here goes il try explain the situation as best as i can and any help on the matter would be greatly appreciated. Earlier this year my younger sister found out she was going to have another child, great news. however she was staying in a 2 bedroom house and and she was having a girl so her son and the new baby couldnt share a room. by chance one day i was out at the cars and my neighbour who i got on well with said that he was moving back down to england and was gonna be renting his 3 bedroom bungalow out. right away spoke with my sister and she was very interested. they drew up a contract and all was settled she has since spent time and money getting the house into a good condition and her little girl is now 6 weeks old everything was going great until tonight. they got a visit from a sheriff officer as the owners havent been paying there mortgage even though they have been recieving my sisters rent money. the sherrif officers have given my sister till the end of january to pack up and move as at present they cant locate the owners. does she have any options here? is there any companies that could buy the property for renting purposes? she is settled in our street and doesnt want to move away and she has worked hard to get to where she is the now

in short, no (unless someone on here is willing to buy the house, or she asks to buy the house)

 

If the owners haven't been paying the mortgage and defaulted, then the bank owns the house still and she is technically trespassing / squatting.

 

Although its a crappy time of year for them to do this to her, they unfortunately are well with in their rights to ask her to vacate the premises and have given her ample time to look for a new abode.

 

What she could do is get a letter of confirmation from them, go down the local council and ask to be homed as she will be homeless other wise, as she is a mother with young children she will be moved to the top of the housing list, the process should not take too long, but she will have to move.

 

I know council houses are not what every one wants, but to be honest its a more secure home than privately renting, council have set strict rules to adhere to, where as private rented landlords do not. (well they do, but from what ive seen, they never usually follow them), also if she is lucky and gets a decent area, once she has lived there for a while she can buy the house at a significantly reduced amount.

 

Did she confirm who they where though? as to if they where genuine or not?

Edited November 29, 201213 yr by vodkashots

She should cancel the direct debit that pays the rent. Free house until January!

Just dont move out until shes ready.. if she gets free legal advice it will take months for the bank to get her out. This will give your sister time to find something..

As a landlord who had been subject to a squatter, I wouldnt normally say this as I still had to pay the mortgage. But its the bank and not very nice of them..

the local council are not obliged give her a house until a warrant has been served and there is a date ...

does she have any options here?

 

Her first and only option is to consult a solicitor.. NOW.

As most of us live in England and you are in Bonnie Scotland(where I was born) there may be differencies in Law that we are not aware of.So any advice from us will be of limited value(possibly)

She should give the Sherriff all the details about the bank account the rent has been going in to etc. And if she has a proper rental agreement she should give that to her solicitor..... If she has acted above board and has the documentation to ptove it then she'll stand a better chance than not having any to fight her case

She has been in contact with the owners and they are adamant its a mistake but she is trying to get its all sorted soon as

She should give the Sherriff the contact details !

she has given them all the detail she has the woman is still adamant that its sorted however i know she shouldnt do it but she has opened up the owner mortgage statement as some of there mail still comes to the house and the last four payments have been missed. The owner was on the phone today saying its all sorted and she needs the rent money by the 9th at the latest. my sister has told them she will pay the rent when the sherriff officer comes back and produces a letter saying that its all cleared needless to say they arent to happy

Sounds like they are pulling a fast one, good on your sister for not handing over any more money, looks like the owners are trying to get as much out of it until they lose the house to the mortgage company.

Good point about the scottish legal system though..

The rules are very different in Scotland.

 

Del tell her to give Shelter a phone, they should be able to advise her of her rights - please note the bottom right of the page asks you to select England or Scotland so that it knows which version of the content to give you http://www.shelter.org.uk/

Here is the relevant section actually mate - http://scotland.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/advice_topics/repossession/tenants,_spouses_and_partners