Co-Owner Planning on Renting Out Our Home

My question involves real estate located in the State of: Florida

I purchased my home and added my long term boyfriend to the deed 10 years ago. He is not on the mortgage. We split up "somewhat" amicably and he has been living in the home for the last year, making the mortgage payments.

He now wants to move out, and is actively looking for someone to rent (what he considers) HIS house. Can he do that legally without my permission? I have my concerns about the type of tenant he allows in there and who will be responsible for any necessary repairs.

He has shown the house to one person already but I learned that through a third party since he chose not to inform me of his plans. This might be "going down" soon.

Thanks in advance!

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Quoting Claire1951

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My question involves real estate located in the State of: Florida

I purchased my home and added my long term boyfriend to the deed 10 years ago. He is not on the mortgage. We split up "somewhat" amicably and he has been living in the home for the last year, making the mortgage payments.

He now wants to move out, and is actively looking for someone to rent (what he considers) HIS house. Can he do that legally without my permission? I have my concerns about the type of tenant he allows in there and who will be responsible for any necessary repairs.

He has shown the house to one person already but I learned that through a third party since he chose not to inform me of his plans. This might be "going down" soon.

Thanks in advance!

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Why not, it is his house.

But it's also mine, and he's not on the mortgage. He's planning on giving them a years lease. What if the roof leaks and he won't fix it? What if I needed to move back in?

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Quoting Claire1951

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But it's also mine, and he's not on the mortgage. He's planning on giving them a years lease. What if the roof leaks and he won't fix it? What if I needed to move back in?

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So what if the rook leaks, then you fix it - who would fix it now? You are not living there now are you? He does have the right to rent out his home if he chooses to live elsewhere. At least he is making sure you are able to make the housepayments. Would you rather he leave you high and dry?

Oh, okay, I see.... so he charges a couple hundred above the mortgage payment, pockets the extra, refuses to make the repair, so I pay for the repairs while living off social security. I'll just check into bankruptcy if it comes to that I guess.

So move into your home. Fix your own roof.

What he intends to do is not illegal.

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Quoting Antigone

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So what if the rook leaks, then you fix it - who would fix it now? You are not living there now are you? He does have the right to rent out his home if he chooses to live elsewhere. At least he is making sure you are able to make the housepayments. Would you rather he leave you high and dry?

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I don't agree with this. Its not "his" property its "their" property. She has as much right to live there as he does, and she is the only one responsible for the mortgage. We don't even know what kind of mortgage she has and whether or not it would allow for it to be tenant occupied. What guarantee does she have that he would continue to make the mortgage payments if he was the one collecting the rent?

Absent the agreement of both owners to rent out the place, the better solution would be to sell the home and split the proceeds.

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Quoting llworking

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I don't agree with this. Its not "his" property its "their" property. She has as much right to live there as he does, and she is the only one responsible for the mortgage. We don't even know what kind of mortgage she has and whether or not it would allow for it to be tenant occupied. What guarantee does she have that he would continue to make the mortgage payments if he was the one collecting the rent?

Absent the agreement of both owners to rent out the place, the better solution would be to sell the home and split the proceeds.

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You are right it is their property; however she is not living in the home, he is. She is upset that he wants to rent it so that the mortgage payments can continue to be made while he no longer resides in the home. Heck she can move in if she wants, but it is not illegal for him to lease the home out.

Yes, I do agree that it would be better for her to sell the home and get out from under this mess she is in, but we don't know if that is even an option for her at this time. She only asked about the other owner renting the home, nothing about selling the home.

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Quoting Antigone

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You are right it is their property; however she is not living in the home, he is. She is upset that he wants to rent it so that the mortgage payments can continue to be made while he no longer resides in the home. Heck she can move in if she wants, but it is not illegal for him to lease the home out.

Yes, I do agree that it would be better for her to sell the home and get out from under this mess she is in, but we don't know if that is even an option for her at this time. She only asked about the other owner renting the home, nothing about selling the home.

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I don't agree with the bolded. The other owner doesn't agree and there is nothing in evidence that says that the mortgage would allow it to be tenant occupied.

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Quoting llworking

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I don't agree with the bolded. The other owner doesn't agree and there is nothing in evidence that says that the mortgage would allow it to be tenant occupied.

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Now we don't know that, do we.

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Quoting Antigone

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Now we don't know that, do we.

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Which means that you cannot make the statement that its not illegal.

Point taken.

Thank you so much for understanding my concerns. I'll check into whether the house can be rented first off, as I didn't know that some mortgages have stipulations about that.

I would sell the home except there's a lien on it for fees incurred during a period when I almost went into foreclosure and had to fight for a loan modification. Currently the home is only appraised for about half the mortgage and lien value, and since he hasn't maintained it very well, the chance of breaking even is slim. Thank you again!

