UK Landlord Forum / Life

Hi. My partner owns a house, solely in his name. The property was lived in for a very short period by his ex wife whilst they were splitting up. His ex wife has now moved Tenants into the house, without his permission, without the mortgage companies permission and we have now discovered the mortgage is in arrears. We have tried talking to the tenant, but she will only speak to his ex as her Tenancy is with her. What can we do?

It's not clear to me why your partner hasn't been paying the mortgage on his house? Who did he expect would be paying it if his ex-wife was only living in it for a short time while they were splitting-up... which I am assuming was some time ago? If he expected his wife to be paying the mortgage, then was she - somehow, in a convoluted way - his Tenant, because that's what it almost sounds like, and now she has started sub-letting?

A Landlord should never let property to family or friends... or ex-partners who might have a big axe to grind. What was documented about the arrangement, anything or nothing?

It seems like a tenancy exists, at least of some nature, and the first question would be whether your partner and his ex-wife are willing to work together to get things back on an even keel, or is that a pipe-dream?

Yes - she was meant to be paying the mortgage. He trusted her to and she told him she was. She moved out of the property around 3 months ago and promised to carry on paying the mortgage until it was sold. He has now decided that he wants to move back into it, so spoke to the mortgage company and they informed him it was in arrears.

No, nothing was documented, it was all a casual arrangement and him trying to be nice, so she wasn't homeless.

I am aware that a tenancy will exist, even if there is no written Tenancy and I know they have a legal right to be in there for 6 months. However he wants to give them notice, but we don't know if a deposit/first months rent was taken and what date they moved in. Neither his ex or the tenant will give us any details. No, that is a definitely a pipe-dream! 

Also, if she has given them a Tenancy Agreement, won't it be null and void as there hasn't been permission from the Landlord and mortgage company

I am not even sure your partner can give them notice... he's not their Landlord. This might be more complicated a situation than that. I might actually be tempted to go and visit a Solicitor who specialises in property law... see whether there is a short free consultation to be had. If no-one is willing to communicate with your partner, it is difficult to see how progress can be made... please do not (I repeat not) be tempted to take things into your own hands and attempt an illegal eviction or anything like that (I'm sure you would never contemplate such a thing).

Your partner should (obviously) have been keeping on eye on the mortgage position, regardless of anything else going on.

How someone could manage to let a property without being able to prove some kind of ownership has also got me scratching my head... are we to assume that the Tenants are known to the ex-wife somehow... and she did not organise all this through a reputable(?) Letting Agency?

I have made an appointment for a free 20 minute slot with a specialist solicitor, so hopefully they will be able ti shine some light on what we can do.

I assumed as the legal owner, he would be the legal Landlord? He has written to the Tenants and asked to make appointment with them to discuss the situation.

Yes, unfortunately the tenants are known to his ex-wife, so it was arranged between themselves and not using an agent.

Quote from: Rosiestone on February 18, 2015, 05:41:27 PMI assumed as the legal owner, he would be the legal Landlord?

A Landlord and Tenant relationship is usually cemented by both those parties signing an AST... your partner won't have signed anything, so I think your partner's ex-wife is the Landlord, not your partner - your partner is certainly property owner, but I'm guessing it's the ex-wife who the current Tenants are paying their rent to... it's just that your partner's ex-wife is no longer (or was ever?) using that rent to pay the mortgage.

Unless someone else comes along with further thoughts, I would get this 20 minute slot under your belt and see what advice you obtain. If you want to bounce that advice off us here - before paying out any more - feel welcome to do so. The question I would want answering is as simple as - can I, as property owner, even if not the named Landlord on any verbal or written agreement, issue notice to the Tenants as if I was the Landlord, and follow it through just as any Landlord would?

If the answer is "yes", then hopefully the Tenants will agree to a meeting too and you can find out when the 'tenancy' started, what the initial fixed term was, and when you can start proceedings. Obviously, if the Solicitor can advise you that they're seen as squatters and can be forcibly removed... well, different story! This scenario is a bit beyond me and I'd be interested in the progression and outcome.

No rent has been paid to anyone yet. Reading between the lines, I don't think she took a months rent up front and she says she is going to collect the rent soon. So we are really trying to get it sorted asap, so he can collect the rent and pay it off the mortgage.

The appointment is for the 27th of this month, so I will of course let you know what advice they have given us.

Thank you for all of your advice.