Advice needed on friend staying at flat, is he entitled to anything after 5yrs?

deus3x

deus3x

deus3x

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Hi,

This is being posted for a friend who is concered on a situation that has arised from a friend that has been renting a room in his flat for 4 1/2 yrs.

My friend was chatting to somebody at the pub who said that because his friend had been renting the room for so long he would be entitled to some money from the property and that it wasnt as simple as telling him to leave as he would have rights due to being at the property for so long.

No contract or anything was put down on paper, it was a gentlemans agreement. "Mate helping a mate"

Some info about the situation
1. Renting 4 and a half years
2. Only stays at the property weekends as the person works away during the week.
3. Pays towards bills of the property ie maintence and such items like a TV and stuff for the kitchen.
4. The person renting the room has full access to the flat, no boundries have been set.
5. Mail and all post comes to flat
6. Treats it like his home "which it would be for so long"

My friend is worried that if he tells his "friend" to move out that he may get stroppy and cause problems.

Where does my friend stand? He will be seeking legal action if needed but just wanted me to post here first to put his mind at rest "or mybe not".

Thanks in advance.
 
Not a chance in hell

Source: I'm a barrister

Perhaps I should elaborate further... there's a case for the tenant arguing that he had an actual tenancy rather than simply a licence to stay in the property in which case he is afforded various statutory protections the same as any other tenant in a landlord/tenant relationship.

As far as him actually being entitled to any money from the property, for example if your friend wishes to sell it, he will get nothing. Even a person who has been living as a cohabitee in an actual relationship for years has an uphill battle if they want to claim some equity in the house.
 
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Skull said:
Not a chance in hell

Source: I'm a barrister
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I'm still at my friends now, he is happy with that reply. Thanks

Combat squirrel said:
Am I missing something here? why does he want them to leave?
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He is wanting his Girl friend to move in, his flatmate is a nice guy but sometimes has another side to him. Not agressive but my friend seems to think he would cause problems.
 
"Dude, me and <insert GF's name here> are thinking of moving in together and as I already have this place, it makes sense for her to come here... so we're gonna need you to **** off. kthnx"
 
Skull said:
Not a chance in hell

Source: I'm a barrister

Perhaps I should elaborate further... there's a case for the tenant arguing that he had an actual tenancy rather than simply a licence to stay in the property in which case he is afforded various statutory protections the same as any other tenant in a landlord/tenant relationship.

As far as him actually being entitled to any money from the property, for example if your friend wishes to sell it, he will get nothing. Even a person who has been living as a cohabitee in an actual relationship for years has an uphill battle if they want to claim some equity in the house.
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Can you elaborate on your first comments with regard to the status of the "tennant" in a legal sense, since I'm sure you know the answers

Since property owner could have a load of trouble and from experience, friends turn to ***** when money is involved.

1) Is the person a legally tennant requiring a s21 notice? In which case getting rid of them could take 3 or 4 months or longer if the s21 is invalid

Worst case here you serve a s21, 75% of which are found to be invalid so that's 3 months wasted, you serve it correctly so now we are 5 months down the line, 3 weeks for the court to give an order, then another 3 weeks for a balif.. So it could take 6 months.
 
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no chance. The only "technicality" could be if he has a mortgage, he would have to get the flat mate to sign that he had no interest in the property. This applies to anyone over the age of 18.

However, by even telling his mortgage company that he has a flat mate opens up a whole new can of worms.
 
If hes paid towards the upkeep of the property then he may in some circumstances be able to recover some costs through small claims. Thats about it tho - he'd have no rights to the property.
 
edscdk said:
Can you elaborate on your first comments, since I'm sure you know the answers

Since property owner could have a load of trouble and from experience, friends turn to ***** when money is involved.

1) Is the person a legally tennant requiring a s21 notice? In which case getting rid of them could take 3 or 4 months or longer if the s21 is invalid

Worst case here you serve a s21, 75% of which are found to be invalid so that's 3 months wasted, you serve it correctly so now we are 5 months down the line, 3 weeks for the court to give an order, then another 3 weeks for a balif.. So it could take 6 months.
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I'm afraid I couldn't answer specific details about eviction and tenancy rights that without doing a bit of research, as (thankfully) my landlord and tenant knowledge is limited.

In this case the practical solution would probably to kindly inform the friend that he needs to move out soon so the GF can move in, and actively help him look for another place so he can be out as soon as possible.

Like edscdk says though, friends turn to **** when there is money involved, so unless he immediately goes to the estate agent to look for a new place your friend really will need to go to the CAB and more likely a solicitor and explain the situation, because it's a complicated legal situation that could be a real ball-ache if the tenant refuses to leave.

Gentlemen's agreements aren't sensible when it comes to housing!
 
No, he won't have any legal rights. If the room has a lock on it, he might be able to claim he's a tenant, and have rights to eviction notice periods, etc.

To be honest, though, it shouldn't be a problem unless the lodger is a tool. Your friend should just explain that he wants his girlfriend to move in and they are going to want their own space when she does. That's perfectly reasonable. Provided he's decent about giving the guy sensible notice (i.e. a month at the least) then he has no grounds for being stroppy.
 
Not sure of the specifics, but as this is a personal relationship as well you might be able to claim a tenancy at will under Wheeler v Mercer which allows you to end the tenancy at any time. But that depends on what is deemed to be a temporary arrangement, and I'm not sure what time periods LVT's have given "temporary arrangement".

As for the the claiming a share of the property, sounds like he will have bob hope and no hope. At the most he could tenuously try and say there was a constructive trust, but would need to prove there was some sort of common intention to share equitable ownership of the property in some way as well as having acted to his detriment somehow as well. Neither of which seem to be present here. So yeah, no chance.
 
Thanks everyone, i have gone over this with my friend and he is going to speak to his flatmate over the weekend.
 
I'd say lodger rather than tenant, which I believe makes a difference.

Neither would have any claim on the property - even if he was his common law wife I reckon that would be hard to get anything.



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He's not his wife is he?
 
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