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Quoting Claire1951

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Thank you so much for understanding my concerns. I'll check into whether the house can be rented first off, as I didn't know that some mortgages have stipulations about that.

I would sell the home except there's a lien on it for fees incurred during a period when I almost went into foreclosure and had to fight for a loan modification. Currently the home is only appraised for about half the mortgage and lien value, and since he hasn't maintained it very well, the chance of breaking even is slim. Thank you again!

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Claire, if you are underwater that badly and you don't intend to live in the home. What your co-owner is trying to do may be your best option. You really have to look at this from a financial perspective. Are you going to win or lose by allowing him to rent out the home. If he does not rent it out and just leaves, who loses - he doesn't, you do.

You are in a very difficult situation, you'll just need to find the best solution for you at this time. That might include letting this home go. Just some food for thought.

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Quoting Antigone

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Claire, if you are underwater that badly and you don't intend to live in the home. What your co-owner is trying to do may be your best option. You really have to look at this from a financial perspective. Are you going to win or lose by allowing him to rent out the home. If he does not rent it out and just leaves, who loses - he doesn't, you do.

You are in a very difficult situation, you'll just need to find the best solution for you at this time. That might include letting this home go. Just some food for thought.

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I agree with this completely. You are the only one who is going to have to deal with the credit mess if the mortgage is not paid. Since the home is obviously not saleable at this point your choices are to rent the home out (hoping that it won't cause a problem with the mortgage) or move back into the home and take over the mortgage payments yourself, or let the home go to foreclosure.

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Quoting Claire1951

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He now wants to move out, and is actively looking for someone to rent (what he considers) HIS house. Can he do that legally without my permission?

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I would answer that, "Yes, but...." Yes, but without your consent he cannot bypass your legal rights, and right now you have an equal right to use and possession - so in theory you could move back into your own home and tell the landlord to take it up with your ex- if they have a problem with it.

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Quoting Claire1951

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I have my concerns about the type of tenant he allows in there and who will be responsible for any necessary repairs.

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I have a long history of arguing that any co-ownership arrangement outside of marriage should include a written contract detailing how these matters will be handled. It's not too late to start negotiating.

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Quoting llworking

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I don't agree with this. Its not "his" property its "their" property. She has as much right to live there as he does, and she is the only one responsible for the mortgage. We don't even know what kind of mortgage she has and whether or not it would allow for it to be tenant occupied. What guarantee does she have that he would continue to make the mortgage payments if he was the one collecting the rent?

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They also have to worry about insurance, as their present policy probably only covers owner-occupancy. But violating the mortgage or having inadequate insurance is not "illegal", as such, but is grounds in the former case to allow a lender to accelerate the mortgage and foreclose, and in the latter case to deny coverage for claimed injuries and property damage.

The rental concept itself may require municipal inspection and approval of the premises for rental, and depending upon the requirements and ordinances it could be a civil or even criminal offense to proceed with renting the premises without their being approved.... and that could affect both owners, even if only one is responsible for renting out the home.

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Quoting llworking

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Absent the agreement of both owners to rent out the place, the better solution would be to sell the home and split the proceeds.

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Or split the liability for the debt, if they're upside-down, but not everybody can afford to bring "cash to closing".

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Quoting Claire1951

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I would sell the home except there's a lien on it for fees incurred during a period when I almost went into foreclosure and had to fight for a loan modification. Currently the home is only appraised for about half the mortgage and lien value, and since he hasn't maintained it very well, the chance of breaking even is slim. Thank you again!

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It may be time to consult a bankruptcy lawyer.

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Quoting Antigone

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Claire, if you are underwater that badly and you don't intend to live in the home. What your co-owner is trying to do may be your best option. You really have to look at this from a financial perspective. Are you going to win or lose by allowing him to rent out the home. If he does not rent it out and just leaves, who loses - he doesn't, you do.

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Absent coming up with a big chunk of money to cover the debt in excess of property value or bankruptcy, which may be an inferior option, its difficult to argue with that.

Note, there may be tax advantages to turning the home into a rental, particularly in relation to the repairs, which you and your ex- (assuming you proceed with the plan to rent the home) should discuss with an accountant.

Thank you both, very much! Good information here :) IF the mortgage allows for a tenant I'll make sure I'm involved in the process and things are spelled out the way I need them to be. (just found out the first potential tenants decided to pass... the ex finally called & let me know)

If it turns out the mortgage won't allow a tenant, I'll probably have to let it go since it's doubtful I could afford the upkeep. I can live with either :)

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Thank you too for your comments! It sounds like you live up to your name in here (that's a compliment :) )

I work next door to a bankruptcy lawyer and will have a talk with him the moment it looks like the mortgage payment won't get paid.... or possibly before then.