Advice on separation and housing please

Mickey472 · 27 April 2019 at 2:00PM

Hi all

Im looking for any advice please???

My dad, age 65 has been in a long term relationship for 30 years, but never married. Has lived at the probably about 27 years.
She was already buying the house when my dad moved in. Im not too sure how long she had been buying it for but once he moved in they split all the bills in half, once the mortgage was paid off, she ended up remortgaging 5-6 years later for £50k as an ex came out of the woodwork that was on the mortgage previously and wanted money, she took it out over 15 years. Now she remortgaged in her own name again, wouldn't have my dad on the mortgage. Said she would never make the mistake twice of putting a partner on the mortgage and having to remortgage again if they split after being mortgage free!
She says its her house, not his!
There is about one year left on this mortgage. Finishes march 2020. She is now 70.
Now they have had a huge argument, and she has ended the relationship and told my dad to find somewhere else to live.
He is retired, 65, and is not entitled to his state pension for another 7 months, he gets a little over £100 a week from his private pension.
He has nowhere to go and hasn't the money to go and buy anything.
As i said they split all the bills in half as they always have, he transfers at the end of every month About £300 into her account which he believes is when the rent and c tax comes out of HER account. They do not have joint accounts.
She says this is is rent as its her house.
When the gas and electric and water comes in quarterly by paper billing, he will transfer 1/2 the amount into her account and then she will pay the bill.
He solely pays by himself all of the phone,tv and broadband package, as he wanted it not her, the house insurance, and the weekly food shop.
He filled in a form on our council website saying he has been threatened with homelessness and they have called yesterday and basically said they wont help him because he has been paying half the bills and means he has a ”beneficial interest”. And to go to CAB and basically take her to court.
Now my dad is 65, hes not that kind of person to go down the court root, he doesnt have much savings and is scared that solicitors fees will eat it all and there is no guarantee of him even winning.
I am at my wits end in what to do to help him.
Surely the council have a duty to help him.
The house is all in her name, she has made it clear the house is hers and not letting him go on the mortgage when she remortgaged 15 years ago and classes his payments as his rent and housekeep.
And that when she died she would put in her will he could stay in the house and then when he dies it would all go to her daughter (her only child who is now in her 40s), he has since found out she still doesn't even have a will.
So its been clear from the off that its her house and his contributions are towards his rent/housekeep.

From what ive been reading online you have to prove beneficial interest to the courts, i don't see how he even could.
Why are the council not helping him?
Should he actually go to the council face to face rather than by telephone and ask to be seen, as this was all done over the telephone yesterday, they said to come in Monday , with all the info they asked for, gave him an appointment time then they called him back literally 2 minutes later and said she spoke with her manager and they wont help because of beneficial interest

If anyone can offer any advice i would be so grateful as Im at my wits end on how to help x

Savvy_Sue · 27 April 2019 at 10:56PM

Mickey472 wrote: »

Why are the council not helping him?
Should he actually go to the council face to face rather than by telephone and ask to be seen, as this was all done over the telephone yesterday, they said to come in Monday , with all the info they asked for, gave him an appointment time then they called him back literally 2 minutes later and said she spoke with her manager and they wont help because of beneficial interest

Local authorities have a chronic shortage of housing, and strict criteria to follow in terms of who they HAVE to help. I've just checked my own council's website, and one of the messages is:

You probably won’t be offered a council property, even if you’re homeless.

There are approximately 11,000 households in X who are currently on the waiting list for council housing, and there are very few available council properties.

However, there are a number of information packs which can be downloaded which might help him with finding privately rented accommodation.

I know in this area, unless you are deemed 'vulnerable', there's very little the council can do. And nothing you've said indicates that your father would be classed as 'vulnerable'.

Shelter might be more helpful, and if in fact the council is wrong about the 'beneficial interest' thing, then they will know.

I can't see that going into the council offices will do much good. If they offer appointments, and he hasn't got one, all he's likely to get is a face to face explanation of why they can't help.

Having said that, it would be worth finding out what 50+ accommodation is available locally, and who manages it. There is higher turnover from these properties, and they're often run by housing associations, who may run their application process separately to the council's housing register.

Ms_Chocaholic · 27 April 2019 at 11:01PM

Sorry to hear the situation your dad is in and sorry I can't offer any advice regarding that.

In our area there is a surplus of over 50s accommodation, mainly flats, modern and in a nice area but often many are empty. Do you know what the over 50 accommodation availability is in your area.

What area are you in?

elsien · 27 April 2019 at 11:16PM

Unless he's vulnerable the council have no obligation to house him but they can help with information about his options such as private rental. He needs to make an appointment with a housing officer to discuss other options.
He may need to looking at somewhere to lodge in the short term while he looks to see what's out there, and he may need to claim benefits to cover his housing costs.
I'm a bit confused as to how he's been paying £300 rent plus half the bills plus broadband plus insurance plus food if he's only getting £400 a month?

Mickey472 · 28 April 2019 at 12:14PM

He drew a lump sum off his private pension so is using that each month as your right his weekly pension doesnt cover it all, his ex only gets about £100 a week also so he actually pays more than her right now. No idea how she expects to live as her money doesnt even cover her mortgage and c tax let alone all the other bills and living costs

tacpot12 · 28 April 2019 at 4:51PM

Proving beneficial interest would involve supplying the court with any evidence that your father has that his partner intended him to have an interest in her house, e.g. anything in writing saying that she intended to make a will that would allow him to remain in the house, and evidence that your father has indirectly allowed her to purchase the house by paying for items such as buildings insurance in his name only. (This is actually a very strong indicator that he effectively owned the property jointly with his partner, as only the owner of a property can insure it. If she was happy to have him represent himself as the owner to an insurance company, she should also do the same to a court!)

The court should be trying to establish whether your father and his partner were living as couple sharing all their costs of living, or whether he was a lodger. Clearly, if you owned a property, and had a long-term lodger, you would not want a court to decide that the lodger now owned 50% of your house, just because they paid the rent that allowed you make all your mortgage payments.

I think your father will struggle to prove that he has a beneficial interest in her property, although I think he does have such an interest, if only based on having lived with this partner for 27 years. That is a very long time.

If he can get a legal opinion that there is only a very small chance of success in claiming a beneficial interest, I would get this in writing and take it back to the council. They may back down if a solicitor confirms there is little chance of making a successful claim. Many solicitors offer a free 30 minutes consultation; investigating the chance of success and how much it might cost to go to court would be a good use of this free time.

Mickey472 · 29 April 2019 at 12:12PM

My father has nothing in writing with regards to her saying that she would put him in her will if she dies before him and that he could live there until his death and then all the house would go to her daughter. It was all just verbal and apparently still hasnt even made a will.

With regards to the house insurance i will have to ask if its in his name or not, or whether he just pays it because she cant afford to.

Yes i think going for a free consultation with a solicitor may be a good idea as like ive said hes always been aware that its “her” house and he would see no profit from it even though they have been living as a couple for 30 years!

This is what i cant understand from thw council, they didnt want to know. Told him to call the police is she throws his stuff on the street and changes the locks.

Shelter have advised the council have a duty to make a case so we will definitely be going to make a face to face approach to them this time rather than over the phone.

Advice on separation and housing please

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