Sitting Tenant and Inheritance tax

[john belotti]

I am living in my dad's house in Newcastle, he has recently passed away I have been renting the place for the last 12 years. I guess I am sitting tenant, my sisters want to sell the house and split the money between the four of us. would we value the house as a sitting tenant for inheritance tax purposes? or current market value without a sitting tenant? I may want to try and buy the house if affordable. I paid towards all the maintenance, decorating etc. adding to the value of the house over years. what are my rights as a sitting tenant? what can I do or is all the power in the two executors hands?
how long can I stay in the property? anything I can do about my interest/share in the property? advice would be welcome, if any other info needed please ask.

thank you in advance!

[Lee Young]

You need to take advice from a landlord and tenant expert to determine your rights "against your siblings". If you have sort of protection it will have an effect on the value of the property.

As regards your contributions you might have a claim to an equitable share in the property, but your siblings might argue that you paid less rent than you should have done so in return for those contributions. Either way you could end up arguing with your siblings and that is probably not too desirable!

[john belotti]

thank you Lee, I don't even have a tenancy agreement is this going to cause problems and been giving cash? who do I pay the rent to now my Dad's decreased? and if I want to buy the property does it have to be valued now with a sitting tenant in it or market value or value of when I first moved in?
what rights do I have for paying for upkeep etc for the house all these years? what is equitable share?
how long can I stay there incase they try to force me out?

any other opinions...... or course of action I should take?

[Lee Young]

As mentioned above - you need to take advice form a landlord and tenant expert. The answers to your questions may well flow from that advice.

[john belotti]

any other views? I need to find an angle to approach this.

[AGoodman]

The main issues you are raising are landlord and tenant points and this is a tax forum so you can't expect answers.

I know very little about this area so do not rely on this at all but if there is no paperwork and you moved in pre 2007 then you likely have an assured tenancy (rather than an AST) which limits the ability of the landlord to terminate the lease. That could well usefully reduce the value for IHT purposes. The executors will have to ask a valuer what the effect is.

It is unlikely you have any additional rights for having carried out repairs and decoration. You do not have any interest or share in the property itself, just an interest in the estate. You should continue paying the rent to the executors, albeit there may be a hiatus while they obtain probate.