Joint local authority lease dispute - deceased mother's estate vs surviving co-borrower

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Mango2026

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My parents bought a home in Dublin back in 2000 under a local authority shared ownership scheme. My mother’s family put a €50,000 cash lump sum toward the property at some point between 2000 and 2024

My father left the house around 2003 and stopped contributing entirely. For the next 22 years (from 2003 until 2025), my mother lived in the house and paid 100% of the mortgage repayments, local property tax, insurance, and maintenance costs by herself.

In 2025, my mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer and asked my father if he could pay the remaining mortgage off the house and sign it over to me upon finishing the payments. My father began paying €400 a week off the mortgage in June 2025.

My mother passed away in January 2026. I am an adult child and I live in the house as my primary home. My father is now claiming that because his name is on the joint lease, the entire house belongs to him. He is threatening to sell the house in 2 years and force me out. Can he do this?
 
Who holds the house deeds?
What name (names) is (are) on them?
That determines who owns it.
What did your mother's will say about her (co?) ownership of the house?
What lease are you referring to?
 
Sorry for your loss.
Were your parents married?
Is there an outstanding mortgage or was there a life insurance policy to pay it off?
 
Hi ClubMan and POC, thanks for the replies and condolences.

To answer both of your questions:

  • Deeds & Title: The property is registered in both my mother and father as Joint Tenants.
  • Will: There is no will (she passed away intestate) and nothing has been started regarding her estate yet.
  • Marriage: No, they were not married. He left the house in 2003 and they lived seperately for the next 22 years. My father moved in after her death in 2026.
  • Mortgage & Insurance: There is still an outstanding balance on the local authority account (which is why he started paying the €400 a week in mid-2025). There was no life insurance/mortgage protection policy that cleared the balance when she passed.
I understand that under standard property rules (Rule of Survivorship), the surviving joint tenant usually gets the legal title on paper.

However, my core question is about the financial equity behind that paper title. Because my mother's family paid a €50,000 lump sum, and my mother paid the mortgage and bill on her own as far as I know for 22 years while he was entirely absent, does her estate have a strong case for Equitable Accounting or a Resulting Trust?

Even if his name remains on the deed, if he forces a sale, can a court force him to reimburse her estate for the financial equity built up over those 22 years of sole payments?
 
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On the face of it the father owns it based on Survivorship rules. So it’s outside the late mother’s estate, and even if she had a will it wouldn’t matter. But it appears the mother provided most/nearly all the funds. This requires expert legal advice. There may be tax implications for him a he’s neither spouse nor partner. His residency is clearly for a reason.

Mango sorry for your loss, and for having to deal with the actions of your father. PROMPT legal advice needed, don’t delay.
 
I forgot to mention that my father said if I didn't apply for social housing he would kick me out before.

I accidently let slip that I am getting a 70,000 euro inheritence from my maternal grandmother when she dies and my father kept asking me if i am sure i am getting it.
 
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Mango2026 said:
I accidently let slip that I am getting a 70,000 euro inheritence from my maternal grandmother when she dies
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Bear in mind that this is likely to be subject to Capital Acquisitions Tax/Inheritance Tax as it's over the Group B exemption threshold of €40K just in case you're making any plans based on receiving the full €70K. A rough calculation suggests that €70K gross could be worth c. €60K after tax.

CAT group thresholds

This page explains the thresholds, rates and aggregation rules for calculating Capital Acquisitions Tax
www.revenue.ie www.revenue.ie
 
Mango2026 said:
getting a 70,000 euro inheritence from my maternal grandmother when she dies and my father kept asking me if i am sure i am getting it.
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Inclined to agree with your parent here.

Your grandmothers will is immaterial at this point; at best its impolite to discuss, at worst its setting an expectation that may not be realised.
 
I'm not sure if it is relevant but my father told my mother he received 80,000 euro after my father's mother passed away and her house was sold and the money was split between my father and his three siblings and he said he would use the money to pay off my mother's house's remaining €70,000 mortgage and sign the house over to me. One week after my mother died, my father said he doesn't have the €70,000 right now.

My father has a second house in another country that he built and the house was completed in 2026. He and his girlfriend broke up in April of 2026 and three months ago they agreed to sell the house and split the cash.
 
Most of that probably isn't relevant.

You need to forget the "he said / she said".

What matters here is

1. The purchase as joint tenants.
2. The Succession Act as your late mother did not make a will.
3. Documented receipts / evidence of who paid what in regards to house purchase.

You need proper legal advice; so gather up your documents and make an appointment.

Also if your father is currently resident, lock away all your important documents. Make copies and ask a friend to keep them.

I am sorry to say this about your parent, but anyone who is prepared to fail to support their child for 20 years, yet move back into their former partners home with said child a year after their death has few moral principles.

You should expect any and all underhanded activity.

IANAL
 
Sorry for your loss Mango .
I’m just wondering how the local authority didn’t insist on your mother as a borrower having a mortgage protection policy on the loan element of the Shared Ownership ?
You will also need to get from them confirmation that she paid a lump sum towards the purchase
Also does the LA still own the house or at least the part of it not covered by the loan ?
 
In addition to speaking to a solicitor think you need to go and speak to the local authority. Your mother will have had a local authority mortgage because the banks did not lend for shared ownership and they require mortgage protection. If she had cancelled the mortgage protection it is unlikely the loan was paid off. Most people with shared ownership mortgages origionally took out a mortgage for 50% of the value of the property and paid rent to the local authority for the rest. It was envisaged they would increse the mortage over time to pay off the full value of the property but very few did.

You are in a really tough situation, following a bereavement and having to deal with your father's behaviour. I really feel for you. However you need to take action urgently to defend your interests. If you feel unsure about approaching the council directly go to one of your local councillors. They are generally very helpful and also knowledgable.
 
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Mocame said:
In addition to speaking to a solicitor think you need to go and speak to the local authority.
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I would be surprised if the LA gave out information to someone who is effectively a stranger as far as the property ownership and LA mortgage are concerned. A potential "GDPR says no" scenario as far as I can see. But I guess that there's only one way to find out...
 
Fair point but that should not stop the person lobbying in support of their own interests. Also the person is not a stranger as far as the local authority tenancy is concerned. She or he was living in the shared ownership dwelling and if this was still subject of a local authority tenancy the tenancy can be 'inherited' or reassigned to other family members who were living in the property at the time the main tenant died.
 
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