Co-own house I don’t want. How to get rid?

AliciaProsecco

I was gifted a share, along with 2 others, of jointly owned property years ago. I did not want to sign form as aware of cgt. However, to avoid further quarrels I agreed. Now we are owners of house but other two refuse to sell house, remove furniture and somebody is living there part of the time. I have spent nearly £2,000 in legal fees in 3 months and hundreds in my share of council tax. They have refused all requests made by my solicitor and I just want them out of my life. If house does go up for sale it could be months or even years before it is sold. Maintenance problems could be an issue. I am seriously considering giving it to them as it is just not worth the stress and expense and don’t want court proceedings. I don’t want the extra hassle. I will have a considerable cgt bill as I live elsewhere but better now than in the future when the government could put it up. Has anyone else ever been in this situation and if so, what did you do

_Penny_Dreadful

AliciaProsecco said:

I was gifted a share, along with 2 others, of jointly owned property years ago. I did not want to sign form as aware of cgt. However, to avoid further quarrels I agreed. Now we are owners of house but other two refuse to sell house, remove furniture and somebody is living there part of the time. I have spent nearly £2,000 in legal fees in 3 months and hundreds in my share of council tax. They have refused all requests made by my solicitor and I just want them out of my life. If house does go up for sale it could be months or even years before it is sold. Maintenance problems could be an issue. I am seriously considering giving it to them as it is just not worth the stress and expense and don’t want court proceedings. I don’t want the extra hassle. I will have a considerable cgt bill as I live elsewhere but better now than in the future when the government could put it up. Has anyone else ever been in this situation and if so, what did you do

The simplest way would be for one, or both, of the other joint owners to buy you out but I'm guessing that's a non-starter.

Another option would be to gift your share of the property to the other joint owners since you didn't want to own the property in the first place.  This could still leave you with a CGT liability though.

A third option is to try mediation with the other two parties and even if it doesn't work you'll still need it for the next option.

If/when mediation fails you would need to continue with legal action using the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 (assuming the property is in England or Wales) to force the sale of the property through the courts.  Whilst the legal fees will be high, the court can make the unsuccessful party pay the legal costs of the successful party.  This usually happens in TOLATA cases where the unsuccessful party is dragging their heels about buying out a joint owner or selling the property.

If you aren't occupying the property but someone else is then under the hierarchy of liability for council tax the occupant is liable, not you.

Keep_pedalling

I presume you are closely related to the other owners, if that is the case you will still have a CGT liability if you gift it.

MobileSaver

AliciaProsecco said:

I will have a considerable cgt bill as I live elsewhere

Why is this a problem? You only pay CGT if the property is worth more when sold than when you were gifted it and you still get to keep all of the original value plus 3/4 of the extra it's now worth. In other words you are still quids in.

kazwookie

If someone is living there are you getting 1/3 share of the rent?

Is the property insured?

If some one is living there why are you paying C TAX?

GDB2222

MobileSaver said:

AliciaProsecco said:

I will have a considerable cgt bill as I live elsewhere

Why is this a problem? You only pay CGT if the property is worth more when sold than when you were gifted it and you still get to keep all of the original value plus 3/4 of the extra it's now worth. In other words you are still quids in.

That’s only if the property is sold. The OPis thinking of giving it away.

If the op gives her share of the property to charity, then there is no CGT to pay. 

SDLT_Geek

GDB2222 said:

MobileSaver said:

AliciaProsecco said:

I will have a considerable cgt bill as I live elsewhere

Why is this a problem? You only pay CGT if the property is worth more when sold than when you were gifted it and you still get to keep all of the original value plus 3/4 of the extra it's now worth. In other words you are still quids in.

That’s only if the property is sold. The OPis thinking of giving it away.

If the op gives her share of the property to charity, then there is no CGT to pay. 

If there is no mortgage on the property, then giving the beneficial share to a charity is an interesting idea.  It is possible for a person gifted a property to "disclaim" the gift if they do so promptly. 

A charity might not want to accept such a gift, or might disclaim it if it is foisted on them.

It now seems too late for OP to disclaim the gift to OP.

Silvertabby

GDB2222 said:

MobileSaver said:

AliciaProsecco said:

I will have a considerable cgt bill as I live elsewhere

Why is this a problem? You only pay CGT if the property is worth more when sold than when you were gifted it and you still get to keep all of the original value plus 3/4 of the extra it's now worth. In other words you are still quids in.

That’s only if the property is sold. The OPis thinking of giving it away.

If the op gives her share of the property to charity, then there is no CGT to pay. 

That would certainly be the nuclear option!  Or it may be that just the threat of donating OPs share to charity (a large charity, with a strong legal team) will give them the shake they need to sell the house or buy OP out.

user1977

Why would a charity accept such a peculiar donation? Could be more hassle (and/or liability) than it’s worth.

SDLT_Geek

user1977 said:

Why would a charity accept such a peculiar donation? Could be more hassle (and/or liability) than it’s worth.

Good point.  I do though hear of charities chasing legacies aggressively or even taking court action to fight their corner on the interpretation of a Will.  If there is plenty of value there, some charities might be up for it.

AliciaProsecco

Thanks to all who answered me. I have considered all the options and that is why I am thinking gifting it to them will be the least stressful. They cannot afford to buy me out and it is a very acrimonious situation. We only communicate through my solicitor. They don’t have one. Court action could take a long time, by which time would have spent large portion of gain in house to solicitors, barristers etc. If I was awarded costs, again they wouldn’t have cash to pay them.  I already pay £500 per month in legal fees, apart from CT. The occupant of a property is only liable if it is their sole property and they don’t pay CT anywhere else. This is not the case. Charity donation is interesting but I am sure no charity will want the hassle and will not accept this. I know my cgt cost will be tens of thousands. Just wondered if anybody else has been in the same situation.