Landlord selling my home

marleneb1

macman said:

OP, you said that your LL (or rather their representative on earth) has stated that they want to sell the property. But have they said whether they intend to sell it with vacant possession? If not, then nothing changes, you simply gain a new LL and your tenancy continues. You need to ask this, not assume it.
The real can of worms here is that you, as tenant, are fully responsible for the unpaid income tax on the rental since your LL decamped to Oz.
In practice, she is going to have to regularise the tenancy before she can serve valid notice on you, and given the potential number of statutory breaches that she is unaware of, that could take several years.
It's open to question as to whether you should start deducting the tax at source and paying it over yourself?

I wouldn't even know where to start with this! I feel certain that she will know what her tax obligations are but I have no idea really if she is avoiding them and don't know how I could find out - I'm sure she won't volunteer this information.

AdrianC

marleneb1 said:

AdrianC said:

marleneb1 said:

Does it matter that I haven't had a tenancy agreement for the past 15 years? The landlord told me it was periodic from that point.

One question - since your landlord is/was not UK resident, do you withhold the income tax from the rent and pay it to HMRC on their behalf, or are/were they registered under HMRC's non-resident landlord scheme?
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/paying-tax-on-rent-to-landlords-abroad

No I was not aware this was my responsibility or that landlords had to do this. My original landlord had dual nationality I believe as he was born in the UK and emigrated to Australia a year after I moved into the property. His partner who now owns the property is Australian. She has said from the start that she was concerned about tax implications both in the UK and Australia.

It's not about nationality - it's about country of residence.
They are not UK residents for tax purposes.

Yes, I'm sure they are "concerned about tax implications"... in other words, they might have to actually pay some. Which is precisely what the HMRC non-resident scheme is intended to stop.

lisyloo

marleneb1 said:

macman said:

OP, you said that your LL (or rather their representative on earth) has stated that they want to sell the property. But have they said whether they intend to sell it with vacant possession? If not, then nothing changes, you simply gain a new LL and your tenancy continues. You need to ask this, not assume it.
The real can of worms here is that you, as tenant, are fully responsible for the unpaid income tax on the rental since your LL decamped to Oz.
In practice, she is going to have to regularise the tenancy before she can serve valid notice on you, and given the potential number of statutory breaches that she is unaware of, that could take several years.
It's open to question as to whether you should start deducting the tax at source and paying it over yourself?

I wouldn't even know where to start with this! I feel certain that she will know what her tax obligations are but I have no idea really if she is avoiding them and don't know how I could find out - I'm sure she won't volunteer this information.

Tax avoidance is perfectly legal and the government support it e.g. ISA's, NSI products like premium bonds.

Tax evasion is illegal.

marleneb1

AdrianC said:

It's not about nationality - it's about country of residence.
They are not UK residents for tax purposes.

Yes, I'm sure they are "concerned about tax implications"... in other words, they might have to actually pay some. Which is precisely what the HMRC non-resident scheme is intended to stop.

OK understood, thanks. 
I've looked at the last actual tenancy agreement I received prior to it going periodic. It's dated 2003 for a period of 12 months and the original landlord was still alive, resident in Australia but his address given is the UK home address of his friend who also acted as letting agent for him. The agreement is signed by her as "landlord" and she still has the joint account with him, as far as I'm aware, into which I pay the rent. 
The current landlord has never given a notice of her interest in the property, nor has she given me  a new tenancy agreement. Am I correct to assume therefore that my periodic tenancy is based upon my 2003 agreement with the deceased landlord?
The current landlord told me she was unable to open a UK bank account so I must continue using the bank account for her deceased partner to pay my rent. I have no idea what arrangement she has to transfer funds from this account to Australia.

[Deleted User]

So it sounds like the UK resident letting agent, now retired, is the landlord!

And the deceased was the owner but not the landlord.

AdrianC

marleneb1 said:
've looked at the last actual tenancy agreement I received prior to it going periodic. It's dated 2003 for a period of 12 months and the original landlord was still alive, resident in Australia but his address given is the UK home address of his friend who also acted as letting agent for him.

Is this friend still resident at that address and acting as agent?

Am I correct to assume therefore that my periodic tenancy is based upon my 2003 agreement with the deceased landlord?

Yes.

The tenancy was for a fixed period of 12 months, then went periodic.
It continues as a periodic tenancy until one of...
1. You sign a new tenancy.
2. You move out voluntarily.
3. A court grants the landlord possession.
...happens.

If the landlord chances, then the tenancy continues unchanged, just with a different landlord. BUT that new landlord must correctly inform you within a certain period (30 days, IIRC) of their existence, responsibility, UK address, etc...

marleneb1

Poster_586329 said:

So the UK resident letting agent, now retired, is the landlord!

No - apologies, I realise this is confusing. The UK resident letting agent managed the property for the landlord when he emigrated to Australia in 1990. She was his friend. She continued in this capacity until his death 5 years ago. She signed all of the tenancy agreements as "landlord" and used her UK address as his. No mention has ever been made on any agreement/notice etc. referring to his domicile as Australia.
They had a joint bank account and into which I have always paid the rent. She relinquished management of the property, which had always been at arm's length, when he died and she retired.
His Australian partner inherited the property on his death but I have continued to pay the rent into the original bank account.
I hope this makes more sense.

Apodemus

If the property is in substantial need of upgrading and you are paying over £1k per month in rent, might it be worth doing the sums on buying the property from the owner - at a suitable discount to market value?  They should know that they will face an uphill struggle to get you out and that selling with a sitting tenant is never easy, so the cards are perhaps stacked in your favour. 

[Deleted User]

If her name and her address is on the contract as landlord, that makes her the landlord doesn't it?

The owner and the landlord don't have to be the same person.

If the paperwork shows that she's the landlord then surely she is the landlord.

marleneb1

AdrianC said:

marleneb1 said:
've looked at the last actual tenancy agreement I received prior to it going periodic. It's dated 2003 for a period of 12 months and the original landlord was still alive, resident in Australia but his address given is the UK home address of his friend who also acted as letting agent for him.

Is this friend still resident at that address and acting as agent?

Yes I think she still resides at the same address but she is retired now and no longer acts as agent, although I think it likely the new landlord will try to obtain her help with putting the house on the market etc., given the current pandemic and travel restrictions.
I'd really like some clarity around what are the ramifications of me continuing to pay rent into a deceased person's bank account? I raised my concerns shortly after his death and was informed that the landlord's solicitor advised to carry on.