Anyone know about eviction please?

[freidamelling]

Hi, just wondered if anyone knows if it is possible to evict someone from a property that they have lived in for 30+ plus years, never paid any rent and no tenancy agreement in place? Struggling to find anything that covers a scenario such as this on the internet. TIA

Similar position - research told me they have the same rights as a tenant with a tenancy!
And you can serve notice as such.

Thanks sunandrain, I thought if no rent had been paid then they didn't have tenants rights 🤷🏻‍♀️.

It depends on the reason why they live there.

It's certainly possible to be a tenant without having paid rent.

Thanks for the response no baggy. Do you mean how they are evicted depends on the reason they live there or whether they are a tenant or not depends on the reason they live there??

The occupant would be an excluded occupier if they are not paying rent so only reasonable notice is required to evict them. No court order is required. (If the occupier isn't obliged to carry out other services in lieu of rent)

That's good news sarsgas. Thank you!! Do you know what would be classed as reasonable notice and what would happen if they don't move out after the reasonable notice has expired?

Does anyone know if it would be different if the person doing the evicting was an ex partner of the evictee (the ex will remain in the home) to only that one person living in a home?

R.notice is 28 days in writing your best bet may be going c.advice to make sure , then I believe if they don’t leave you’ll need to go to court

If they have been living there 30 years I suggest that reasonable notice would be more than 28 days - you need two months notice for a 6 month tenancy for example. 3 months or more would be more reasonable. If they don't vacate then you will need a possession order from the court. Be careful there is no potential agricultural tenancy as the situation will then be very different.

Thanks Tashley.
Tinchy you mention 2 months for a 6 month tenancy, but isn't that when rent is being paid?

Is this a property you have inherited after a bereavement, OP? If so, was any provision made for the person living in the house (which does sound like a partner of the former house owner). If this is the case, I would seek legal advice.

Hi chic, no nothing like that at all. Someone let someone live in their house (they weren't living in it) rent free as at that time they were in a position to be able to do so. Now they are in a completely different financial position and really need the house back, but I just wanted to check if there were any legal ramifications given how long they have let them live there.

Who has paid for repairs and improvements in the last 30 years OP?

I'm not sure if the 'tenant' comes under the 'excluded occupier' category. But the lack of a tenancy agreement means that you can't use the Courts to issue an eviction notice or use a Section 21 notice either.

Have you tried Shelter (or the LandlordZone online), but neither would be as good as legal advice. 30 years is a long time!

Chic - the owner has paid for the upkeep with it being their house they wanted to ensure it was kept in a reasonable condition. Yes, I know 30 years is a long time - makes you wonder if it's worth doing a nice thing for someone 🤷🏻‍♀️

You're right that is when rent is being paid, but if someone has been living somewhere for 30 years I consider that the court will still expect a decent amount of notice to be given.

@ChicCroissant why do you say the court can't help because there is no tenancy agreement? I don't see why the court couldn't make a possession order.

The owner is being short sighted here.

They have a legal problem. If they get it wrong they may have to pay out thousands in compensation.

The way to go about it is for them to instruct a solicitor to advise them. Not ask a friend to go on an anonymous internet board to ask unverified strangers for advice. that's the height of stupidity.

FWIW I think you've received some decent advice here, but it's contradictory in part. Tell them to do it properly and pay for it so they've got some comeback if they get bad advice.

All of the court actions I know of in relation to being a Landlord evicting or giving notice to tenants depend on a tenancy agreement Tinchy. If you can use a court order to get the resident out (assuming they will not leave if asked) then it won't come under a landlord/tenant heading - I have no legal training, I have been a landlord (and a renter). DH has been a lodger (sharing a home with landlord) and that has different regulations too (the OP said that the house owner didn't live there, so the lodger regulations don't apply either). I don't know what the Civil action would be.

As I've repeatedly said, I'd get legal advice. 30 years seems a very long time to do someone a favour so I do think there may be a bit more to this than we're getting on here!

Based on what the OP has said, it is still a landlord and tenant issue regardless of the lack of written tenancy agreement.

PP are completely right - you need proper legal advice based on all the facts as small issues make a big difference when it comes to whether a tenancy is protected or not.

So it's a previous partner. Did they have children together. Did they ever lived there together as a couple?