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Original poster

Legal leg to stand on re inherited house and siblings

35 replies

Thewokewokingwarrior · 12/12/2023 20:31

Long story short Dad passed away leaving a property that brother A lives in. Brother A offered to buy me and Brother B out after consulting three estate agents. I was fine with that but brother B thought it was too low. B demanded house go on the market. Eventually got an offer £50K less than brother A had said as market slowed.
Brother A put in an offer but B declined and wants back rent for the two years that A lived there. Is he legally entitled to rent? There was no rental agreement.
I feel sick with the stress, this is not what my parents would have wanted. Can anyone help pls Thanks

OP posts:
KingsleyBorder · 12/12/2023 20:33

Sorry for your loss. Did brother A live in the property before your Dad’s death? If so, on what terms?

Rumplestiltz · 12/12/2023 20:34

He is not legally entitled to rent but if the market value is now 50k less than brother A was offering to pay in the first place, would a compromise be he buys you out at slightly above the market value to recognise he has been living there rent free? My feeling in these situations is that you want a solution as quickly as possible so everyone can move on.

anonhop · 12/12/2023 20:36

Thewokewokingwarrior · 12/12/2023 20:31

Long story short Dad passed away leaving a property that brother A lives in. Brother A offered to buy me and Brother B out after consulting three estate agents. I was fine with that but brother B thought it was too low. B demanded house go on the market. Eventually got an offer £50K less than brother A had said as market slowed.
Brother A put in an offer but B declined and wants back rent for the two years that A lived there. Is he legally entitled to rent? There was no rental agreement.
I feel sick with the stress, this is not what my parents would have wanted. Can anyone help pls Thanks

(Worked in solicitor's probate department) I doubt he could, but I would get legal advice ASAP. The law is complicated & if you can't work it out amicably, it's better to have the opinion of a lawyer and say to your brothers that you've spoken to a lawyer and the law here is X
I know it can be pricey to get legal advice, but you might find a solicitor whom you could speak to for £250 ish (less if not in southeast) for an hour and they would be able to explain where you stand legally- then hopefully that'll be enough to sort it out between yourselves. Expensive, but it could save you a lot of money later down the line
This is a horrible thing to go through & I am sorry x

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Property legal advice
Original poster
Thewokewokingwarrior · 12/12/2023 20:39

Thank you
The plan was that Dad was going to move to the area to a house in the street that he owned too. (That has been sold) Brother A was meant to buy the house he was living in eventually but really we don't know as no-one expected Dad to die so suddenly.

OP posts:
Dacadactyl · 12/12/2023 20:40

No idea of the legal situation, but if I was Brother A I'd be telling B to fuck right off. And if B wants to cause havoc and disharmony in the family over money, I'd be as bloody awkward as I could be.

titchy · 12/12/2023 20:45

Don't know the legalities, but his rent would only be a third market rent anyway seeing as you each own a third. Brother B sounds like he needs reminding it isn't just his house...

rosyglowcondition · 12/12/2023 20:48

Brother B is being ridiculous and awkward and I suspect there is bad blood there. Mediation is expensive but I think it's the only way.

Original poster
Thewokewokingwarrior · 12/12/2023 20:49

Oh I've had legal letters threatening all sorts I've been destroyed by this. It was bad enough to lose my Dad six weeks after I got married but then the nastiness of brother B on top of the grief has been so so awful.

OP posts:
Ladyj84 · 12/12/2023 20:51

I don't get his problem so he is being awkward for no reason. I would say straight to the awkward brother hey I'm happy for brothera to buy house and make my position clear. Feel sorry for you and brothera no need for all the aggro

LadyGaGasPokerFace · 12/12/2023 20:57

Get a few EA to do a valuation. Then look on Rightmove for sold prices and you’ll know what the house should have sold for recently.

