Eviction of DDS ex

[Ramblingnamechanger]

Has anyone , as owner of a house occupied by daughter, formally evicted ex boyfriend through the English courts system He has no legal status in the house, apart from permission to live there initially. Does not pay rent. I have served notice to quit, but he is not moving.

Wait until he goes out and then just change the locks, surely??

Investigating bailiffs, legal action at the moment. I am not in the country so can’t be there for lock changing at the moment . May threaten to go over and occupy house!

Have you spoken to an eviction specialist?

Yes investigating all areas… just wonder how others dealt with it.

If you don’t live there, which you can’t if you live in another country, you can’t define him or your daughter as lodgers. The question will be whether she is your tenant or they are both joint tenants. You admit collecting rent at one stage which may be enough to establish your daughter is a tenant.

A lot may hinge on whether your daughter cooperates with your view that they are not joint tenants. But even if it is established she is a sole tenant you may not be able to interfere with who she lives with.

New renter rights might mean you need to do a lot more if you want the property back.

I very much doubt you have any right to enter the property or to change the locks.

Her cooperation is crucial here so hopefully I will continue to talk with her. She is totally under his influence so it will be difficult. Once he stops being Mr nice guy again she might take action or ask us to. At the moment there is radio silence.
back to square one.

Deleted. Missed OP update.

In the meantime you need to formalise the housing arrangement between you and her. That at least means she will have occupation rights and he won’t if she decides to ask him to leave.

Would it have to be more formal than the agreement she and we made originally? Apart from having been there a long time he has no right to be there. I wish she would take action herself, but she is frightened . Same old.

I don’t know if the agreement from 12 years ago needs to be revised. You need to speak to someone with legal expertise in rental agreements. As a landlord you have responsibilities. If you haven’t been meeting those then you aren’t going to be able to do anything.

It’s not up to you as a landlord to dictate whether she lives with someone or not. And you can’t enter her home without her agreement.

As you say, it really depends on your DD agreeing that she does not want him there. Maybe encourage her to try the Freedom programme if offered where she lives.

No other family or friends available for visits though luckily she has a couple of beds offered by our friends in an emergency.

This might be your way out tbh. Get your DD out for, idk a month or two even if you pay for an abnb, and then that man has no right to be there. Locks changed, his stuff gone, make sure there is plenty of time for him to have found/be comfortable with another place to live. Your DD needs to cut contact with him (except one last message to say it's over and he needs to move out then block) and not tell him where she has gone, or when she will be back, or any of the plan.

He needs to think she’s left the house for good. Perhaps even get an EA round to value it (or a friend pretending) so he thinks the house will be sold, this will make it really clear it's over. Get a Ring doorbell so you can see if he comes back or cruises the area and once the coast is clear she moves back. But this plan only works if your DD is strong enough to stick with zero communication. Is she?

I agree with the poster above. You have to make it seem like you’re evicted them both. Literally send a message to her and to him if you have their number and just say you are getting rid of the property you are selling it as you need the money and you need them both out. You’re giving them a month to get their stuff together and get out. Then get her something temporary.

Thank you. Seriously considering the above proposals. She has not replied to my messages in the last couple of days. Am aware that it will be a difficult possibly dangerous time for her, but I think without her agreeing to our getting him out, or her taking action herself, nothing will change. If she agrees to leaving temporarily I am sure it would help her think more clearly…..the estate agent might be the next plan. Good idea.

The OP doesn’t have clear rights to enter the property. She needs to understand who her tenants are and make sure she has the ability to evict them. When the eviction is complete she can enter.

The OP cannot just give one months notices. It’s not legal anymore. She can’t give notice if she is derelict on any of her responsibilities as a landlord. A notice of eviction has to be upheld in court before she can force them out even if she gave them the required 2 month notice.

In my view they are not tenants…the original idea was that she should pay back some of the money used to buy the house, give her an incentive so that eventually she could own it. This did not work and I am pleased I have not handed it over as he would have sold it by now. Frustrated as she wanted him out before she returned to the house Waiting now to see if she makes contact as she is not answering my email or phone calls.

The man is not her tenant. He has zero rights.

OP needs to take advice to establish that first. It may well be correct, but if it's established otherwise, she could be making a costly mistake.

But setting that to one side, there's no point changing the locks if her daughter isn't leaving the house immediately as well. It sounds like the daughter may not be cooperating at the moment, and that even if she were, he would likely be able to convince or manipulate her into granting him access.

OP also has a responsibility with regards to his property. Sadly she can't just leave it outside or dispose of it right away.

Just waiting for the shit to hit the fan. If I could get him out I would pay for storage but unless my daughter sees how he is controlling her , we will get nowhere.

Then why did she give him notice to quit?

The situation is a mess both in terms of relationships and the house. I understand why the OP is desperate to remove this man from her daughter’s life. However she is in danger of making a bad situation worse by acting high handedly over both issues.

I understand that she needs to take action herself ideally. She asked repeatedly tor him to go. I served a notice to quit as it takes time to make arrangements. Thought we were being fair. And if we want to get a possession order we would have needed to give him notice first. Nothing more we can do as long as he is bullying her into changing her mind. I know it takes about seven attempts to leave before women escape, if they are not killed first.