\t\t\t<\/p>\n
This week our Property Poser experts are again faced with an emotive issue involving siblings who jointly inherited a fixed property and cannot seem to agree on the day-to-day running of it.<\/p>\n
A reader writes that she not only inherited half the property but also lived there for a number of years \u2013 first with her mother, who owned the other half, and later, after her mother\u2019s passing, with her daughter.<\/p>\n
Unbeknown to her, her mother left her own half-share to the reader\u2019s two siblings and this is where the trouble started.<\/p>\n
Joint ownership of a property can be the cause of much strife if the obligations and rights of each owner are not set out properly, says Rian du Toit from DTS Attorneys<\/a> in Port Elizabeth.<\/p>\n Du Toit says some of the issues that have cropped up in our reader\u2019s situation relate to the fact that she has been living in the property for several years and continues to live there.<\/p>\n \u201cShe has, over the past seven years, taken on all running expenses as well as maintenance expenses relating to the property.\u201d<\/p>\n According to the reader, her siblings are requiring a lease contract to be signed and threats have been made of taking legal action against her to acquire her share in the property.<\/p>\n It is important at this stage to point out the differences between being an owner and being a tenant and that both situations could exist alongside one another, says Du Toit.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile our reader owns half of the property, this does not mean that she necessarily has the right to live there, as the other half belongs to different parties.\u201d<\/p>\n As in any rental situation, Du Toit says a lease agreement may well be a very good idea. \u201cThe parties should also consider concluding an agreement regarding the day-to-day running expenses of the property.<\/p>\n \u201cThe owners of the other 50% still remain liable for their proportionate share of utility bills, rates, taxes and maintenance costs.\u201d<\/p>\n