AIBU to want to leave our unlicensed rental before tensions worsen?

Your dh is a dick isn’t he? I’m not surprised he’s fallen out with his dad, I expect he’s probably fallen out with lots of people. He’s benefited from the home so I’d tell him he’s a complete hypocrite and should back pay market rent or shut up, and if he gets him caught he’s also being an asshole who nobody will ever do a favour for him. And say you’re moving out with the kids to your mums and he can enjoy being a jerk who doesn’t care what you think on his own, if he wants to look at finding a rental you can all move together again but you won’t again be bulldozed into living in a too small place that’s nowhere, you’ll stay at your mums until he acts like your opinion matters.

If he’s worried about the tax situation the best thing he could do is fess up to HMRC and pay the tax that’s owed. He probably won’t get any penalty at all if he fesses up himself and didn’t realise he had to pay tax. If he gets found out then he’ll have to pay a lot more. I don’t think there will be any other consequences- yes he should have told his mortgage company and got specific insurance and gas safety checks but those things wouldn’t usually get joined up or reported by him paying the unpaid tax.
it would be very unkind of you to not leave when he’s asked you to and drop him in it. I imagine official eviction notices will be more difficult if he is worried about not having done things properly.

They're not allowed to ask for 6 months up front now, so that's not a legitimate concern.

Does your “D” H work to provide for his family? I sure hope so with all his entitlement and demands. He’s honestly a disgrace of a man and I’d be leaving him to it.

As another poster rightly said, once your LL gets all his paperwork in order, he can legally evict you minus the consequences for him, so you have to leave regardless. Either your husband can be a grown up and leave willingly or he can be forcibly removed by bailiffs.

yoi probably need to realise that your Landlord can sort all of his paperwork issues out within a 3 month window and then serve you notice. The end result is the same regardless. Better that you are proactive about this rather than wait for that notice when you’ve got kids to house.

and your DH’s self entitlement is derailing you. I’d suggest you and the kids go and live with your mum and he can do whatever he likes given he’s not contributing to any sort of solution.

you don’t need his permission to do that, given you will otherwise be homeless in a matter of months.

Your mum will take in you and the children? But not DH. I’d prioritise children and do what’s best for them.
Talk of children living on streets is nonsense. You need to get advice from appropriate organisations that have been suggested on this thread. Is your husband trying to scare you into staying. If you are worried about your safety please contact women’s aid.

I was thinking that he might be worried about the tax if he has to declare the income, and hasn't been paying tax.
Hopefully calling this a lodging agreement will work for OP, good idea.

Tax is a different issue and done to him. The OP doesn’t have to prove her landlord paid tax. She just needs evidence of valid notice. If he moves back in officially then she is a lodger with a resident landlord and the council will accept a handwritten letter from him serving notice. It’s much less formal as lodgers don’t have housing act tenancy rights. It should mean she can go on the housing register, but it doesn’t mean she will get a house in time.

You always have to perform safety checks (electricity, boiler etc) and hold any deposit in a special way, and the EPC has to be above a certain level, so he may fall foul of some of these regulations. And of course you have to pay tax on the income, so he could be in trouble even if a license isn't required.

What a nightmare. Your relative meant to do you a favour but he really hasn't, because living in his house without a proper audit trail is making it hard to move.
You obviously have to move out and if living with your mum is the only way, perhaps you should do that, but where would DH go, and would you be able to save for a deposit if you were paying rent for him, assuming he found somewhere? Could he stay in your present house for a few months?

Would it work if you were lodging with him and he served you notice? I understand lodgers have fewer rights. It’s clearly his original primary residence.

It sounds like your landlord has been good to you. He did you a favour. It’s not always mandatory to be a licensed landlord. It depends where you live. Under the renters rights reforms he can serve notice and expect you to leave on time if he is either moving in himself or selling. You would do well to leave at the end of your notice period and maintain good relations.

Some areas do require a landlord licence (Leeds for example). They are expensive and meeting relevant licensing requirements is a term of my landlord’s insurance.

Your husband sounds awful. If you want to go to your mums with the children go. You need to do what’s best for you and the children.

You are screwing the LL over though? He gave you notice in summer he wants to move back into his house and you are still there with no leaving date. He’s not able to share care of his children properly as he hasn’t got his house so it’s affecting his children and his ex too. Seeing your dad for a night in a travel lodge isn’t the same.
If your mum has a 5 bed house and is willing to house you then surely that’s the best option.

It sounds as if he was paying mortgage as a house he lived in not a BTL rental property. That's why he can't insure it as a BTL. He needs to go to his mortgage provider and ask for it to be switched over as a BTL rental property. The mortgage provider will just do this but charge a small bit more for the mortgage. If he wants to move back in to the house with his DD. It would be kind of you to repay the favour he has done you by finding another rental so your family member doesn't have to try to evict you. Maybe ask him to give you a good landlord reference and 4 months to find alternative accomodation. If your DH insists on making life hard for your relative, who has helped you out, your relative would get into serious trouble. There are fines of up to £40k-£50k for not registering as a BTL property, tax evasion, not issuing a How to Rent booklet, not protecting your deposit and they would not be able to evict you.

Are you actually married or just using DH instead of partner?

Well; he can’t stop you and the kids moving in with your mum can he?! Just give him the option and if he wants to go it alone then bye!

Please dont screw over this man. I think the best thing would be for him to say youve all been living together with him in this house and he's asked you to leave. Like you're an unofficial lodger.

Yes it will be harder for you to prove payment history and be evicted officially etc... but this is the "price" you've paid for a below market rate rental.

I noticed you state you want to retrain and do an apprenticeship. No offence - thats a luxury you cant afford right now and its not the councils problem that you are choosing to retrain, which will presumably mean lower wages.

Not doing Right To Rent checks can result in a fine of up to £20,000 or a prison term of six months. It's uncommon but it can happen.

Not having gas/electric safety certs can also lead to significant fines.

Why is he the one calling all the shots while you and the kids just have to go along with it?

I think if you leave him and start making your own decisions, you’ll likely find that life becomes a lot less stressful.

Have you checked the terms of your Tenancy Agreement?
If it is a joint tenancy where both you and DH are named either one of you might be able to give notice to end the tenancy. It may be different in Wales but in England that would terminate the tenancy for everyone, so your DH couldn’t remain.
Obviously you could only consider doing this if you have arranged to stay with your Mother - and you are willing to deal with any repercussions from your DH.