joolywooly Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 My husband and his sister have inherited a flat about a year ago , which they cannot sell due to the property market being so low and a land dispute.My sister in law wants to let a relative live in there rent free for 9 months whilst there own hose is being repaired,on the understanding that they will decorate the flat and provide new carpets and we won't be liable for anything ( including gas check). What are the legal rights of the free tenant ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPEEDTWIN Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 Renting to relatives can sometimes cause problems. To be on the safe side print off a free ast contract from the web and draw up the contract for 6 months at £1 pcm. Then if there is problems at a later date it will be easy to get them out. You could also serve a s21 at the start to kick in at month 6. The tenancy will then run on a month to month basis from month 6 to 9. Explain to them it gives them and you security. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 A nominal AST would make you liable for legal gas check and possibly general health and safety points like smoke alarms, but wouldn't this be wise anyway? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melboy Posted February 15, 2009 Report Share Posted February 15, 2009 Letting to relatives can lead to no end of problems as highlighted many many times on this forum and other Landlord's forums. The bottom line is that you MUST do everything by the book as if your Tenant was a complete stranger to you. Avoid any potential problems now rather than in the future if things go badly wrong. As far as decorating goes I would certainly ensure that your relatives are experienced in the business of decorating and would carry out at least a semi professional job otherwise you could end up having to put everything right whether you decide to sell or rent your flat out again. Mel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donside Posted February 15, 2009 Report Share Posted February 15, 2009 Ask them to pay for the safety checks prior to signing the contract. It's not unreasonable since they are getting the place for free. You could also make the rent equivalent of what it would cost to undertake of the repairs / decorating. Say that it is a formality and you would not seek to recover the money if the work is undertaken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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