Renting house to family

[DustyLee123]

A friend of mine has a house that is currently empty due to previous tenants messing her about. Her relative wants to move in, and friend feels like she can’t say no.
Am I right in thinking that, even though the relative is just going to pay bills etc, that they should still have a rental agreement so that my friend could get the relative out if needs be?

Definitely, and if relative may need benefits it needs to be at a reasonable rent with AST in place.

Does your friend have a mortgage? Often this states they can't rent to family. Yes she should have a formal arrangement and charge rent or charge them as a lodger if that is what they are going to be.

No, mortgage free

Never rent to friends or relatives . . .

It doesn't actually natter if there is no agreement in writing. It is what happens in practice that determines security of tenure and the rights of the occupation.

For example, if someone lives with their landlord, the law says they are an excluded occupier, even if they have a piece of paper with AST/homeowner/licensee/attic dweller written on it. It doesn't matter and it is very easy to evict them.

So, to satisfy the conditions of an AST, the occupier has to pay rent excluding very low or very high rents) If they do not pay rent (bills do not satisfy this) then they cannot be an AST and will not have the same rights of occupation as an AST. They will be an excluded occupier so can be evicted with reasonable notice and a court order is not required.

An agreement in writing basically just sets out the contract terms not occupation rights.

Tell your friend to keep business and family separate. And then ask her how much money she can afford to lose. And then ask her how much of her family she is prepared to lose.

If she does it, she needs to be fully aware of the consequences and how much it can blow up her life, whether it be financial or emotional.