Solicitor asks for a permission to sell from a person who is not a owner

6am

So we finally got papers from solicitor to sign the sale of house. They say that because our daughter is over the age of 17 and lives in the house they need a signature from her that she agrees to a sale.

The reason does not make sence. The house does not belong to her and therefore her opinion (good or bad) is irrelevant. Is there a workaround that will allow a sale without a signature from my daughter?

I find it very strange that the person who does not own a house needs to agree to a sale.

Lokolo

Are you sure it is not to say that she won't be occupying the house on the day of completion? Or to say that she has no right to the sale proceeds?

They are pretty standard. The mortgage will require to make sure the proceeds are all for you, and that the house is unoccupied on completion. Your daughter could stage a sit-in.

AdrianC

Why are you so reluctant to just ask your daughter to sign? She's an adult.

The reason makes perfect sense. It is, as Lokolo says, just a question always asked of any non-owning adult resident to confirm that vacant possession will be given to the buyer. It prevents any awkwardness over somebody later claiming tenancy rights of any kind.

alex_163163

Yes agreed with lokolo. At 17, is your daughter now not legally a 'dependent' on you? so it is likely they need her to sign that she has no intention to stay in the house after completion, i.e. A tenant etc.
My boyfriend had to sign the same thing as he lives with me but I am selling the flat which I solely own. It was t confirm the property is being sold with vacant possession.

ThePants999

As Lokolo says, what they're really asking is that she agrees to vacate. The owners of the house clearly consent to vacate it when they sign the contract saying they'll do exactly that, but the solicitors also want to make sure that nobody else who lives there is going to kick up a fuss. Some people will have acquired a right to stay even if they're not named at the Land Registry, and even those who have no legal basis for staying might do so anyway and throw a spanner in the works, even if it's one that could be removed via the courts. Obviously this declaration isn't a cast iron guarantee either, but it just makes things safer.

Why do you need a workaround? Can't you just get the daughter to sign? If she won't sign for some reason, the workaround would be to kick her out now, then the solicitor won't need her to sign

eddddy

She is being asked to sign the contract to show that she agrees to vacate the property when it is sold (just in case she has any rights of occupation).

It's a standard procedure. She may not have any rights of occupation anyway, but it's easier to just get it signed, than to make an issue of it.

davidmcn

6am wrote: »

I find it very strange that the person who does not own a house needs to agree to a sale.

If you find this, or anything else about the transaction, to be "very strange", then you ask your solicitor to explain it to you. That's what you're paying them for.

Or you can ask a bunch of weirdos on the internet instead, up to you.

Does your daughter have a difficulty with consenting to the sale? Or are you going to have to get the removal guys to carry her out?

6am

That was a misunderstanding on my part. They only ask her to agree to vacate the property. They do not ask her to agree to a sale. I guess if she does not agree to vacate we have to kick her out All good.

G_M

If asking her to sign is a problem, that suggests either your relationship is broken, or she does not want to move out, or something similar.

And any of those reasons would ring alarm bells in the minds of the buyer and/or their mortgage lender, who most definately don't want to find your daughter still in her bedroom, tweeting her mates, when they move in.

Hence the requirement for her to sign!