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RIGHTS OF AS LODGER
Hi
A person has been living in a property for 8 years as a lodger. There is no tenancy but the owner has agreed that the lodger makes an agreed contribution towards the upkeep of the property, which has been done.
Sadly, the owner dies leaving the lodger resident.
On the day after the funeral, the owner’s relatives advise the lodger that he can stay in the home for 3 months, before they put it up for sale and put all utility bills etc in the name of the lodger.
The lodger has now received a text advising him that he must vacate the property by the end of May, instead of the three month period previously indicated, as the relatives want to market the property immediately.
There is no tenancy or written agreement. This leaves the lodger in a predicament, as he will have to find somewhere else immediately rather than enjoying the opportunity to find accommodation which he might prefer.
Does he have any rights whereby he can extend the period of his occupancy please?
Many thanks
Ray Guselli
Councillor
Barrow in Furness
This is an issue relating to housing law, rather than benefits law, and could be quite specialised. It will in part depend on what you mean by “lodger” - did he have exclusive occupation of any part of the property in which he lived, did he get any services in with his right of occupation. If he actually contributed to the fabric and maintenance of the property his rights may be quite complicated.
A good place to start would be http://www.adviceguide,org,uk, the public website operated by Citizens Advice. This contains a section on housing issues, and gives links to the websites of various organisations offering specific help on housing issues, which would probably be a better source of advice than this discussion group.
Good luck!
Soory, there are some extraneous commas in that URL, the right one is http://www.adviceguide.org.uk.
My keyboard is getting a bit worn in places!
Many thanks
I had not appreciated the different roles etc….I will follow the link you sent.
Thanks very much for your help.
Best wishes
Ray
You may also find the links below, from shelter, useful.
http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/eviction
http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/downloads_and_tools/tenancy_checker
I think the starting point is to wonder about who your client should be dealing with?
Normally the person in charge of a property, after a death, will be the executor of the will.
There will probabbly be some sort of arrangement about the property in the will, eg it is to be sold and the equity divided.
Your client should be expecting contact from the executor, until that happens no reason to panic….or leave…just deal with the executor.
In most cases executors are really thorough and do things by the law.
It seems to me that the relatives are jumping the gun a bit.
Your LA Housing Advice department should be able to help. Normally you get plenty of notice as executors want to do what the deceased would want. If your client is vulnerable then they could apply as Homeless under 1996 Housinbg Act partvii…..
A tenancy held by a lodger is an excluded one under the 1988 Housing Act. A lodger therefore has no statutory protection from eviction and the landlord is only under an obligation to give reasonable notice to quit. A mere 24 hours might be sufficient depending on the facts.
However, the new agreement with a new landlord gives him a fixed term tenancy of 3 months and now, because the landlord does not live in the same building as him, he does have the protection of the Housing Act and the landlord must go to court to regain possession.
Unlawful eviction is not only a civil matter attracting damages but an indictable offence under section 1 of the Protection from Eviction Act 1977. He should see a solicitor straight away.
We have a housing solicitor here Ray.
My thanks to all for the helpful responses…really appreciated.
I am going to pass the replies to Dave (the lodger) and see what he wants to do.
Nicky from Barrow kindly offered help via the CAB Solicitor whom I have already spoken to and he was as usual, absolutely brilliant.
However, because the lodger cannot get legal aid he does not qualify for aid through CAB….
Much appreciate the help so far…
Kind regards
Ray
A tenancy held by a lodger is an excluded one under the 1988 Housing Act. A lodger therefore has no statutory protection from eviction and the landlord is only under an obligation to give reasonable notice to quit. A mere 24 hours might be sufficient depending on the facts.
However, the new agreement with a new landlord gives him a fixed term tenancy of 3 months and now, because the landlord does not live in the same building as him, he does have the protection of the Housing Act and the landlord must go to court to regain possession.
Unlawful eviction is not only a civil matter attracting damages but an indictable offence under section 1 of the Protection from Eviction Act 1977. He should see a solicitor straight away.
There is a slight error here. The exclusion is under Section 3A of the Protection form Eviction Act 1977 not the 1988 Act. Just hope that clarifies things.
You are quite right. Section 3A was inserted into the Protection from Eviction Act by section 31 of the Housing Act and that’s where I got mixed up.