how do I evict my sister

mummyindistress

Awful situation, in need of good advice.

Mum died leaving no will. According to rules of instestacy myself and my two sisters are entitled to third each of her estate. I am sole estate administrator with the job of sorting everything out.

My sister wanted to buy Mum's house and the three sisters agreed she could move in rent free whilst she applied for a mortgage. This period is well past and she is no longer in a position to buy the house and so it needs to go on the open market.

The issue is that my sister is still living there. I have asked her for her intentions and she has failed to give any indication on her plans regarding living in the house or moving out. She has also begun subtly sabotaging my attempts to put the house on the market and has managed to get my other sister involved in this (they have made pacts before in an attempt to gain excess benefit from the estate, such as selling Mum's property and splitting the profit between just the two of them).

The house needs selling so Mum's estate can be finalised and I can begin to move on.

I suspect I will have no choice but to evict my sister but I am not sure on the process: she is not a tenant, she does not pay rent, and she will be entitled to a third of the property value (but I believe her entitlement to the property is restricted to this rather than affording her any rights of part ownership whilst we are still under Probate).

I would be most grateful for any help and advice, thank you.

19lottie82

im no expert, but i do know you need to be asking a solicitor for advise asap, and i imagine this could get very messy / expensive.

bylromarha

So sorry for your loss.

Re post this on the Deaths board (sub board of Marriages and Families board).

There are lots of people on there who could help, and point you in the direction of the next steps for you to take.

spacey2012

As executor, you tell her to get out, or report her for squatting.
The police will do the evicting bit.

ValHaller

spacey2012 wrote: »

As executor, you tell her to get out, or report her for squatting.
The police will do the evicting bit.

I doubt it. She lived there by agreement, so there is some form of tenancy.

The course of action is to go to a solicitor and get legal advice and then follow the advised legal course of action for eviction. Taking this through the courts, costs will be awarded against the sister, which can be taken from her share of the inheritance.

OP as administrator can take the decision to follow this course of action on her own and need not worry about being outvoted by the tenant sister and the other sister.

Now you can see how it works, OP needs to explain this to her sisters and show how it will pan out if tenant sister digs her heels in. Hopefully that will encourage the tenant sister to get her act together and move out. But if it does not, then the matter needs to go to court.

ihatemyhouse

how long has she not lived there, before she moved back in

all she has to say is my mum said I could live here as long as I wanted,

ACG

How can she be squatting in a property she owns part of?

I would personally speak to an estate agent, find out what the market rental is and then ask her for a third of it. However, i understand you probably want to draw a line under it in which case i think speaking to a solicitor to force a sale is probably the way forward.

BigAunty

Just to check - is this sister that lives in the property rent free as a tenant due to become a joint owner when the estate is settled ?

Joint owners are entitled to take up residency whenever they like.

To sell a property that is jointly owned when one party won't consent usually requires a court order and this can be a long and expensive process AFAIK.

ValHaller

ACG wrote: »

How can she be squatting in a property she owns part of?

I would personally speak to an estate agent, find out what the market rental is and then ask her for a third of it. However, i understand you probably want to draw a line under it in which case i think speaking to a solicitor to force a sale is probably the way forward.

Technically, she does not own any of it - it is still part of the estate.

As for market rent, well she should be paying 2/3 market rent, to be distributed between OP and the other sister - or as she does not own any of it, she should pay market rent to be split 3 ways.

I don't see much point in formalising the arrangement this way, except possibly to get her to sign up to an AST and give her a S21 in due course, which might be a beneficial choice of battleground for legal action for possession.

mummyindistress

ihatemyhouse wrote: »

how long has she not lived there, before she moved back in

all she has to say is my mum said I could live here as long as I wanted,

She moved in after Mum died so that's not an issue, but thank you

mummyindistress

ValHaller wrote: »

Technically, she does not own any of it - it is still part of the estate.

As for market rent, well she should be paying 2/3 market rent, to be distributed between OP and the other sister - or as she does not own any of it, she should pay market rent to be split 3 ways.

I don't see much point in formalising the arrangement this way, except possibly to get her to sign up to an AST and give her a S21 in due course, which might be a beneficial choice of battleground for legal action for possession.

I think you are right - none of us own it until probate is settled. Not really interested in formalising either given her recent behaviour. Think best chance of sale is if she's not living in the property. Thank you for your advice, very helpful.