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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To charge my sibling rent?

203 replies

Inheritanceconfusion · 08/10/2022 21:01

My sibling and I inherited a property from our parents, when they died.

My sibling has been living there for about 18 months since probate was granted. The intention was to buy my share but that has been delayed for various reasons.

My sibling has not been paying anything for living there and I’ve recently discovered that they and their spouse are saving around £2k per month.

With costs of living and our own mortgage rising, I am considering asking them to pay me some rent on the property.

Would that be unreasonable? I think they would think so.

OP posts:
Sciurus83 · 09/10/2022 09:11

I think you have to say its time for them to buy you out or sell now probate is done. You need the money now. If buying you out is in the form of a monthly payment then fine, but that's not really the same as rent.

PrincessButtercupToo · 09/10/2022 09:38

yerdaindicatesonbends · 09/10/2022 07:33

Does she pay half on bills? Because that’s all I would expect as she jointly owns the property. You remarked that she could have bought a house prior but didn’t. Well you did, it’s your mortgage, not hers so why would you expect someone else to pay that?

And so if you got her to help pay your mortgage I’m assuming you’d give it back once sale etc was through? Now don’t get me wrong depending on relationship it could be totally in the norm to ask for help or for a sibling to offer, but this post sounds like you could be harbouring some resentment which could be an indicator of the type of relationship you have.

By your rationale tenants should pay none of the bills for where they live as they own none of it. That’s clearly not right.

The sister is of course supposed to pay bills while she lives there.

Original poster
Inheritanceconfusion · 09/10/2022 10:21

There is another property in the estate that my sibling wants to liquidate in order to buy my share of the main home. This would reduce their mortgage. It is taking a long time to liquidate this property, which is now the main thing slowing it all down.

OP posts:
Ccoffee · 09/10/2022 10:35

YANBU OP. I will possibly be in a similar situation with a sibling. Personally I'd have let it go for maybe 6 months but then would have been making noises towards a conclusion / some amount of rent. You are more than justified after 18 months.

MadinMarch · 09/10/2022 10:52

Oh and if she starts to get arsey about it you tell her that she also owes you rent for the last 18 months and you could take her to court to get it if you wanted to.

This.
I would be looking to recoup half of market rent from the time the probate went through (assuming ds had already moved into the house) once the sale of the main house went through. It's fair to you, but I'd tell her now. If she disagrees, then formal mediation may be a good way forward.

BirdinaHedge · 09/10/2022 11:16

There should be some adjustment of finances here.

On the one hand, your sibling is keeping the house in a good condition - empty houses deteriorate really quickly.

But on the other hand, it is a shared asset, and only your sibling is benefiting at the moment. You need to work out some adjustment - the payment of half the rent it would receive might be fair. Or an adjustment on sale - whether it’s an adjustment to the price your sibling will buy you out at, or on the eventual sale of the property.

TwoBlondes · 09/10/2022 14:08

Relocatiorelocation · 09/10/2022 07:10

Careful what you should for op.
The house is costing you nothing at the moment. We're it empty you'd need.yo pay half the council tax, half the insurance, half the utilities etc until it sold. Plus of course half of any maintenance.
Perhaps better to be happy with your sibling living there and tell your husband to butt out.

Pretty sure you don't pay council tax on a property that's empty because of death, but the fact that someone has moved in probably means that that option is not available if they move out

MRex · 09/10/2022 14:42

Inheritanceconfusion · 09/10/2022 10:21

There is another property in the estate that my sibling wants to liquidate in order to buy my share of the main home. This would reduce their mortgage. It is taking a long time to liquidate this property, which is now the main thing slowing it all down.

Can you have that property transferred to your sole name and an equivalent reduced value from sale of the property they are in? That way you get halfway there and can at least have solo decisions for the other property.

Crumpleton · 09/10/2022 14:46

minou123 · 08/10/2022 21:05

Disclaimer: I don't gave legal knowledge.

But based on the fact you both own the property, I dont think you can charge her rent.

I think you either push the issue of her buying you out, or if she is unable to do that then you sell the house and split the sale price.

A friend and her sister owned a flat that was left to them after their parents died which they rented out for a while.
Then the friend decided to live in it with her family. She pays half of the going rate in rent to her sister.

Getoff · 09/10/2022 14:50

StopFeckingFaffing · 08/10/2022 21:11

You can't charge someone rent for a property they own

The logically fair thing to happen is for occupiers to pay full market rent to the "landlord partnership", half of which will come back to one of them, as a member of that partnership.

(So if they are a couple who have an agreement to pay all expenses 50:50, then the non-inheriting member of the couple would pay the non-resident sibling half the full rental value, and the inheriting sibling in her capacity as half of the landlord partnership could let herself off her half of the rent.)

