Your siblings cannot sell the house without your permission and if you don’t give permission they will need to go to court to force the sale which will eat up the value of the inheritance quickly. So don’t worry that he can make this happen if you refuse to pay rent.
Say they are 5 of you, and the house is worth €500K and it would rent out for €1500 per month.
There are several options
1. You pay each sibling €300 per month rent, (you would not pay yourself), and you maintain the property, getting each of them to pay 1/5 of all maintenance costs, insurance, painting, boiler service etc. don’t forget to keep all receipts to keep it all crystal clear what they are paying for. register the tenancy with the RTB, each sibling will pay tax on their rental income.
Make sure probate is taken out and that the 5 of you are on the deeds as owners.
2. Offer to pay your sibling €100K for his part of the house, then you own 2/5ths and the other 3 1/5 each.
3. If you cannot afford it try to get one of the other siblings to buy your brothers 1/5th.
4. Agree to put the house on the market, take your 1/5th of the profits and find somewhere else to buy or rent.
5. Many of your siblings may have no interest in being landlords and would probably be happy if you bought them out of their portion, so raise a mortgage and buy them all out.
You need to be clear how much the house is worth, how much you can borrow, how much you can afford in rent.
And your siblings are entitled to their portion of their mother’s assets. I am sure your mother loved you all equally and the fact she did not make a will is probably a sign she was very conflicted about wanting to give you a home until she died and treating all her children fairly and reflecting the love she had for you all. While she cherished your companionship and probably was very grateful you lived with her, she was also aware that you probably lived there rent free for years, while your siblings paid rent and mortgage.
Ultimately the decision on the house rests with you but the final answer is that the house is sold, either piece by piece to you or another sibling or to a stranger with you moving on. You need to decide if it is worth falling out with your family over or if you want to fight it and cause unnecessary trouble every step of the way.
I would be curious to know if you knew your mother had no will and what plans you put in place for yourself if you ever had to move out due to work, family, falling out with your mother etc.
