ChatterBank4 mins ago
Thrown out of my own house.
My father passed away before Christmas and had a partner at the time.
She started kicking off saying the house was hers and got into it as Dad had given her a key.
My father and myself owned the house as tennants in common in equal shares.
His partner phoned the police and said I was trespassing in the house. It was the 24th December and the land registry was closed.
Unfortunately the neighbours thouht the house belonged to my father and this woman as she had spent so much time there and they thought I had no ownership rights to the house so I was told to leave or be arrested.
I managed to get a copy of the land certificate on the 29th December and took it to the police and proved I was an owner occupier. I then went to the house and found she was not there and went in and got the locks changed.
The police are not taking any action. I had to stay in a hotel for 4 nights at my expense and pay for the locks to be changed.
I have now found out this woman is an undischarged bankcrupt ( I do not think Dad knew this) and I am not likely to recover any money from her.
Do I have any rights against the police as they were not correct in asking me to leave. My fathers half of the house is willed to me.
Also this lady is demanding to come into the house to get the rest of her property. I do not want to let her in as I do not trust her and I have taken her property back to her house at 7am one morning.
I put it in her porch which was open, rang her bell and left quickly when she came to the door.
Do I have to let her in?.
She started kicking off saying the house was hers and got into it as Dad had given her a key.
My father and myself owned the house as tennants in common in equal shares.
His partner phoned the police and said I was trespassing in the house. It was the 24th December and the land registry was closed.
Unfortunately the neighbours thouht the house belonged to my father and this woman as she had spent so much time there and they thought I had no ownership rights to the house so I was told to leave or be arrested.
I managed to get a copy of the land certificate on the 29th December and took it to the police and proved I was an owner occupier. I then went to the house and found she was not there and went in and got the locks changed.
The police are not taking any action. I had to stay in a hotel for 4 nights at my expense and pay for the locks to be changed.
I have now found out this woman is an undischarged bankcrupt ( I do not think Dad knew this) and I am not likely to recover any money from her.
Do I have any rights against the police as they were not correct in asking me to leave. My fathers half of the house is willed to me.
Also this lady is demanding to come into the house to get the rest of her property. I do not want to let her in as I do not trust her and I have taken her property back to her house at 7am one morning.
I put it in her porch which was open, rang her bell and left quickly when she came to the door.
Do I have to let her in?.
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I think the OP is talking about receiving recompense for his hotel stay and lock-change..?
Never in a month of Sundays.
No, you don't have to let her in....however, what proof do you have that her things were returned to her. From your description of how you delivered them, she may be able to claim that she never received them.
Never in a month of Sundays.
No, you don't have to let her in....however, what proof do you have that her things were returned to her. From your description of how you delivered them, she may be able to claim that she never received them.
I would just draw a line under it and leave it - the fact that the Police asked you to leave was because they didn't have correct information, it was a mistake.
You've got your house back and your father's partner's got her stuff back - although tbh I would have asked her to sign for it, or done it in someone's else's presence to prove you did it and what was returned, she sounds a nasty piece of work... anyone could have followed you afterwards and pinched the stuff from her open porch.
Anyway - it's finished now, I would just write off what you had to spend over this sorry affair. I would leave it. You certainly don't have to let her in, and now you've given her stuff back, there is no reason for her to come to the house.
You've got your house back and your father's partner's got her stuff back - although tbh I would have asked her to sign for it, or done it in someone's else's presence to prove you did it and what was returned, she sounds a nasty piece of work... anyone could have followed you afterwards and pinched the stuff from her open porch.
Anyway - it's finished now, I would just write off what you had to spend over this sorry affair. I would leave it. You certainly don't have to let her in, and now you've given her stuff back, there is no reason for her to come to the house.
".....Unfortunately the neighbours thouht the house belonged to my father and this woman as she had spent so much time there and they thought I had no ownership rights...." that's why the police arrested you.
You've proved ownership. Send gf registered letter to collect her property by 7days or you will charge her storage :)
You've proved ownership. Send gf registered letter to collect her property by 7days or you will charge her storage :)
I suggest you ask yourself what you want from the police:
A/ An apology for asking you too leave and threatening you with arrest.
B/ Repayment of the cost of spending time in an hotel.
If it is A then make a written complaint at the Police station at which the officers are based asking for a written apology.
If it is B I think you are on a longer more difficult path, the officers will probably claim they exercised all the care they could in establishing who was trespassing (squatting is different), believed it was you and said they would arrest you if you did not leave, which they the authority to do. They got it wrong and you could ask for damages to reimburse you for the time you spent in a hotel. If you took the matter to court because the police refused your claim for damages you would probably have to show you made every effort to mitigate the loss, as most people have said you are probably better off to leave it, but if you feel strongly over their behaviour have a go.
Regarding the return of goods I think knowing who the owner was and where she lived and considering a possible breech of the peace you did the correct thing, alternatively you could have asked the police to be present when the owner called for the goods or accompany you to deliver them on the grounds that you were genuinely in fear of being harmed as a result of an assault or other disturbance.
You now do not have to let her into your house.
A/ An apology for asking you too leave and threatening you with arrest.
B/ Repayment of the cost of spending time in an hotel.
If it is A then make a written complaint at the Police station at which the officers are based asking for a written apology.
If it is B I think you are on a longer more difficult path, the officers will probably claim they exercised all the care they could in establishing who was trespassing (squatting is different), believed it was you and said they would arrest you if you did not leave, which they the authority to do. They got it wrong and you could ask for damages to reimburse you for the time you spent in a hotel. If you took the matter to court because the police refused your claim for damages you would probably have to show you made every effort to mitigate the loss, as most people have said you are probably better off to leave it, but if you feel strongly over their behaviour have a go.
