Other joint tenant of rental property has died. What do I do?

[saraclara]

My mum had a rental property in both our names as joint tenants. A rental agent deals with it, and I've never had anything to do with it. The rental money all went to my mum's bank account and went directly to help pay her care fees.

She died this morning. I know that I have to fill in a form for the Land Registry and enclose a death certificate, and basically the house becomes mine.

But what happens to the rent? I've never had any dealings with the agent. Never signed anything. The contract with them was arranged and signed by my mum.

I don't know where to start. At this point I don't even know the name of the agent, though I will tomorrow. What do I say to them? What should I expect?

Thanks. A solicitor's letter is my next step. I have to meet this executrix tomorrow, and I can't tell you how much I'm dreading it. I was hoping to at least have an email confirming that it's a joint tenancy, to forward to her today, but the conveyancing solicitor who was going to do that cheaply for me hasn't sent it yet. And I'm out for the day (supposed to be having a lovely time with a visiting friend from abroad and having a 'day off' from this stuff, but I know this is going to be on my mind) so can't really be chasing them up.

It's pretty miserable. But the support on here is helping, so thanks again.

Do not get it from here. It costs £3 from the real Land Registry.

This is the real site: https://www.gov.uk/get-information-about-property-and-land/copies-of-deeds

Yep, I got the £3 title register from the official land registry site a few days ago, which confirms, by lacking the restriction in section B, that we were joint tenants. . But because nowhere in the document does it actually say in print 'joint tenants' she doesn't accept it. This is the level of ignorance I'm dealing with.

@saraclara, is she too dim to read this link and understand?

If not, can you get a copy of your application form, as per the link provided?

is she too dim to read this linkand understand?

Apparently yes. I have sent her direct links to the official government site that states exactly what the situation is.

@NoWordForFluffy I can't get the TR1 form on line. I have to apply for it by post, which I will do next. But I'm not sure how long it takes for them to send it.

I just want this over with, to be honest. It's frustrating and upsetting to be having this argument and antipathy still going on after a week. And who knows how long it will take to get the document that actually says in clear print "joint tenants"

How was your meeting,@saraclara ?
Can you get a lawyer's letter for in the region of a hundred pounds? I think mine would do that, if you need a rec, for this sort of thing. For your peace of mind I'd be tempted to do that today and be done with her.

Thanks for asking, @OVienna . And yay! She's largely standing down (as in passing all the contentious and probate bit to someone actually qualified). And with reasonably good grace. I think she finally realised that she was wrong, and panicked a bit. We had a proper chat and I think she now recognises that I'm actually an okay person. We parted on good terms.

I would never have predicted this outcome, but good on her for finally recognising that she was out of her depth and doing something about it.

Hopefully things will now proceed more smoothly, and I can relax a bit. 🤞
Thanks again for all the advice and support, everyone.

But why did she ever assume you were not an okay person? And what was she planning to do with the proceeds of the house if she decided to sell it?

How bizarre. But glad it has gone well. Now the agent will surely speak to you as if you're a human being (tbh I'd remove them as soon as possible given their behaviour).

Her behaviour was so weird (and so quickly changed) that you be best to keep your guard up for a bit. She may well have just been misadvised, or she might have an ulterior motive.

I honestly hope that all will go smoothly now though @saraclara .

You need a DJP form for this, not TR1: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/deceased-joint-proprietor-djp

Is there still a mortgage outstanding? If so you'll need to contact the provider and that will need to be resolved prior to transfer.

@Peeeas no there's no mortgage, and I sent the DJP form and death certificate yesterday.

It was a copy of the original transfer form, to show how it was filled in, that it was suggested that I get.

Assuming you owned 50:50 then you should each have declared 50% of the rental income

Contact the agent

Who is the beneficiary of your Mum's estate? They will need to receive her % of the rental income

The tax has been addressed earlier in the thread. No issues there.

As for talking to the agent:

The phone call was so horrible. The agent was awful. She spoke to me like I was shit on her shoe, despite talking to someone who'd just lost her mum.

...and she is refusing to speak to me until she has legal advice on the situation. Ten days later she's still not communicating.

My sibling and I are beneficiaries. Plus a few giftees. But the house is outside the will. This is exactly what this thread is about.

Ah okay, makes sense. Glad you're getting it sorted!

Cheers. I'll be so glad when I get to the other side of this!

Hopefully I'll soon be posting about how to offload a rental property! It's a real burden to me, to be honest.

Offloading a rental property mean you either have to sell with tenants in place or wait until the end of their tenancy and if they dont go peacefully evict them. It can be a long, stressful process and if all the paperwork is not done correctly you start over. First thing is to check they had all the required documents and find out where any deposit is protected. I'd suggest using an eviction specialist if they dont leave at the end of the tenancy.

If you try to sell as an investment property you'll probably get less money.

I hope this isnt going to cause any problems with the sibling, wills bring out the worst in people.

Fortunately so far my sibling and I are united, and have each other's backs. I've already told him that when the property is sold, the proceeds will be shared with him. And yes, I'm working really hard to make sure that I'm absolutely transparent with him over all this stuff (the downside of which is that he also ends up listening to me moaning about the house. I need to stop doing that!)

And yep, I think in the present economic climate, the chances of getting a buyer for a property with a (not great) tenant resident, are slim, or at least would mean selling it for a fraction of its value. But I also don't want to be a landlord for anything other than the minimum that I have to be. So it's not an easy decision.

Good for you, sharing with the sibling.

You can always offer the tenant money to leave, to pay their deposit on another property and removal costs. Again I recommend the landlord forum to discuss whether this is a good idea or not. If your tenant is not great it might not be a good idea, if they were a decent person they might be glad to take the money.

Thanks @anyolddinosaur . I'm sure that forum will become a lifeline.

Once the funeral is over (I've still got a head full of admin and decision making beyond this issue, to sort) I'll gird my loins, make a list of questions, and do a search in the forum. Then ask anything that I don't see covered already.