Ex died and has apparently had a lodger in our jointly owned house

J20BABY

My ex and I have owned a house for 16 years, he has been living there and I have not, he was violent and I didn't have much choice.

He has now died and so the mortgage has fallen to me to pay. He had been paying the interest off only so the full capital is yet to be paid for. He cashed his endowment in years ago and no insurance policy is on the property or his life.

I now find out that his (druggy) mate has been living there and according to ex's mother (who is reluctant to tell me anything) he has a Tenancy Agreement and Housing Benefit pay his rent.

I am a single mum of 4 with my eldest grieving for her dad, on a very limited income myself and really don't know where to start. He died less than a 2 weeks ago and my mortgage company are chasing me already as he was in arrears.

The other thing is that no death certificate or interim death certificate will be issued for a minimum of 8 weeks as it was suspicious circumstances so no accounts can be closed down as yet.

Can anyone shed any light on if I have to honour any kind of tenancy? I was not aware and would never have agreed to it. Also, I am unable to get hold of a copy and reluctant to go round as I believe he is not exactly a reasonable person.

marliepanda

I think you would get better advice in this forum: On the face of it if he has a tenancy agreement you have to stick ot it, and start eviction proceedings, and start getting the rent paid to you now.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=16

Browntoa

Most lodger agreements have a 28 day notice period , if you give him written notice of 28 days it will cost you nothing and will flush out any paperwork he has stating otherwise

Money_maker

If he was living in the same building as the 'landlord' then he was just a lodger. See Browntoa's post above.

getmore4less

Tough one.

Start with how much is the house worth
how much is owed.
was this tenants in common or joint.
were/are you married.
Is there a will

Were you still on utilities

Do you live close
Would you be interested in getting the house back to live in

Do you have any mates that can support a visit.

I think I would contact the local police, probably already involved, they may be able to shed some light on the situation if the ex/lodger are known to them.

The housing benefit people might be able to help and depending on the way the benefit is paid may need to be informed anyway so might be worth talking to them.

On the house and potential tenant situation shelter may be able to help or the people here on the renting board.

That's off the top of my head
It will take time to get to the bottom of this and formulate a plan and determine what needs doing.

pmlindyloo

For mortgage purposes etc you can get an interim death certificate.

Telephone these people on Monday.

http://www.bereavementadvice.org/medical-certificates-the-coroner-and-post-mortem-examinations/the-coroner-and-inquests/inquests.php

Since the house is jointly owned then you can deal with the lodger. If you are fearful of this then ask the police to escort you to the premises because you are fear of a breach of the peace. The lodger should be given notice - in the circumstances 4 weeks should be OK. If he refuses to move out then you can again enlist the help of the police.

Don't forget to keep a copy of the letter giving the lodger notice as the police may want to see it.

If the police won't help then call Shelter about how to get rid of the lodger.

The mortgage company should be OK if you get the interim death certificate and tell them that you are going to put the house up for sale.

getmore4less

Second thoughts,
if this was a fabricated AST for the "friend" to claim benefits without them knowing that one owner was living there the benefits/rent could get stopped.

J20BABY

getmore4less wrote: »

Tough one.

Start with how much is the house worth
how much is owed.
was this tenants in common or joint.
were/are you married.
Is there a will

Were you still on utilities

Do you live close
Would you be interested in getting the house back to live in

Do you have any mates that can support a visit.

I think I would contact the local police, probably already involved, they may be able to shed some light on the situation if the ex/lodger are known to them.

The housing benefit people might be able to help and depending on the way the benefit is paid may need to be informed anyway so might be worth talking to them.

On the house and potential tenant situation shelter may be able to help or the people here on the renting board.

That's off the top of my head
It will take time to get to the bottom of this and formulate a plan and determine what needs doing.

Start with how much is the house worth. Probably slightly more than is owed on it.
how much is owed. The full amount as it is an interest only and he has only been covering this, sometimes letting it go into arrears, like now.
was this tenants in common or joint. It was joint so it should be sole mine.
were/are you married. No
Is there a will No

Were you still on utilities. No

Do you live close. About an hour away
Would you be interested in getting the house back to live in. No

Do you have any mates that can support a visit. Yes, my dad has said he will come if need be..to change the locks.

J20BABY

pmlindyloo wrote: »

For mortgage purposes etc you can get an interim death certificate.

Telephone these people on Monday.

http://www.bereavementadvice.org/medical-certificates-the-coroner-and-post-mortem-examinations/the-coroner-and-inquests/inquests.php

Since the house is jointly owned then you can deal with the lodger. If you are fearful of this then ask the police to escort you to the premises because you are fear of a breach of the peace. The lodger should be given notice - in the circumstances 4 weeks should be OK. If he refuses to move out then you can again enlist the help of the police.

Don't forget to keep a copy of the letter giving the lodger notice as the police may want to see it.

If the police won't help then call Shelter about how to get rid of the lodger.

The mortgage company should be OK if you get the interim death certificate and tell them that you are going to put the house up for sale.

I've spoken to the Cornoners office and they are unable to even provide an interim certificate they said, although have written a letter to the mortgage company to confirm they're dealing with the death.

J20BABY

I really need to take out some buildings insurance but not sure if to get landlords, vacant property or private, I just don't know.

Thank you for all the help so far, I shall have a proper look through once the kids are in bed.

jackyann

I would try to get some free legal advice, and probably the best place to start is your local Women's Aid. This situation arose because of domestic abuse, so they may be willing to help, or at least point you in the right direction.
You could also try CAB and a local Law Centre / Welfare Rights - depends on what is available locally.
I do hope that you can sort this out quickly & reasonably.