Bernardmanning · 12/12/2023 20:58

Brother B sounds extremely difficult and unreasonable, especially given that Brother A offered to buy you both out. The fact that he's been living there rent free for so long is surely in part down to brother B insisting that the property go on the market. Brother B has also been spared the ordeal of renting out the house whilst also it being on the market which would be time consuming as wouldn't appeal to renters or buyers. And presumably brother A has maintained the property by living there. Brother A was prepared to do much of the caring of your father, presumably, hence him relocating to the same street. Would brother A receive numeration for the care from brother B? I highly doubt it! I'm sorry that you're stuck in this situation. I loathe family fallouts.

Precipice · 12/12/2023 21:03

No lease, no rent due. Brother B can't now reasonably claim that he and Brother B and You should have made a rental agreement and it should have involved X money.

Original poster
Thewokewokingwarrior · 13/12/2023 06:49

Thank you for the advice. B is very unreasonable and has caused a lot of bad blood and his dithering has caused the value of the house to fall so maybe I should sue him. I won't obvs.

OP posts:
WaitingfortheTardis · 13/12/2023 06:55

Brother B needs to have a long hard look at himself, what a ridiculous man he seems to be. You and brother A have been very reasonable so far in accommodating his ridiculous demands, if B hadn't been so greedy it wouldn't have taken so long in the first place. Perhaps suggest he should pay a fine for his time wasting?

TheGhostOfTheOpera · 13/12/2023 07:51

Thewokewokingwarrior · 12/12/2023 20:49

Oh I've had legal letters threatening all sorts I've been destroyed by this. It was bad enough to lose my Dad six weeks after I got married but then the nastiness of brother B on top of the grief has been so so awful.

Why on Earth did YOU get threatening legal letters?
Is it because you didn’t side with a brother B and he didn’t like it?

KingsleyBorder · 13/12/2023 09:27

Do you mean actual legal letters drafted by a solicitor, or some sort of nonsense pseudo-legal threat typed out by Brother B?

If you have had actual legal letters then it would be helpful to quote some of the exact wording from them here.

HappyHamsters · 13/12/2023 09:41

How can B demand back rent on a house that isn't his and there was no rental agreement. Are there executors involved, sorry for the loss of your dad.

2jacqi · 13/12/2023 10:23

@Thewokewokingwarrior more to the point, how can B demand back rent from someone who wasnt a tenant??? Brother B is a real nasty individual!

TheGhostOfTheOpera · 13/12/2023 10:36

KingsleyBorder · 13/12/2023 09:27

Do you mean actual legal letters drafted by a solicitor, or some sort of nonsense pseudo-legal threat typed out by Brother B?

If you have had actual legal letters then it would be helpful to quote some of the exact wording from them here.

Edited

And I’d say it’s even more important to involve a solicitor in your sides (maybe you could share one with brother A if you are sure you are on the same wavelength?)

Twiglets1 · 13/12/2023 10:42

Brother B is being such a dick.

Surely it was up to your Dad to charge him rent if he wanted to? He chose not to so I don't see why it's suddenly an issue. I would tell him he's being ridiculous but if he wants to try and claim rent he needs to get a solicitor. He can pay the solicitors fees not you or brother A!

Week54 · 13/12/2023 10:47

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HappyHamsters · 13/12/2023 10:54

Are there Executors or probate to deal with. I would get 3 new valuations, give the 3 of you the opportunity to buy each other out, privately selling and buying will save estate agents fees.

HappyHamsters · 13/12/2023 11:00

Do you know if dad left a will stating how he would like his estate distributed. Its such a difficult time and you don't need the added stress.

Original poster
Thewokewokingwarrior · 13/12/2023 13:10

Yes Dad left a will saying everything to he divided equally. The other house sold quickly but B always had an issue with A. The letters to me were from a solicitor saying B was concerned about how I was conducting my duties as named executor. I said I would resign but B didn't want to sort out anything either. Honestly it's been such fiasco.
Now A has told me that B sent him a text last year saying they could join forces to weedle a cash lump sum out of me. At this point I'm just thinking something has gone terribly wrong in his head.

OP posts:
nauticant · 13/12/2023 13:17

What does B actually want? Has he given any clear idea what would satisfy him?

What would A be willing to offer?