What could go wrong?

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I've been seeing a guy for a few months. We get on really well, lots of chemistry, he seems lovely and genuine.

He lives in a shared rental house where the contract ends in December.

I'm a single mum, with equity from my divorce. I am buying a house that needs work doing to it.

He has offered/asked to stay in my new house while work is being done, in return for doing some of the work himself (he's very practical and has lots of building and plumbing skills etc)

He hasn't met my kids yet.

One of my friends is advising me to be cautious as I'm a single mum with equity and therefore possibly vulnerable to predatory men or scammers etc.

What could go wrong with this arrangement and what do I need to do to protect myself?

Bloody hell no, he could squat :0

He could claim to be a sitting tenant or claim squatters rights. I don't know the legalities of to be honest, but it wants checking out legally.

No way, for every reason already stated.
And putting aside the risk of emotional manipulation/ outright refusal when the time comes for him to leave, no good can come of you effectively becoming his boss.

@AnyFucker no, I want help with identifying and minimising the risks eg if he could actually claim a financial interest in the property or squatters rights, how could he do that? How do I protect myself? Would a written agreement be worth anything? What would it need to say etc?

I've just been explaining that I could benefit from the building being occupied (security) and getting work done for free on it when I wouldn't otherwise be able to rent it because of it's condition etc, so it's not a definite case of he's obviously trying to rip me off. IF he wouldn't leave or claimed some rights when I wanted to move in, that seems to be the main risk- I just need help with clarifying things

As soon as your boyfriend starts working on your house he is gaining an equitable or beneficial interest in it. So basically you split, 2 years down the line and he says I want my share of the house and he would be entitled to a payout. The only way you should have him move in is on the basis no mortgage payments are ever made by him, and he does no improvements to the house. Things like putting up shelves are fine, but installing a bathroom, or tiling, or installing double glazing are a no no. Look after your finances. This can be avoided by you paying the going rate for his work but i guess that misses the point. You could charge him rent I guess. But make sure it's clearly marked and goes through your bank account. I guess then you can use the rent money to pay him. Make sure it's all invoiced properly. No tax to pay on the rent under rent a room scheme.

@Joe66 thank you. Is this the same for anyone that does free work for a friend? Or would it be the boyfriend status that could give him a share? Would this be true even if he never lived there? How would it be proved what work he did?

What could go wrong?!

Let's start at the mild end...

You could be landed with a cocklodger who thinks any "work" he does is equivalent to rent/bills.

He could be incompetent at the work he does and leave things in a dangerous state - that could possibly invalidate your mortgage/insurance too.

He could be a con man, angling to make a legal claim to the property. It's REALLY hard to get unwanted residents out of a property and expensive if they refuse to go.

He could be controlling/abusive as a partner.

He could be a paedophile angling to get access to your DC!

You BARELY know him and he's already chancing asking for you to basically support him. If it were just you that'd be bad enough, but to subject your DC to these potential risks is MASSIVELY irresponsible.

Hell no!

Sorry just saw your update and see you won't be living in the property. I suspect this will create an assured shorthold tenancy because he will have sole occupancy of the property and there will be "consideration" in that he's doing work for free. This could be an absolute minefield because if you fell out and wanted him out of the property you would have to show you gave him a gas safety certificate, and epc, and a how to rent booklet. You would in law be his landlord. Unless you are prepared to research your statutory duties as a landlord and ensure the house is safe to live in, including an electrical safety check, you should run a mile from this type of arrangement.

@Graphista thank you

I think it one of those to good to be true situations. It all sounds great but I think in reality it just won't go as imagined. You need to do things by the book. Especially as you have children.

