Bit of Help please

[AMYC1982]

Hi

in 2007 I bought a property with my partner we have since split up(over 2 years ago). the house is in approx. 10 thousand pounds of negative equity.

the payments on the house were split from 2007 until Feb 2015 when my ex moved away and I was left in the property. my current partner as lived with me since then.

the mortgage and house insurance is paid by myself and my partner contributed £250 per month to cover all bills. the ex partner does not contribute a penny.

an argument as occurred between myself and my ex and she is now demanding that my current partner pays her rent to the sum of three thousand pounds.

she as given me 14 days to do this or has threatened to come up from where she lives at the moment (which is miles away and evict my current partner and change the locks.

I do not see how she can do this - obviously there is no tenancy agreement in place between me and my partner(as we share a room)


she as not sent anything official in the means of solicitors letters all I am getting are text messages.


please can someone help

[Stu]

Re: Bit of Help please

She has no grounds to evict your partner or change the locks.

Were you married? and is she on the deeds..??

[AMYC1982]

Re: Bit of Help please

Hi

no we were not married - the mortgage is in joint name so I guess she is on the deeds.

[Stu]

Re: Bit of Help please

What I would say further to that is it is not clear cut she can't kick your missus out but you both would have to sit down and talk about the financial implications it would have on you if she was to leave because of her harassment..

[AMYC1982]

Re: Bit of Help please

She is just trying to scare me I think!!!! I know it's probably rubbish what she is saying.... I have serviced the mortgage so surely I have a right to share a room with who I choose..... Thank you for your help x

[AMYC1982]

Re: Bit of Help please

She is not bothered by financial implications.... She as informed me that she is looking at bankruptcy

[Diana M]

Re: Bit of Help please

in 2007 I bought a property with my partner we have since split up(over 2 years ago). the house is in approx. 10 thousand pounds of negative equity.

the payments on the house were split from 2007 until Feb 2015 when my ex moved away and I was left in the property. my current partner as lived with me since then.

the mortgage and house insurance is paid by myself and my partner contributed £250 per month to cover all bills. the ex partner does not contribute a penny.

an argument as occurred between myself and my ex and she is now demanding that my current partner pays her rent to the sum of three thousand pounds.

she as given me 14 days to do this or has threatened to come up from where she lives at the moment (which is miles away and evict my current partner and change the locks.

I do not see how she can do this - obviously there is no tenancy agreement in place between me and my partner(as we share a room)

she as not sent anything official in the means of solicitors letters all I am getting are text messages

Aaah, the curse of the angry text message

What was the argument between you and your ex about since this seems to have been the catalyst for the current friction between you both?

If you have a joint mortgage then you will undoubtedly have joint ownership of the property with both names on the deeds (correct me if I'm wrong having checked on Land Registry).

This means you are both jointly and severally responsible for the mortgage 'debt' too. And this also means that if things go pear-shaped (in the event of a mortgage repossession) then both she and you can/will be chased for the shortfall since you say the property is in negative equity.

It also means that your ex does own her share (not necessarily 50/50) of the property until things change (legally). If the equity grows back over the years then it's arguable that 50% of that is hers. You will of course argue that since she's not paid towards the mortgage in recent years that's open to debate (in court if necessary).

Right now you can't sell (or remortgage) the property without her agreement. You may want to tidy up this situation.

However this doesn't give her the right to call the shots unless the law backs her up. Text messages are not legally binding! (albeit they can be used in evidence sometimes).

What's her reasoning for the £3k she's demanded? Based on what exactly (the maths)? If there's no tenancy agreement then why would your new partner owe rent?

Maybe your new partner's contribution to household bills will make no difference to this situation since she's not paying towards the mortgage is she? Dare I say that may be a future problem for you if she decides to 'claim' her share of the property.

Your current partner occupies the property. Without knowing the ins and outs of everything it seems only a court can evict her not you ex-partner who would have to get a court order to do this.

So what's caused this current tension and maybe it's a sign that you need to formalize the separation?

Di

[AMYC1982]

Re: Bit of Help please

I really do not know where the 3000 came from!!! The argument was me asking her if she is ever going to pay towards the negative equity (which she did agree to at the start) to be honest I could have been more diplomatic when I asked her!!!! The total amount of mortgage paid is just short of 3800 which as been paid.....so how she can expect 3000 rent is beyond me!!! I did put in one of the messages in theory my current partner is paying me rent but I meant for bills as the mortgage and house insurance is around 250 and the same amount is for our bills so my partner gives that to me. There is nothing in writing saying I need to receive this money each month as far as I'm concerned it is my partners good will. Thank you ever so much for your reply.

[Diana M]

Re: Bit of Help please

I really do not know where the 3000 came from!!! The argument was me asking her if she is ever going to pay towards the negative equity (which she did agree to at the start) to be honest I could have been more diplomatic when I asked her!!!! The total amount of mortgage paid is just short of 3800 which as been paid.....so how she can expect 3000 rent is beyond me!!! I did put in one of the messages in theory my current partner is paying me rent but I meant for bills as the mortgage and house insurance is around 250 and the same amount is for our bills so my partner gives that to me. There is nothing in writing saying I need to receive this money each month as far as I'm concerned it is my partners good will.

Why did you ask your ex to pay towards the 'negative equity' figure?

Surely that 'figure' doesn't exist (or turns on its head) until or unless the property is sold/repossessed.

That 'figure' could vary if the property's value increases.

I'm sure you were diplomatic when you asked her but would she see it the same way

So you raised the issue of rent paid by your current partner (which is not the case) so maybe your ex partner latched onto that fact.

Stay away from text messages is my initial reaction to this heated situation.

Di

[AMYC1982]

Re: Bit of Help please

We agreed to look at it year to year until she had paid half so for example in 2 years time if the negative had reduced to say 5k and she had paid in half of that I would obtain the other half and pay it so the house was now on a level playing field.... Then I would look to take her off the mortgage..... She was the one who brought the rent word up....and I didn't word my reply the best i could have!!! ☺

- - - Updated - - -

And i will not be replying to any of the text messages.... She keeps sending me a text counting down the days until she comes and evicts my partner!!! X

[Diana M]

Re: Bit of Help please

We agreed to look at it year to year until she had paid half so for example in 2 years time if the negative had reduced to say 5k and she had paid in half of that I would obtain the other half and pay it so the house was now on a level playing field.... Then I would look to take her off the mortgage.

And i will not be replying to any of the text messages.... She keeps sending me a text counting down the days until she comes and evicts my partner!!! X

Based on your proposition (each would pay half of the negative equity to be reviewed annually) maybe she's waiting until the property returns to positive equity so she wan't have to pay you anything.

If you want to take her name off the mortgage you will need her co-operation. You can't force the issue easily if she wishes to remain on it.

More importantly you will need the lender's permission which will be a decision made/based on your current financial circumstances. When the loan was advanced the underwriters took into account both income streams when agreeing the amount they were willing to lend. You alone will need to meet their current criteria which may well have changed since the heady days of easy lending in 2007. Who is your lender?

If your ex does pitch up and attempt to evict your partner and change the locks she will be committing a criminal offence (unlawful eviction) so maybe a call to the police would be in order should the threat be carried out.

Di

[AMYC1982]

Re: Bit of Help please

Thankyou so much for all your advice, I will be calling the police if she turns up.....like I said nothing legal as been put in place and until it does I am no longer worried ☺

[AMYC1982]

Re: Bit of Help please

Hi

Sorry to bother you - could she be trying to claim occupational rent? I did not force her to leave the home she did in by her own free will and again for 18 months has not contributed?