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Legal matters

Mumsnet has not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you have any legal concerns we suggest you consult a solicitor.

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Original poster

Can I sell my house?

39 replies

Bornzero · 27/02/2018 17:22

Hi, sorry if this is a bit long...
My dad died when I was 11 and left half his assets to me and half to my Mum. As my Mum was not able to go to work immediately and needed money, it was decided that our home would be split 75% to me and 25% to my Mum - Mum then had all the cash to retrain and live on until she got a job.
When I was 13 my Mum remarried and gave up her job living in our home with SF and 3 SB.
My Mum died when I was 17 leaving everything to my SF. However, because of the way the house was owned, it went to me.
I lived with SF and SBs until I left for university, but we do not really get on. When I left for uni, my room was redecorated within a week so the boys could have a room each. It meant I couldn’t really come home. The first Christmas I came home, I was given the sofa in the sitting room and there were no presents for me, so I didn’t feel welcome.
I am going to be leaving uni this year and will want somewhere to live - I haven’t been home since the first Christmas and need to know how I get my home back. One of my SB visited me once and said his Dad was angry that the house wasn’t his a he had thought my Mum owned it when they married - so he does know it is mine.
I have never signed anything to say they can all live there, but does the fact I’ve never asked them to leave (yet) mean they have a right to stay?

OP posts:

snozzlemaid · 27/02/2018 17:31

I think you need to speak to a solicitor.

Original poster

Bornzero · 27/02/2018 17:31

Also just to add, my Mum left my guardianship to SF, but was only for 5 months, until I was 18.

OP posts:

Lobsterface · 27/02/2018 17:33

Sounds messy, get a solicitor

snozzlemaid · 27/02/2018 17:33

And sorry you lost your parents so young. Sounds like you've had a tough time.

Original poster

Bornzero · 27/02/2018 17:35

I am waiting to hear back from a solicitor, but I have asked if charges/fees can be delayed until I can sell the house, as 3 years a student means I don’t have much money. They are going to get back to me. I just feel in limbo and wondered if anyone knew if SF and SBs had a right to stay there.

OP posts:

Original poster

Bornzero · 27/02/2018 17:37

There are many who have had it tougher, but yes I was not blessed in the step parent lottery!

OP posts:

Mosaic123 · 28/02/2018 09:49

This sounds really difficult and it would be wise to get a solicitor to look after your interests. I'm wondering if your SF should have been paying you 75% if what the commercial rent would be in order to live there? I think you are in a strong but what will prove to be a painful position.

Please update with what the solicitor advises.

QuiteLikely5 · 28/02/2018 09:52

Hope it works out for you. Definitely think about charging rent!

So callous to redecorate your room. Awful man!

sleepingdragon · 28/02/2018 10:07

Im sorry youve had a tough time OP.

Do you want to try to maintain a relationship with your step dad or step siblings? I ask as it may get messy so its something you should consider when thinking about your next steps.

I think the first thing you should do is check you legally own the house- you can buy a copy of the deeds online, and register with the land registry that the house is rented out and give them your current address. It is really easy to transfer ownership of a house if you have access to the post at that address as the land registry will assume its the contact address of the owner unless they have been told otherwise.

The next thing to sort out is that even though you are not getting rent at the moment you are currently a landlord who is not meeting their legal obligations - annual gas safety check, fire alarms, carbon monoxide detectors. Again these are pretty easy to sort, and you could use the oportunity to give your stepdad a written tenancy agreement, and if it were me I would say I now need the income so will have to start charging rent.

sleepingdragon · 28/02/2018 10:10

I should have read my post through before sending. The thing about checking the deeds was incase your stepdad has (illegally) transferred the ownership of the property to him. Its unlikely but does happen in rented properties.

sleepingdragon · 28/02/2018 10:19

Sorry for my multiple postings. Im not a housing law expert but its something I know a little about.... thinking more about it, at the moment your stepdad would probably be considered an Excluded Occupier, with less rights than a tenant- e.g. you can evict them without going to court. So you may not want to give them a tenancy agreement or charge rent untill you have decided what you want to do with the property- if you want them to leave it will be easier to do this if they are not tenants. If you want to let them stay and rent them the property you should give them a tenancy agreement. You are still a landlord at the moment so still have landlord responsibilities even if they aren't tenants.

BeverlyHillsBillie · 28/02/2018 10:21

Goodness me this sounds like a right old mess. You really need to get a decent solicitor on this.

I know your poor mum didn't anticipate leaving you so soon, but it was rather daft of her to move her new husband and his children into what was essentially your house without getting something legal drawn up to protect everyone involved (mainly you) and make provisions for a situation like this. I'm fairly sure as it stands you could turf them all out but of course that is easier said than done, both morally and practically.

If he has no legal claim on the place at all could you possibly rent it back to him? He can claim HB to cover the rent if that is appropriate. Then you could use that rent to rent somewhere smaller for yourself.

Of course you are also now responsible for maintaining the house and without savings or a good income, that is likely to become an issue as the years roll on.

Has your SF ploughed his own money into decorating and maintaining the property since living in it?

At least if you were renting it out (to him or someone else) you could afford to maintain it as necessary and or buy or rent somewhere cheaper and smaller yourself.

Your mum really should have addressed this earlier down the line as it's left you in a horrible situation. If her 25% reverted straight back to you upon her death then as far as I can see he has no rights to stay there at all.

snewsname · 28/02/2018 10:31

How can she have left everything to your SF but you got the 25% of the house? Surely she didn't leave everything to him then? I hope this was a deliberate move by your mother so you own the whole house. It will be much simpler to reclaim.
If she has given him a life interest in her share then that makes it more complicated.
Hope it's easy for the solicitor to untangle.