@Joe66 thank you

All joe66 just said too. You could end up in real legal/financial strife in this situation - not worth the risks imo

In order to have a tenant evicted you have to serve a notice, s21 in statutory form if no fault giving 2 months notice or s8 if there are 2 months arrears, which in this scenario might be difficult to prove. If they fail to leave you have to apply to,court for a possession order which will only have a technical defence, so providing the notice is served correctly it is mandatory that you get your order. If he still wouldn't move out, you have to apply for a warrant of possession. So, that's why it might not be a good idea. Providing you know what you are doing, and now you do, it's up to you.

I've just been explaining that I could benefit from the building being occupied (security) and getting work done for free

You should be wise enough by now to know that NOTHING is free. You let him into your home and he is a TENANT. Which affords him more rights than you can imagine. He is playing you and has an agenda, I'm sure of it. Interesting how he's a grown man yet can't live anywhere but a flat share. Why is this? I certainly would want to know. I would bet the crown jewels this man has quite a background. Perhaps you should find out. Just him proposing something so outrageous is very alarming. The fact is, you don't know this man at all.

No, I wouldn't. It's way to early and I don't know the ins and outs but squatters rights?

In your shoes, I would be hoping he would offer to help out to show what a good guy he is to his new girlfriend, but he seems to have a much more self serving view on this...

You ask What could go wrong?

Just have a read and you'll see. This guy's making me nervous and I haven't even met him.

Please, OP, listen to the excellent sensible advice people are giving you. One wrong move and your new house could become a legal minefield.

So what happens when you want to move in? Where does he go then?

I have a friend who engaged in exactly this arrangement with her (newish) boyfriend. Six months later, he had done hardly any work at all on the house except for a bit of gardening. She then had a hard job of removing him from the property after the relationship soured.

She did get him out eventually but he was the clear winner in this scenario and she wished she had never agreed to it in the first place.

@Aquamarine1029 he's in a house share after his last relationship ended. He says he is happy there but he's subletting a room and the main tenant is moving on.
He has no property or equity himself because he handed the family home over to his ex wife when they split as their child has SEN.

I can see that this may be a "too good to be true" situation. Thanks for all your replies

You could have trouble getting him out again.

In fact you'll feel like you're being awful to put him out when it's time for you to move in, and it'll end up with you fastforwarding your relationship into living together out of convenience and guilt, instead of love and proper consideration.

Other things: His work may be shoddy or slow (after all, what's his motivation if he'll be homeless when it's done?) and how are you going to deal with that? Going to feel comfortable telling him how shit his work is?

Don't do it. He needs to sort out somewhere proper to live. You're being sold something that can so easily bite you in the arse massively.

You are asking people to explain why. I think its more unusual that you arent being asked why you think its ok to trust a virtual stranger to live in your house and do work for free.
How could he live in there with no heating throughout winter.
He will be at your rental property with his feet under the table before you can say cocklodger.
On the otherhand if its a building site why do you need security just get a cheap cctv system and pay a professional to do the work properly.
This is a very new relationship. Hell its not really even that a few months in why complicate it or take the risk of being fucked over with something so important.

No, it's a terrible idea. He hasn't even met your kids and what normal person wants live in a bare house with no heating all winter. Red flags everywhere

Having someone on site is actually not without benefits but only if they are capable of actually doing some of the project management. That way they check on work daily before things go tits up. But need to see the workmen daily. Otherwise he's going to be more hindrance than help.

For the rest it's a bit of a gamble and a big ask all round.

I do properties and I wouldn’t even have that sort of arrangement for a long term good friendship for the leal and practical reasons mentioned.

However in addition to those, I wouldn’t to it because I’ve been burnt mixed business with pleasure before. I wouldn’t want to jeopardise a budding relationship.

I agree with PPs for all the reasons stated that it's a very bad idea to let him move in because you may have problems getting him out.

How do you know he's even capable of doing the work? A friend of mine had a similar arrangment with a mutual friend. The work that was done was substandard and it cost my friend a lot to rectify. I also used a friend of a friend to do some very basic work which I wasn't really happy with. I would only use proper tradesmen now or someone whose work I had seen in advance.