OMG HELP! Is my Uncle scamming my mum??? What to do! (Tenancy agreement)

[JenniferAnistonfan]

• in 2019 mom signed tenancy agreement with my uncle and his wife to help him rent home. She never lived there

• uncle has been subletting it and told my mum few years later he removed her. my mom later learns he never removed her. Meaning he faked her signature each time they renewed contract

• we learn this uncle has some serious dodgy, fraud and scamming history. Moving countries to hide and avoid paying people back, scamming abroad, articles on google about his scamming etc and his own father confirming he scammed fathers army buddies etc

• my mother asks to be removed, he seemed annoyed in phone and stalls for a year claiming landlord is not replying etc

• today I send him firm message saying I want my mom removed from contract. Ask him to give landlords contact details. Tell him replacement tenants will not be a problem as his adult daughter and mother in law moved in a year ago.

• he replies I’ll speak to him.

• calls me saying “give me your email. Landlords lawyer will be contacting you to remove you”

• something feels off so I say lawyer? Please give me his address, phone number and name, I want to contact his directly.

• uncle starts swearing and raising his voice at me, saying I’m being difficult and annoying and wasting peoples time?

• I am now worried given his history will give fake details or pay someone to pretend to be landlord.

• what should I do? I know there’s land registry but I’m worried it will show landlords old address?

• how do I find who landlord is and his real phone and address?

• also does this lawyer thing seem fake?

• and why is he so reluctant to remove my mom from tenancy agreement??? Could he be using her for some sort of scam?

Can you not ask your mum which letting agency she used?

They would still provide her with information they hold on her.

This!

Don’t get me started. :(

she claims she trusted her “ beloved” uncle

shes always getting herself in some mess

If she signed as tenant, not just guarantor, then yes she is implicated too.

And you both cant see a solicitor because?

says she doesn’t remember, it was 7 years ago

What about the deposit? Did she pay anything towards the deposit?

So an almost certainly illegal HMO too.

No. paid the whole deposit

The backstory there is different.

Great - just search for the certificate. The landlords information will be on there. You can do this for free

where I live now, there is no estate agent, just me and landlord

I just buy the tenancy agreement paper, we fill it in and sign and landlord comes, (on way to work) signs it in corridor quickly and leaves

I’m guessing same with my uncle and his landlord?

*Uncle paid whole deposit

ok will do

What is different?

When this is all over OP give your mum a kick up the arse from us all

Entering into an illegal deal, then losing every last shred of information on this dodgy deal and not even remembering the estate agent she went through. I’m infuriated with her and she’s not even my mum

Wait - you had to BUY your tenancy agreement? When was this?

So your mum didn’t even meet the landlord? But your uncle did?

He's her brother, keep up!

You made your other post in August 2024. That's 18 months ago. What, of the advice you were given then, have you done?

You were advised to...

1. Get in touch with Shelter
2. Get in touch with CAB
3. Get your mum a credit report
4. Check the land registry
5. Report as fraud to the police.

Which of these have you done or not done, and why, please? You've had over 18 months...

No i meant house I live in now with dh. Yeah we buy the tenancy agreement every year and the landlord just quickly signs and leaves

and no my mom didn’t even meet landlord

When you say you buy the tenancy agreement, do you hand money over to sign it?

I don't know why I'm wasting my time on this but the version you had last year said

"Today I learn in 2019, my mother signed a tenancy agreement as a joint tenant with her brother and his wife"

"Last minute something serious happened, she changed her mind, and on moving day, she never moved in. She stayed in her old flat."

"Now she didn’t speak any English. And doesn’t know any laws, rules, anything like that."

And your thread last year was all in a panic about the possibility of your poor old mother being done for benefit fraud.

This year's version is your presumably not poor mother signed the tenancy agreement as your uncle and wife couldn't afford it on their own.

Well, that was utterly silly for her to do.

She should have retained a copy of the lease. Clearly, she didn’t.

You need to do a land title search and find out who owns the property.

You also need to shut down your mother’s credit and file a complaint with the Police for fraud.

She should move in.

Sorry I’m sleepy, it’s been a long stressful day

my uncle, her beloved brother

To be Honest. I had a falling out with my mom (we have a bad/difficult relationship with her and often I go low/no contact) and haven’t spoken to her like the whole time

We recently started talking again. I asked her what’s happening

she said uncle stalled for long time e.g landlord abroad, not replying but later told her it’s been taken care of. She has nothing to worry about

she did nothing I advised her to do and won’t go to police because “he is family” she can’t do that

only thing she did is credit check

knowing he lying again I confronted him

She lied to me. Only recently confessed she never planned to move in. And the real reason she signed it. Says she didn’t want me yelling at her (how stupid she been)

She has been receiving benefits last few years. (became sick so low income)

back then she wasn’t. And made good money

OP - go to bed and get a good nights sleep

Im gonna be frank - your mum sounds like an idiot and i think there’s things she is keeping from you.

You’re stressing out over something she hasn’t bothered to even try to resolve herself. Step away from it. If there’s consequences - well it’s her own stupid fault for committing fraud in the first place.