Is it possible to let half of home to ex husband after divorce

foxyruby

Hi everyone
My friend has just gone through a divorce. The decree absolute was several months ago, and a Court consent order came into effect which ordered how their finances were to be split. My question relates to their flat, which they own outright. The husband has been living in their flat rent free for several years while the wife has had to pay rent elsewhere. There are no children. The consent order has awarded her a slightly higher percentage of the flat and all parties have agreed that the flat is to be sold and the monies divided according to the consent order.

However, the flat is taking longer to sell over the winter months, but the market is expected to pick up again in the spring. The consent order said that if the flat isn't sold within four months, ex husband must vacate the flat so that it can be let out and the rental income divided between them. Both parties would rather not let the flat yet until the spring comes. Ex wife has said she would be willing to let the ex husband continue to live in the property for a few months longer as long as he pays rent to her for her half to help her towards her own housing costs. She has suggested a discounted rent compared to the true market value and he has agreed.

My question is: presumably they will need some kind of written agreement for this. What form should the agreement take? A carefully worded letter that they both sign, perhaps? The worry is that, if she gives him a tenancy agreement, she might inadvertently give him rights of occupation that she doesn't want him to have.

The reason for asking on this forum is that the legal wrangle has drained what small funds she had, and she is very keen to avoid having to get expensive lawyers in again. Has anyone experienced this on the forum? If anyone can suggest the name of an agreement that she could look up, it would be much appreciated!

Gigervamp

This question would be better asked over on the Housebuying, Renting and Selling forum.

pigpen

somewhere like an independent housing advice service should be able to help, maybe shelter.. or run up a tenancy agreement using the wifes agreement as a template and change the relevant details.. or let it through an agency and let them deal with it.. adding their fee to the rent.

Gigervamp

But if the husband has a tenancy agreement, the wife will have to do all the things a landlord has to, such as getting gas safety certificate, declaring income to HMRC, etc.

It could also cause problems with getting the husband to leave if someone wants to buy the place.

Hence my suggestion that the people on the housing section of the forum would be able to point out the best way of doing things.

pigpen

depends what is in the tenancy agreement.. and surely everyone with any sense has gas safety checks done anyway? And the income should be declared otherwise it is fraud.

getmore4less

Can you be a tenant in a place you own?

Gigervamp

getmore4less wrote: »

Can you be a tenant in a place you own?

Don't know, which is why I suggested the housing forum.

HappyMJ

foxyruby wrote: »

Hi everyone
My friend has just gone through a divorce. The decree absolute was several months ago, and a Court consent order came into effect which ordered how their finances were to be split. My question relates to their flat, which they own outright. The husband has been living in their flat rent free for several years while the wife has had to pay rent elsewhere. There are no children. The consent order has awarded her a slightly higher percentage of the flat and all parties have agreed that the flat is to be sold and the monies divided according to the consent order.

However, the flat is taking longer to sell over the winter months, but the market is expected to pick up again in the spring. The consent order said that if the flat isn't sold within four months, ex husband must vacate the flat so that it can be let out and the rental income divided between them. Both parties would rather not let the flat yet until the spring comes. Ex wife has said she would be willing to let the ex husband continue to live in the property for a few months longer as long as he pays rent to her for her half to help her towards her own housing costs. She has suggested a discounted rent compared to the true market value and he has agreed.

My question is: presumably they will need some kind of written agreement for this. What form should the agreement take? A carefully worded letter that they both sign, perhaps? The worry is that, if she gives him a tenancy agreement, she might inadvertently give him rights of occupation that she doesn't want him to have.

The reason for asking on this forum is that the legal wrangle has drained what small funds she had, and she is very keen to avoid having to get expensive lawyers in again. Has anyone experienced this on the forum? If anyone can suggest the name of an agreement that she could look up, it would be much appreciated!

Can't give him a tenancy agreement for many reasons.

It'll just be an informal agreement to pay some money over whilst awaiting the sale of the house.

If it's all amicable just leave it as an informal agreement.

NewShadow

Wondering if it would be more sensible to write up an agreement that the ex is liable for half the rent on the OP's friends tenancy until the house is sold?

Same end result.

foxyruby

Hi Moneysavers

Thank you for your replies so far.

I wasn't sure which forum to use since it's a divorce so not a straightforward housing subject. I imagined going to the housing forum and being told to head for the divorce forum!

There's no question of any fraud, all income will be declared and everything done properly. We've looked at Mesher agreements and Martin agreements, which don't fit this situation. Maybe there isn't a template agreement for this. Personally I'm thinking that a carefully worded letter of agreement that they both sign, giving the date, parties, brief reason for the temporary arrangement, the discounted rent, and the term (possibly three months, to be reviewed at the end of) might be the best way forward. As some of you have rightly mentioned, creating a tenancy agreement could create unnecessary extra landlord's responsibilities, and is it even possible to give a tenancy agreement to someone who already owns a share of the property? They don't hold the property as tenants in common by the way, they hold it as joint tenants. If necessary my friend might have to get a solicitor involved, but the whole process has already drained her of everything.

foxyruby

NewShadow wrote: »

Wondering if it would be more sensible to write up an agreement that the ex is liable for half the rent on the OP's friends tenancy until the house is sold?

Same end result.

Ingenious suggestion but the other tenancy is a different amount and there are other factors that would complicate it too much. But thanks for the idea!