Regarding the return of goods I think knowing who the owner was and where she lived and considering a possible breech of the peace you did the correct thing, alternatively you could have asked the police to be present when the owner called for the goods or accompany you to deliver them on the grounds that you were genuinely in fear of being harmed as a result of an assault or other disturbance.
You now do not have to let her into your house.
To be honest as the neighbours thought the house belonged to this lady I do not think the police could have done anything else at the time and I agree with Tony.
My father passed away before Christmas as well and several people think it is wrong I inherited his estate in accordance with the terms of his will and think I should sell the house to give other people the money and presumably go and live in a tree.
With regard to the hotel bill you would normally have recourse to the woman and you could take her to court but if she has no money this may be a fruitless exercise.
Looking back people could say you should have had a copy of the land certificate available but I keep the land certificate to our house in the safe at the bank and the bank was closed on Christmas Eve. In view of what has happened here I will take a photocopy and keep it in the house when it is finally goes into my sole name.
I think it was fortunate this lady had not changed the locks as you would have had to take further proceedings as it would have been an offence to break into the house and you may have been in the hotel for a lot longer as well as having legal costs.
Oddly enough when my wife and myself purchased our house in London people thought my mother and father were the owners,
My parents found the house while myself and my wife were in work and they were there for about 2 weeks setting it up.
My mother and father wanted us to join them on a holiday later that year and they did not want me to take time off work to set up the house as they were retired and fit at the time.
Out of interest is it the house you grew up in as a child?.
Martin
My father passed away before Christmas as well and several people think it is wrong I inherited his estate in accordance with the terms of his will and think I should sell the house to give other people the money and presumably go and live in a tree.
With regard to the hotel bill you would normally have recourse to the woman and you could take her to court but if she has no money this may be a fruitless exercise.
Looking back people could say you should have had a copy of the land certificate available but I keep the land certificate to our house in the safe at the bank and the bank was closed on Christmas Eve. In view of what has happened here I will take a photocopy and keep it in the house when it is finally goes into my sole name.
I think it was fortunate this lady had not changed the locks as you would have had to take further proceedings as it would have been an offence to break into the house and you may have been in the hotel for a lot longer as well as having legal costs.
Oddly enough when my wife and myself purchased our house in London people thought my mother and father were the owners,
My parents found the house while myself and my wife were in work and they were there for about 2 weeks setting it up.
My mother and father wanted us to join them on a holiday later that year and they did not want me to take time off work to set up the house as they were retired and fit at the time.
Out of interest is it the house you grew up in as a child?.
Martin
With regard to her goods I think it would have been wise to have had somebody with you when you placed them in her porch but at least she came to the door.
If she wants to claim for any missing items from you she would have to prove they existed.
You do not have to let her into your house without a court order.
Martin
If she wants to claim for any missing items from you she would have to prove they existed.
You do not have to let her into your house without a court order.
Martin
I'm slightly confused by some of the answers to this post where people say the police had no other option at the time - it is my understanding that issues of property ownership like this, and trespass in particular, fall under Civil Law rather than Criminal Law. Though the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 did expand the polices powers to remove squatters in some situations I do not think these apply in this case. Therefore the Police should not have threatened anyone with arrest and you should take the matter forward as they basically threw you out of your own home.
It is the Police authorities Professional Standards departments that investigate complaints - select the relevant authorities contact details here:
http://www.ipcc.gov.u..._contact_details.aspx
I think you should ask as a goodwill gesture for a reimbursement for the hotel bill for being threatened with arrest if you didn't leave your house... which I think is a really big / scary thing to have had to deal with and should be recognised as such.
It is the Police authorities Professional Standards departments that investigate complaints - select the relevant authorities contact details here:
http://www.ipcc.gov.u..._contact_details.aspx
I think you should ask as a goodwill gesture for a reimbursement for the hotel bill for being threatened with arrest if you didn't leave your house... which I think is a really big / scary thing to have had to deal with and should be recognised as such.
Hi IggyB
I see what you are saying here but what has to be taken into account here was it was Christmas Eve, the land registry would have been closed at that time so ownership could not be proved and there was a potential for breach of the peace.
I think the police took the only reasonable course of action based on the evidence available at the time.
Unfortunately Knightamy was thrown out of her own house and it must have been extremely distressing over Christmas just after her father passed away.
The fault does lie with the woman. Unfortunately there are people about who just want to get money and do not care about the consequences to people like Knightamy.
Martin
I see what you are saying here but what has to be taken into account here was it was Christmas Eve, the land registry would have been closed at that time so ownership could not be proved and there was a potential for breach of the peace.
I think the police took the only reasonable course of action based on the evidence available at the time.
Unfortunately Knightamy was thrown out of her own house and it must have been extremely distressing over Christmas just after her father passed away.
The fault does lie with the woman. Unfortunately there are people about who just want to get money and do not care about the consequences to people like Knightamy.
Martin
Hi Joko
I agree with what you are saying.
However Knightamy has lost 4 days / nights use of her house. As well as the hotel bills she will br held liable for the gas / electricity used and possibly for phone calls.
In fact I am just wandering if the woman could be charged with theft of the electic or gas and get a criminal record.
Amy
I agree with what you are saying.
However Knightamy has lost 4 days / nights use of her house. As well as the hotel bills she will br held liable for the gas / electricity used and possibly for phone calls.
In fact I am just wandering if the woman could be charged with theft of the electic or gas and get a criminal record.
Amy
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