Q: Is the executive of an estate required to fix property issues under an informal lease?
I have been living on a property under an informal lease for over 70 years. Recently, the executive of the estate—named about a year ago—has not addressed significant repair issues, such as there being no floor in the kitchen and bathroom, just holes covered by plywood. We have asked the executive to fix the floor, but we were told, "not my problem." There are no written agreements, and no legal steps have been taken yet. Is the executive legally required to make these repairs despite the informal lease?
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- Rhode Island
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- Answered
A: It doesn't look good, sorry. While executor of the probate estate that holds the real estate does have an obligation to keep the premises up to minimum housing standards, and maybe these holes and plywood do or don't comply with the housing code, your big problem is that you have no written lease. The executor has the power to try to evict you by filing an action in District Court. Also, if you get the municipality's Housing Court involved then the municipality might deem the dwelling uninhabitable, and then you would have to move out. Perhaps most important, the property that you've been living in is going to change hands through probate. The subsequent owner might also want to evict you or overhaul the structure.
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