, stop taking any money from him (to allow him to get a deposit for somewhere else) and evict immediately. As a lodger he has NO security and you can put him out as you like. Be hard hearted and don't let the fact he is your dad put you off. You will not do him or yourself and your relationship in the longer term any favours by letting this situation continue. Does he have any / need any support from other agencies, eg mental health?