Hankunamatata · 09/10/2022 17:46

So they are trying to sell another property and use profit to buy you out?

Original poster
Inheritanceconfusion · 09/10/2022 19:52

Yes.

OP posts:
budgiegirl · 09/10/2022 20:14

I think you have to do something - set a date by which you want this settled, and if it's not, then charge half the market rate of rent? It's not really fair otherwise.

I couldn't imagine a world where I would ask my sister for rent on a house she jointly owns

It's easy to say, until you are in the situation. A friend of mine and her sister were left a house by her dad. The sister lived in the house. 12 years on, she still lives there, has paid no rent because my friend felt she couldn't ask her for it, and also felt that she couldn't push her sister to sell it and move out - even though her share would have bought a nice two bedroom house in the area.

The problem is that for 12 years my friend has been paying a large mortgage while her sister has lived rent free, my friend could have been mortgage free had they sold her dad's house. If she had charged some rent, then this would at least have offset this a bit. But as it is, it's led to quite a bit of resentment.

ThinWomansBrain · 09/10/2022 20:28

if she is living there rent free and adding £2k a month to her savings, there's no benefit to her at all of arranging and paying for a mortgage - and a mortgage is likely to be harder to arrange in the current climate.
She either needs to pay you half the market rent - or slightly less if your feeling generous, move out you jointly find a tenant and split the rental profits, or agree to put the property on the market if she can't afford to buy out your share.

rookiemere · 09/10/2022 21:01

Can the sale profits from the other property be altered to reflect the rental cost i.e. if it's currently 50/50 her share is reduced to account for a year of rent ?

Testina · 09/10/2022 21:05

“DH is getting increasingly cross at the situation. He’s in a stressful job he doesn’t like and essentially feels we’re subsidising my sibling and family.”

Is he now? So he doesn’t like your inheritance subsidising her cos he wants it to subsidise him instead? 🤨

I don’t think YABU to want this wrapped up, and I don’t think rent is unfair if this is a long term situation. But I think it’s your decision, not your husband’s.

Original poster
Inheritanceconfusion · 10/10/2022 07:30

@Testina DH really isn’t being grabby. He works incredibly hard and has been so supportive to me. There are some
changes we want to make as a family - we have a child with additional needs and we’d all benefit from a less pressurised life. So when he’s talking about subsidising them, he really does mean the cost to our family. I might not have described it in the best way.

OP posts:
Original poster
Inheritanceconfusion · 10/10/2022 07:34

@MRex That would have been an option - I didn’t want it at the time because I didn’t want sole responsibility for a property I was unsure would sell. I thought it was neater to just divide everything by 50%. But it is taking a long time.

For PPs suggesting sort of back dating rent, I don’t think I would do that because it would not have been spelled out up front and would seem like I was raising their savings, which are geared at buying me out. So it would be counter productive as well.

OP posts:
Caterinaballerina · 10/10/2022 07:39

Is there a way you can raise with your sibling that you’d like some consideration in the final amount they give towards buying you out for the benefit they’ve had of living there rent free? So as to even it out, if you say they’ve saved £2k a month, half of that saving is kind of yours in a round about way.

whowhatwerewhy · 10/10/2022 07:47

You need to give your sibling a deadline. Explain that you need to release the equity out of the house or start drawing an income from it in rent .
It would be fair to charge 50% rent to your sibling .

rookiemere · 10/10/2022 07:49

I agree - a deadline is needed.

I'd give her until the end of the year, then either she starts paying something or it goes towards your share of any future sale of the other property, or she buys you out.

thenewduchessoflapland · 10/10/2022 07:55

The OP's sibling is reaping 100% of the benefit of living rent free in a house they own 50% of.

The OP receives 0% of the benefit of the house she owns 50% of.

The OP is entitled to the financial benefit of the 50% share she owns.

The sibling lives in a shared ownership situation;they should pay rent on the part they don't own.

femfemlicious · 10/10/2022 07:57

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 08/10/2022 21:27

Owning half is one thing, but what about council tax, utility bills, insurance, etc? She surely ought to be paying half of those.

Insurance and repairs yes she should be paying half why would she be paying half of utility bills and c tax when she doesnt live there?. That is the responsibility of the person who lives there!

Ninjachick · 10/10/2022 07:59

If you are still taking your share of responsibility for the cost of keeping the property going - repairs for example - it's usual for them to pay some rent. You need to set out all the responsibilities, how expenses will be paid and probably also how the value of the property will be determined when you buy them out - now. A proper legal agreement.

Original poster
Inheritanceconfusion · 10/10/2022 08:18

@Ninjachick We have determined the price of the property and there was a process for that.

@whowhatwerewhy I do like the way you’ve put it. One way or another, I need to release equity from an asset I own. Maybe giving them a choice is the way through.

OP posts:
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