Living with family (sort of?) between houses

Inbetween1234

Hello all. This is my first time posting on MSE, so apologies for any formatting issues etc.

My partner and I are in the middle of a house sale/purchase. Our buyer has been patiently waiting to move in (they have been renting in the meantime), and to avoid the risk of losing the sale, we've agreed to 'break the chain' and complete the sale without a completion date for our new home. We're expecting to complete on our new home in about 8 weeks.

We are fortunate that my partner's grandma has allowed us to stay in her house for the interim - however, she unfortunately passed away a few weeks ago. Her daughter - my mother-in-law - is in charge of her estate, and is more than happy for us to stay at the grandma's home, as it's just sitting empty now. We'll also save a bit on mortgage payments (gran's house is 100% paid off) which is a nice bonus.

So, we're very lucky, and in the thick of packing and moving our things into storage, and we're moving into the grandma's house in two weeks' time.

However.... we have no idea if there are any implications of living at the address of someone who has now passed away, and also, how to tackle our admin when we don't know how long we'll be in-between houses.

We're planning to send all post to my mother-in-laws house, but what do we need to consider about:

• driving licenses - do we need to update these to the grandma's address?
• council tax?
• will we technically be of 'no fixed address' for a while?
• As my mother-in-law is the next of kin for gran, are we her lodgers?

I've seen advice for staying with family - but the fact that my partner's gran has passed away now is the confusing part, and I haven't found any advice for such a situation.

Thanks in advance for any help!!

(Note, grandma's house is in Wales)

Divorcing_Dad

OK, from my limited knowledge, I'd say you are in the same situation as if you were renting, even though you're not paying in terms of....

You're responsible for the bills, council tax and so on.

Absolutely, you need to change your driving licence. This is a legality and you're living at XYZ address. Ensure you change your car V5c too - you can get in all kinds of trouble.

As far as I can see, it's a permanent home, even if only for a few months. You're not of "no fixed address", because this is your home.

Whilst your mother-in-law is the executor, until she gets probate, she can't dispose of anything. In terms of "Can I live there", I don't know. Hopefully someone who has more expertise in estate affairs will be along shortly.

propertyrental

Will you be paying ay rent, or otherwise contributing in such a way as to constitute rent? If yes, you will be tenants and
* gran's Executers should declare the income and pay tax on it from the estate
* gran's executers should comply with all tenancy leglislation. See the stickie.

If there is no rent, you will be licencees (not lodgers since you are ot sharing the property with either gran nor her executers).. As such you will be 'excluded occupiers' ie excluded fromthe Housing Act 1088 ad therefore will not have the protections of the Act, and the Executers willnot have the obligations of the Act. Your 'licence to occupy' can be withdrawn by the executers at any time, and you can be summarily evicted.

Inbetween1234 said:

We're planning to send all post to my mother-in-laws house, but what do we need to consider about:

• driving licenses - do we need to update these to the grandma's address? I guess strictly speaking you should inform DVLA of your new address, but frankly I'd not bother
• council tax? As the occupant you will be liable for CT. Contact the council.
• will we technically be of 'no fixed address' for a while? ?? Of course not. You have an address!
• As my mother-in-law is the next of kin for gran, are we her lodgers? Only if she also lives in the property with you.

The key here is how confidant you are about your purchase completing in 8 weeks. Changing your address for your bank(s), HMRC, employer, pension provider, etc etc for 8 weeks is, in practical terms, probably not worth doing. But if it becomes a longer term arrangement (delay in your purchase or even the purchase falls through) you should do all those things.

The executers should also consider insurance on the property. Having it occupied should e better/easier than if it were unoccupied, but the policy may stipulate who can reside there, or re specific actions, or have certain exclusions. Read the policy carefully.

jonnydeppiwish!

If you’re only there for 2-3 months, don’t bother changing anything. Make sure you have Royal Mail redirection setup. Once you exchange, then change everything over.

FreeBear

propertyrental said: If there is no rent, you will be licencees (not lodgers since you are ot sharing the property with either gran nor her executers).. As such you will be 'excluded occupiers' ie excluded fromthe Housing Act 1088 ad therefore will not have the protections of the Act, and the Executers willnot have the obligations of the Act. Your 'licence to occupy' can be withdrawn by the executers at any time, and you can be summarily evicted.

Under the above circumstances, a Gas Safety Certificate would still be required, and possibly an EICR for the electrics.

Divorcing_Dad

people saying about not bothering about changing your driving licence.....

One of my team lost his licence because of this. Basically it went along the lines of....

He was flashed by a camera doing 40 in a 30. It went to court because he didn't respond to the NIP.

Because of another issue, his insurance was also invalidated because he hadn't responded to them and they couldn't get hold of him (change of address and mobile phone number).

Went to court. 6 points for driving without insurance. Because the speeding fine went to court and he had no defence, he also got 6 points.

12 points. 6 month ban. Boom. Kid is only 20, so he now can't afford insurance so no longer driving.

Clearly, this is the most extreme and he was a bit of a clown, but it can happen.

pinkteapot

Yep, always change your driving licence. Absolutely not worth the risk of not doing so! 

Inbetween1234

Thank you all for the advice so far, much appreciated.

Although I wasn't expecting such conflicting advice RE: updating our address for driving licenses, etc!

Any correspondence relating to driving licenses/fines/insurance would (presumably?) go to my mother-in-laws address, as we will be doing the Royal Mail redirect to there. Same for banks, HMRC, pension, and so on.

I agree there doesn't seem much point updating our licenses while we are in temporary accommodation, and I did find this nugget on the DVLA website:

You must update your driving licence, vehicle log book (V5C), Direct Debit for vehicle tax and other details when you move home. You do not need to tell us if you move temporarily (for example you’re living away at university) if we can still contact you at your permanent address.

...which seems to suggest that being contactable is the most important thing?

CSI_Yorkshire

Inbetween1234 said:

Thank you all for the advice so far, much appreciated.

Although I wasn't expecting such conflicting advice RE: updating our address for driving licenses, etc!

Any correspondence relating to driving licenses/fines/insurance would (presumably?) go to my mother-in-laws address, as we will be doing the Royal Mail redirect to there. Same for banks, HMRC, pension, and so on.

I agree there doesn't seem much point updating our licenses while we are in temporary accommodation, and I did find this nugget on the DVLA website:

You must update your driving licence, vehicle log book (V5C), Direct Debit for vehicle tax and other details when you move home. You do not need to tell us if you move temporarily (for example you’re living away at university) if we can still contact you at your permanent address.

...which seems to suggest that being contactable is the most important thing?

Yes.  The problem in Divorcing_Dad's tale was the person not responding to the penalty notice or to the insurer's queries.  Had they done so, whether by having an updated address or by redirection, it would not have been a problem.

There isn't really such a thing as an 'official' address for an individual in our system.  It might be a little odd to have your 'permanent address' being somewhere that you don't (and never will) live, but there's nothing wrong with it in my knowledge.

theoretica

One challenge which may come up is if you need ID with proof of address between leaving your old house and getting the new one. - eg for house buying, or the mortgage - Might be worth asking the conveyancer, especially as they will presumably know you aren't actually at your old address and would they accept such documents?  A council tax bill with your name on might be enough.

RAS

Get the utility bills changed to your names, at least one each?

And consider getting yourselves on the electoral roll, but take advice from your lawyer and mortgage advisor.