I own 1/5 of my mother's house and my sister has moved in and changed the locks on the doors.?

Question

Can I demand a key? My mother is now deceased.

She she refuses to pay rent. What can I do?

Answer 1

You need to see an attorney before you start calling lock smiths.

Divorced couples often own 50% of the house and still do not have any legal rights to property they do not reside in.

She does not have to pay rent, it is her house, there is no possible way to force a home owner to pay rent.

Answer 2

Discuss with the co-owners to sell and offer her first option to buy on contract.

If she refuses the contract purchase, sell the property and wash your hands of the issue.

A local attorney will advise you of your options.

Good Luck To You

Answer 3

If your sister owns a portion of the house too, then she has every right to live in the house and change the locks.  She does NOT, however, have the right to keep you out, so you can either force her to give you a key or make one yourself.  If she's using the house exclusively, you can rent a portion of it out yourself if there are other habitable rooms or you can force her to pay you the rent you would be getting if you did rent it out.  The best course of action, however, would be to try to sell the property if none of you can agree on who gets to live there, who gets to rent, etc.; if you can get the others to agree you can force a sale even against this sister's wishes.  

If your sister doesn't own the property, she's trespassing and you can either have her removed by the police or, more likely, she's become a tenant at sufferance and you can take steps to evict her immediately.  Definitely get an attorney to help you with it!

Answer 4

If you have proof you own the home, call a locksmith to come out there and make you a key.

Answer 5

How did this happen?  Did you and your other 4/5 inherit through a will?  If so, the only course you can take is to contact a lawyer and see if the other 3 persons want to force a sale.  That or tell them you want out and they will have to buy you out.  Either way, get a lawyer.