Do we have any rights as tenants?

[rach6122]

Me and dh and dd have been living in fils flat for a year. We did not sign a contract, give a deposit and have never paid rent, we pay the bills and dh is registered here. Relationship has been strained of late and fil told dsil he was going to give s notice, he later changed his mind. If he does tell s to move out, what rights do we have if any? Would we have to leave straight away?

You are not tenants, you are there at the goodwill of the owner who can change is mind as pleases him. I don't think he has to give you a notice.
Why has the relationship strained? Have you offer to pay rent?

Why are we not tenants?

Btw he agreed we could live here rent free while my husband finishes his studies. Still two years to go. We didnt just not pay rent....

If you have no contract and have not paid rent then your may well find you do not have protection as a tenant, although equally he would not have any as ll. Shelter could probably advise you what the legal situation is . Even with a contract 2 months' notice on ll side is typical.

Ok thanks, ill look into it further, sounded like he would want us out same day type thing whereas we would need time to find somewhere

if you are classed as tenants then your landlord has to give you two months notice to leave. Your notice to him is one month.

no written contract doesn't normally matter, but not paying rent may do. You need advice.

and you need to move sooner or later by the sound of it.

Hi - the basics of a tenancy being in existence are exclusive possession, rent being paid and a term certain - ie you know how long you are staying. If you had the keys and you were not sharing with fil (and he lives elsewhere) then you have been enjoying exclusive possession. Ref the rent, have you done anything to the property in lieu of rent as part of the arrangement? eg have you paid Council tax? cleaned or decorated the place? Paid utility bills? Any of these might possibly be argued as being something of value in lieu of rent, but if you have done nothing and used the place like a free hotel, then there has been no consideration in the terms required for a lease contract to be in place. From your post its not clear whether fil lives with you. If he does live with you and shares his flat with you all, then you will be there by his permission only and yes, he can withdraw that permission if you have no formal agreement in place. I understand the Shelter web site is good for detail on this sort of thing.

I would definitely get some advice now, just in case things go wrong. Try Shelter first. Your best protection now is knowledge. Get something in writing now, if you can. It may be that you have a tenancy at will, or a verbal AST, but that will not do you any good if he suddenly tells you to go by the end of the week.

Fil does not live here, he used to rent it out but the place is basically falling apart eg boiler needs replacing only two radiators work, bad moud problem etc etc which the last paying tenants wanted sorting anyway they moved out. The agents said thins need to be done before he can let it ou again, he didnt want to spend the money and we were looking for a place at that time so he just said live at mine til you are done with studies. We pay all our bills and council tax.

Have you managed to save anything? Start looking at the local market to budget for a deposit, and start putting away a monthly "rent"

Surely you don't want to spend another winter in a flat without proper heating, and with a mould problem which csn only get worse, because the heating is so crap that you don't want to open windows to ventilate the place...

Well the options are there before you. Most councils now charge full council tax on vacant resi property so whilst you are paying this overhead, you are doing him a favour. If you think you want to pick up the pieces of this relationship later down the line, you might best be project managing yourselves out of there before push comes to shove. Either that or ask to formalise the lease, this way you might be able to apply for boiler grants etc.

Yes we have been saving as much as we can but I've been on mat leave so not a huge amount. Lat winter was hard and we bought a dehumidifier to try and help mould but we thought we would put up with it to save as much as poss. Dh and his dad have ever had much if a relationship but maybe you are right we should plan to leave.

If you start putting away what would be your "rent", you'll have a deposit and moving money in 2 months.

Have you finished mat leave now? I hope you can afford to move soon: uncertainty is so hard to live with... and so is a damp, cold, mouldy house!

Yes I think that's a good idea. No on mat leave til march, yes very true! Thanks