Ex wont leave DP house, pays no rent, what is the legal position

[whereisthejasmine]

This is for a friend who doesnt use MN. Their DP was with someone for 18months. In that time DP moved into the house Ex rented. The LL wanted to sell, so DP bought the house. DP is the sole owner and has been paying the mortgage themself since buying the house. The ex lived there for 6 years or so prior to DP buying the house, Ex was a tenant. They split up, DP moved out. DP wants to sell the house. Ex refuses to move out. Ex refuses to allow estate agents in to take photos. Ex refuses to allow workment in to service the boiler etc. If DP goes there, Ex calls the police who tell DP to leave (there is no history of DV with Ex or any previous partners, DP has good relationships with all other prior partners). They were not married, they did not have children. Ex has offered to buy the house from DP for the price paid. It is worth about £60k more than that now, so this is not an option. Ex has never contributed to the mortgage or paid rent to DP.
Can anyone advise what both of their legal positions are and where DP can go to get help? They do need legal advice but it would best if they could find a solicitor who specialises in this. The reason for the length of time that this has gone on is the DP is really very nice and has been a bit of a pushover, and thought Ex would move out in due course. They didnt anticipate being in this position 3 years later. Ex does have a child but this child predates their relationship by many years.
thanks for any advice

The person in the house is completely in the wrong (if we have the full story) why on earth should they benefit from getting the house for much less than it's worth? They have already had years of living rent free.

@nancy75

I don't see how he is a landlord in this situation? They are a couple who split up, he was never her landlord as she has never paid him rent

IU agree with this analysis. However he still needs to go to court to obtain possession. I don't understand why he or she would baulk at a £300 cost. FGS the property has made £60k profit in a short period of time and they resent someone charging their going rate for professional services that he desparately needs?

I evicted someone once with no solicitor- just did the process myself. You will have to go to court and then see what happens.

thanks,lots of useful advice here, I will pass this all on to them

Just move in. Seriously what is the problem with that? Does she pay bills there even?

@whereisthejasmine you don’t necessarily need a solicitor, you can get surveyors who can easily deal with this. However it is pretty basic serving of a notice, anybody can do it. If you want a great property solicitor I’d recommend Burges Salmon.

How are the utilities being paid?

assume Ex is paying utilities. Friends DP has rarely been back, and moved quite far away to get away from Ex.

if friends dp was living there, then he should just move back in

EX has lived in the house rent free for 3 years with very little hassle from EX? Where does one find such a man?

Depending on the value of the property and assuming she actually can, I’d be inclined to let her buy it for 60k less to save the stress, solicitors fees, estate agent fees and all the rest of it.

Legally speaking I would say she is a sitting tenant. And the ex needs to go through a legal route to get her out. Does she have a tenancy agreement with the previous landlord.

@Chatwin

I would weigh up losing out on the £60K inflationary value of the house vs the costs of: legal fees to evict, repairs & decoration required to get the house up to sellable standard, and estate agency fees to sell.

I would also factor in the timescales involved with the two options.

There might not be much left of that £60K, and it would take much longer, while DP is continuing to pay the mortgage. I would sell to the Ex and put it down to experience tbh.

I totally agree.

@Rosebuud

This doesn’t make a lot of sense op. Firstly unless they wish to pay big bucks they just need to speak to a local solicitor and start eviction proceedings, I am unsure how anyone doesn’t know this.

Secondly I can’t comprehend why the police are asking someone to leave their legally owned home. This makes no sense at all. They are fully entitled to be there. Are you sure no history of violence?

The police are acting correctly. As the de facto landlord he should follow civil processes to evict her. The police will tell him to move along to avoid a breach of the peace.

It’s really quite common for the police to deal with situations this way. There is nothing sinister going on.

Your friend only needs the advice that you put yourself in the first post:

“They do need legal advice but it would best if they could find a solicitor who specialises in this.”

This person can afford to leave a house to someone for free whilst they continue to pay mortgage for 3 years, but can’t afford to pony up for a solicitor?

Are they too dim to call a large local firm and say, “I need someone who specialises in xyz situation please”?

After further thought, the tenancy agreement will have become void - you cannot have an AST where the landlord lives with the tenant. It’s one of the stipulations in legislation so no point in servicing s21.

thanks for all the advice, I will let them know, and hopefully it will help them

Google eviction specialists. Or join a LL group on Facebook and get a recommendation. You don't necessarily need a solicitor, and there are many that don't have specialist tenancy experience but will still charge you a fortune.

* I agree. He needs to move back in and then change the locks when she leaves. She doesn’t have a leg to stand on.*

^This

@drpet49

* I agree. He needs to move back in and then change the locks when she leaves. She doesn’t have a leg to stand on.*

^This

Doesn’t she? If she had a tenancy with the previous landlord and he bought the house with a sitting tenant then it’s not clear that her tenancy ended. If she hasn’t been paying rent then he could try a s8 notice but I think he should get advice from a landlords organisation.

I don't see how he is a landlord in this situation? They are a couple who split up, he was never her landlord as she has never paid him rent

She was the tenant before he bought the property. Unless the term of the tenancy had expired and the previous landlord had served notice in the correct way, she remained the tenant. He bought a property with a sitting tenant.

He should have ensured gas safety certificates were valid, electrical safety up to date and any deposit monies were protected. It looks as if he did not do this. But provided the property is not in a dangerous state and he can show he has tried to carry out repairs etc this will not be a major problem.

She will probably now be on a periodic tenancy and should have been paying rent. Since she has not done so he can issue a section 8 but it might be easier to go for a section 21. Provided notice is served correctly the court process up to and including a final bailiffs visit will probably take around 6-8 months. He cannot just throw her out.

He should pay for legal advice. It will cost him far less than £60000.

@RandomThought96 I am almost certain the AST will have ended when he bought the house. By virtue of law, you cannot have an AST if the landlord lives in the property. The AST will have been voided and a tenancy agreement no longer exist.