Tenancy type?

eightlegsnotfour

To rent out two rooms in my mothers house, (she died in January).

Probate is not applied for yet, so my mothers estate.

My Niece lives there in one room, so is the resident landlord. My brother will stay in another room occasionally.

Kitchen, bathroom, lounge etc are shared.

Would this be an exclusive lodger agreement?

theartfullodger

Sorry for your loss.

Has niece lived then from before any other occupants arrived?  If so yes lodgers (anything in writing?  If not, very unwise...).

If any occupants there before niece then they are (if England or Wales) AST tenants.  No iffs no buts.

Who or what will be declaring rent (all..) income?

propertyrental

eightlegsnotfour said:

To rent out two rooms in my mothers house, (she died in January).

Probate is not applied for yet, so my mothers estate.

My Niece lives there in one room, so is the resident landlord. My brother will stay in another room occasionally.

Kitchen, bathroom, lounge etc are shared.

Would this be an exclusive lodger agreement?

England....?

• When did niece move in? Before or after mother's death?
• Was property otherwise unoccupied when niece moved in?
• Niece is paying rent? To whom?
• Likewise brother - 1st moved in when?
• paying rent to whom?

Annisele

theartfullodger said:

If any occupants there before niece then they are (if England or Wales) AST tenants.  No iffs no buts.

Does it matter whether the other occupants were there before OP's mother's death? I don't know anything about this area of the law, so I'm certainly not arguing with artful, but it seems unfair to me that a landlord's death could turn a lodger into a tenant.

propertyrental

It's not necessarily that clear cut. Why not clarify the circumstances a bit?

macman

Your header is 'tenancy type'. To avoid any confusion, a lodger is not a tenant. You either have a tenancy or you do not. 
You didn't ask 'what is fair', you asked what the two occupants are now classed as, tenants or lodgers. If your mother was the landlady before her death (it's not clear if she was living there, or let the house to her niece, who then sublet two rooms, or if she had already let to the 2 occupants).
If your mother was the LL, then the estate is now the LL, not your niece, and a tenancy has been created.
That is why you need to clarify the background.