BeverlyHillsBillie · 28/02/2018 10:35

Was there not a reading of her will with a solicitor and an executor after she died?

MessySurfaces · 28/02/2018 11:58

snew if the house was jointly owned ("joint tenants" rather than "tenants in common") it would have reverted to the OP (as the surviving joint tenant) rather than being part of the willed estate.
OP I'm so sorry for your losses, and that you have to deal with this mess! Many solicitors will give you a 30 min consultation free, or try citizens advice bureau?

snewsname · 28/02/2018 12:50

Thanks messy. Forgot that bit.

prh47bridge · 28/02/2018 13:15

Was there not a reading of her will with a solicitor and an executor after she died?

The kind of "reading of the will" you see in dramas where all the expected beneficiaries gather together is complete fiction. Normally all that happens is the executors read the will and inform the beneficiaries of their entitlement.

How can she have left everything to your SF but you got the 25% of the house?

If the house was owned by the OP and her mother as joint tenants it would automatically have become the OP's property when her mother died. It would not have formed part of her mother's estate and therefore would not have been affected by the will.

Spickle · 28/02/2018 13:37

First of all, you need to know if the house was held as Joint Tenants or Tenants in Common. You can download the title deeds to the property for £3 instantly. If the house is owned as Tenants in Common there will be a restriction noted on the title to this effect. If no restriction, then the house will be owned as Joint Tenants.

Joint Tenants - if someone on the title passes away, the title passes to the remaining title holder, which would mean that OP now owns the property 100%

Tenants in Common - if someone passes away, then their share of title passes to whoever is named in the Will. If this is the case, then OP's SF would own 25%, OP 75%. There may also be a clause in the Will to the effect that SF may have a right to reside until he remarries, though he could sell his share and OP would have to buy him out or sell up.

BeverlyHillsBillie · 28/02/2018 13:46

I realise that, was just wondering whether the executor was for example the OP's uncle or a family friend who would have informed her if there was anything in the will that specified anything about provision being made for the step family, that's all.

It just seems odd to me that as the house was then owned in its entirety by a minor, there was no mention of the other people living in it by the executor. Especially as her SF was appointed her legal guardian at that time.

Original poster

Bornzero · 28/02/2018 16:25

A slightly reduced update, as I’ve just lost my very comprehensive one.

The solicitor firm that was my Dad’s executor called back this afternoon. They will help sort it out and defer payment until I a) sell the house b) get a small mortgage on it when it has been returned to me it c) set up a payment plan from November, when I start my new job.- I have been accepted to a good graduate scheme. He was very nice and apologised for taking so long to get back, but he needed approval re the payment at a more senior level.

To answer a few questions:
My Mum and I were joint tenants, which meant even though she left everything to SF, the house came to me.
I have checked the land register and I am now the only owner. I don’t know what it said before I was 18.
I do not have a relationship with them, excepting one step brother who sent me a Christmas card this year. He is the same one who came to stay overnight a year ago when he looked at my uni. However, my relationship with him is not such that I’m going to give his father the house my Dad bought.
The solicitor said it made it easier, in some ways, that no rent had ever been paid - but it needed sorting out ASAP. I am going to meet him next Wednesday with all my paperwork.
My Sf owns a flat (or did) which they used to live in before they moved in with us. It was rented out. So they won’t be homeless, but it is in a less central area.
The house is not big and when it was bought, over 25 years ago, W11 was a bit seedy in parts. Now it is probably the only undone up house on the street! Other than updating decor in bedrooms as step brothers grew up, I don’t think anything has been done to update it. The solicitor said I ought to think of staying there and maybe taking a small mortgage out to pay the fees and update the house, as this may be better in the long term. I will think about this over the next few months.

Thanks for the replies. I’m not usually so dippy/panicky, but I started to worry about what to do as the solicitor seemed to be taking a long time to get back to me. I think they will sort it out.

OP posts:

snewsname · 28/02/2018 16:32

What a relief. It sounds easy to sort out.

You could update it and rent it out if you don't actually want to live in it. Or sell it and buy somewhere else. Don't get off the property ladder though.

MazDazzle · 28/02/2018 16:43

What a tough situation to be in. You’ve lost so much at such a young age.

Solicitors take ages to sort things out. When my dad died they weren’t in any hurry at all and I think it was 2-3 years!

Your SF has behaved appallingly. He’s living in your home for free and getting rent from his own flat! Find out your legal rights and get them out ASAP. It’s your family home, not theirs.

Mosaic123 · 28/02/2018 17:34

That sounds good OP.

It's great that you own it all. I hope things go as smoothly as they can with the process of you getting possession.

Original poster

Bornzero · 28/02/2018 17:54

Thank-you. I will know more on Wednesday re time-lines. I finish on 16th June and would like somewhere to call home to go to. This would give SF time to give notice to his tenants. If my SBs term has not finished by then, I could push it out to the end of June and travel for a couple of weeks. Travelling is fun and I don’t want to be whiney, but when you travel and visit people in the summertime because you have to, it takes the gloss off.
I think they ( the solicitors) will be fairly prompt in settling it, as they won’t get paid until it is. I will let you know what happens on Wednesday.

OP posts:

MyKingdomForBrie · 28/02/2018 18:19

Your SF is a douche

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