Can other members of my family claim rent from the house i live in as it is part of a family inheritance?!?

Question

been living in the house for 8 years with my father when he passed away. i have continued to live in the house, rent free while the estate is sorted out but another member of the family is questioning the fact that they could of been claiming rent on the property, as said person in theory owns part of the property through inheritance. Is this feasible legally or just plain greedy?

Answer 1

If you're only living there while the estate is sorted, then the person is unreasonnable and you could point out how much a house sitter would cost for the same amount of time.

On the other hand, if that person is paying either a high rent or a mortgage, then you can see their point as you are not paying anything, so if the legal work takes a long time, more than usual, you could offer a small contribution (worked out on average rent in that area, divided by the number of people on the estate and minus any maintenance cost to the house) if you know they are in financial trouble - after all I assume they are family.

I would try and sort it without going the 'legal' way as it will cause resentment and cost money - anything involving a solicitor costs far too much anyway. But make sure any money you give is fair (all the people having a proper claim on the estate get the same, and you don't end up in trouble yourself either) and properly recorded - no cash in hand, even with family.

Answer 2

You have been living in the house rent free for eight years?

Are you an adult that could afford a house on your own or is there something that prevents you from supporting yourself?

I think you should either buy the house from the estate or agree to start paying rent to the estate or move out (Unless you have a difficulty supporting yourself).

This is quite often the way things like this are handled.

Answer 3

This depends on the conditions in your fathers will( if any ) and the local laws on inheritance of the country you live in and rights of occupation and tenure.Once the legal aspects on the dispersal /disposal of the estate are sorted out, then it can be divided up or sold as the case may be.There could possibly be a case for this payment of rent in the right circumstances,but normally the petty squabbling starts over shares.

Answer 4

More greedy than anything else.

Answer 5

Hopefully your father left a will and his wishes of who inherits what, will be carried out. It gets complicated when a house is left between several people , either the house is valued and if possible one person will buy out the others and become the sole owner.Often with house prices being so high this is not an option so the house is sold and the money divided up between several people.

In the mean time it is probabily a good thing to have someone live in the property to keep the heating on - stop vandals etc and maintain the house and garden to help sell it in the near future.

Hopefully you can pay the council tax and make some contribution to looking after the property that may go some way to offsetting the fact you are living there rent free.

I hope you manage to resolve your differences and remain friends with your other family members and dont argue over money.However try to see their point of view and if posible help to sell the house and share out the money as quickly as possible rather than become a sitting tennent while they wait for their share of the house sale to materialise.

Answer 6

One things is for sure eventually something is going to happen, and all the assets will be sold and split up between the heirs unless you have the resources to buy out the other heirs

Answer 7

While you have been living rent free with your father in his house, when your father passed away the house became part of the estate.  It would not be an illegal request for the executor of the estate or the administrator of the trust to require the property in the estate to produce income for the estate.  After all, if your father owned an apartment building, you wouldn't expect that the renters would be able to live in the building without paying rent while the estate was settled, would you?  Actually the executor or administrator had a fiduciary duty to the beneficiaries of the estate.  That duty includes increasing the value of the estate as well as preserving the value.  I realize that you may view the request for rent as being greedy, but from the other perspective, you may also be viewed as greedy for having lived rent free for the past eight years.  After all, the other beneficiaries have not had the benefit of the property that you have already been enjoying.

Answer 8

not enough information

your father owned the home and you lived there with him

he died and left home to his children, all of whom have an equal right to live in the home they own toegether, without the right to exclude anyone

generally such a home will be sold and proceeds distributed amongst the heirs

frequently one family member agrees to buy out the others

whether rent should be charged is a question for the executor or administrator of the estate until the estate is settled. . .and it's not unreasonable to expect rent after a couple months

Answer 9

You are living in their property rent free and you think they are "plain greedy"?    Hold a mirror up.

Unless it is agreed that you will maintain the property, show it while it is sold, etc, you should at least pay something into the estate.    The house can legally be rented out during probate, so the rest of the heirs are loosing money every month you freeload.