Does my ex-boyfriend have any legal ties to my house
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Does my ex-boyfriend have any legal ties to my house
I own a house in Pennsylvania and planned on selling it to my neighbor. My
neighbor is now concerned because my ex-boyfriend told him that he has a letter
from his attorney stating the house is his because he paid the bills. My name is
on the deed and tax bills, not his. Does he have any legal recourse or is he just
trying to scare my neighbor into backing off?
Asked on March 29, 2016 under Real Estate Law, Pennsylvania
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 8 years ago | Contributor
No, paying bills does NOT by itself give your ex-boyfriend any right whatsoever to the home. There are situations where doing so may make him a tenant (basically, paying bills could be considered paying rent), so if he is still there, you'd have to evict him for good cause to remove him; and there are situations where he may be able to sue you for reimbursement, if he can convince a court he just "loaned" you the money by paying the bills; but ONLY if there was an agreement between the two of you that he was buying the house or acquiring an interest in it over time by paying bills (basically, a form of "rent to own")--which agreement would have to be in writing to be enforceable--could he claim any ownership interest.
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