Family living rent free - please help!

[EwwwwwwDavid]

I'll try to summarise and really hope someone can help, I do have a solicitor but they aren't coming back to me!

I have an aunt and her boyfriend who have been living in my second home rent free, with a view to buying it. They have been there 12 months. They have materially damaged the property.

That sale is about to fall through due to appalling, abusive behaviour on their behalf.

What is my legal position to get them out? There is no verbal or written agreement with me, they were never asked to pay rent, they were just there as I am kind.

I want them out

Ideally I also want them to make good the changes they have made but understand this may not be possible

Any advice?

To be honest this is your mum's mess , then I'd be telling her to figure out a way to resolve it since she isn't going along with your suggestions. Your moms an adult and needs to face the consequences of her actions. She let them move in , it's her sister , so it's her problem.

I think your aunt will go running to your mum the minute you put your foot down, so your mum needs to at least be on side to say “it’s Katy’s property and I support her decision” or something.

OP have you given the solicitor who advised you about CGT the full story about who paid for the house and the improvements? And about who actually owns it? The tax position is completely different if your mum is selling it to her sister. I would have expected the solicitor to have questioned you closely about everything that happened in order to advise you properly, and as you're coming across as a bit confused about everyone's rights and responsibilities I'm wondering whether the solicitor really had all the facts.

If your parents paid for the changes to the house and you're expecting that to affect your liability to CGT, that's unusual at the very least. Were you asked about exactly what was done? Anything spent on repair and maintenance wouldn't come in to the CGT calculation. If you haven't discussed it in this much detail then I'd be wary of accepting that no CGT may be due.

You don’t need to evict your aunt or go to court or join FB Landlord groups as she’s a guest in your house, not a tenet. Change the locks is all you need to do.

Things are not going to get better by Friday. Your aunt sounds awful, your mum doesn’t sound like she’s going to do anything about it, you are the legal owner but are letting your parents control your legal ownership of your asset. If they don’t want other people to be the legal owner of their assets then they shouldn’t transfer them into someone else’s name. The only thing you seem to have control over at the moment is how angry you get about the situation. You’re in the worst position because your parents are dictating what happens but you’ve got to be part of the circus with no control. You know what your mum is going to allow so that’s what you have to accept. You either take control or put up with it. With regard to the range cooker, tell them they have to grant access to have it removed or the price is going to increase by £3k and they can deal with it. If they refuse, that’s their choice. You could proceed at the current sale price then take them through small claims for the £3k. You have legal options to solve all this but you have to be willing to actually do something.

Your parents did not gift you a house as they have retained control of it for the entire time it has been in your name. It is a tax fiddle. You legally don’t gift anything if you retain control of it. HMRC look at the big picture and the actuality of a situation rather than what people tell them eg being “self-employed” so your employer doesn’t have to pay PAYE. Walks like a duck, sounds like a duck…

I don't disagree, i just think my age at the time had a lot to do with it and they wanted to give each of us the security of a home

No bill for CGT and if there was, the house proceeds would cover
I do realise that if i chose to steal that money and destroy my relationship with my parents there is nothing they could do, luckily i'm not like that
It's not dishonest to gift to try to avoid IHT - it's only avoided if the 7 years pass, its a completely legal way to pass on assets

My accountant not solicitor advised on CGT
Mum isn't selling it, I am as it's in my name
literally every penny spent on the house came from mums bank account, purchase price, stamp duty etc
when we realised I wasn't going to live there and mum was, she did an enormous extension which basically cost the same as the property - it has had more spent on it than it is worth as for a while it was going to be her forever home. Like I said, things have changed since they originally expected it to be my home.

it's not a tax fiddle, because no tax has been avoided!

it was originally bought to avoid IHT. As a legal gift.

THINGS CHANGED. which means of course that IHT cannot be avoided, that was clear the second my mum lived in it instead of me. Obviously at that time we should have transferred title, but that wasn't at the forefront of any of our minds given what else was going on in our lives.

if that wasn't enough, then the second that the money goes back to their estate means it certainly won't avoid IHT!

I hope that makes it clearer.

progress, they let the electrican in to disconnect the cooker!

If you kept the money, it wouldn't be stealing. There’s not a court in the land that would find you guilty of theft.

Just to ruffle the pigeons here - can you ‘loan’ your parent (their) money post sale so when the estate is settled that comes back to you without IHT?

Oooh @Mostlyoblivious that's a good idea!!!

Let me discuss with parents!

@Soontobe60 but I love my parents and morally it is stealing in my eyes

Agree she's a guest - change locks. I'd book one night in a hotel so they have somewhere to go. Stuff outside,
Not a squatter, not a tenant.
IHT avoidance completely fair. Other ways to avoid IHT - get married. (Wonder how many people have done that).
Good luck OP

Tax avoidance is absolutely fine and a right we all have, tax evasion is not

It's not tax evasion to buy your kids a property and wait the seven years

It's literally the advice given

Reduce the size of your estate
Which they did

We just collectively decided due to a change in circumstances to change our minds on this property

Still not evasion and if anything, more tax has been paid as a result

My parents also paid for my wedding, it was more than seven years ago.. was that IHT evasion?

They pay for holidays for us well above the annual exemption allowance... IHT evasion? I guess it depends if they die within seven years or not

The house WAS a gift

It became a gift with reservation

It's going back into their estate regardless

No evasion

FYI have since been given legal advice

they are classed as excluded occupantss with basically no legal rights
i can give 'reasonable notice' and then get bailiffs in

they have not yet completed or advised a completion date

That sounds positive. Good luck

That's great news. Hope you soon never encounter them again!

Not selling to them is cutting off your nose to spite your face.
Just sell it to them, get their money and walk away. It's way less hassle than getting them to move out, making the house good and putting it in the market and paying estate agents and solicitors again

You need to get in and take photos. That in itself might stop them trashing g the place before they leave, but if not it gives you some evidence to take them to court for compensation

please not that your house insirance
may not cover you

Whose name is the house insurance in?!

Mine though my mum bought it