Spouse Visa - Proof of Accommodation Ownership

Hi,

I'm applying for a spouse visa for my wife and have a quick question of what evidence will be sufficient for my proof of accommodation -

I am living in my Fathers house, he owns it and pays his mortgage every month. My mother stays with him, and myself. My wife and I intend on moving there and we have his permission to do so.

- I have a annual council tax annual bill showing our address, my mother and fathers name.
- I have statements for the last 6 months showing our mortgage payments going into the account
- I have a reprint of our Mortgage Offer from Halifax showing clearly the offer, the property address, and my fathers name and the address it was sent to (Our existing address as it was a reprint from 09/04/08)

My father did go into arrears with his mortgage repayments a few years ago and is now on a payment plan paying back interest - would this potentially cause any issues with my application? As of the past 6 months at least, everything is up to date as I have been the one who's paying the mortgage.

I forgot to also add - The house has 3 rooms, two bedroom and one living room.

In total there will be 4 people living in the house

- Myself
- My Wife
- My Mother
- My Father

I was advised by my lawyer that I do not need a property inspection report - however would you guys still suggest it?

Hi klite,

my understanding is that the focus of the accommodation requirement is based on two factors

1) Permission
2) Overcrowding

Since you do not own the property, you need to provide proof of the permission to occupy.

Since you do not have a sole tenancy agreement and the property is shared with your parents who are not independent of you or the applicant, you may need the accommodation report to satisfy the overcrowding criteria. See

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... x_1_7A.pdf

Section 8.3 p20

and

https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... ion-maa--2

Section 12.2

Your lawyer has assessed the situation to be not overcrowded from the information you provided, fair enough. However, the ECO who makes the decision, may not, unless independent verification is provided. While the accommodation report is clearly not necessary in the circumstances you outline here, that conclusion is dependent on ECO assessment of your "credibiity" and the alternative evidence you provide.

See also

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... lement.pdf

p3.

The arrears should not matter since payments are up to date and accommodation is immediately available without recourse to public funds.

I'm not an expert or a lawyer, this just my understanding.

Kind regards
Simon

SimonS wrote:Hi klite,

my understanding is that the focus of the accommodation requirement is based on two factors

1) Permission
2) Overcrowding

Since you do not own the property, you need to provide proof of the permission to occupy.

Since you do not have a sole tenancy agreement and the property is shared with your parents who are not independent of you or the applicant, you may need the accommodation report to satisfy the overcrowding criteria. See

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... x_1_7A.pdf

Section 8.3 p20

and

https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... ion-maa--2

Section 12.2

Your lawyer has assessed the situation to be not overcrowded from the information you provided, fair enough. However, the ECO who makes the decision, may not, unless independent verification is provided. While the accommodation report is clearly not necessary in the circumstances you outline here, that conclusion is dependent on ECO assessment of your "credibiity" and the alternative evidence you provide.

See also

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... lement.pdf

p3.

The arrears should not matter since payments are up to date and accommodation is immediately available without recourse to public funds.

I'm not an expert or a lawyer, this just my understanding.

Kind regards
Simon

I see.

Well I've quested a Title Deed to be sent to us and also mortgage statements and the council tax bill. My lawyer is also drafting up a document that my father will sign basically giving me permission to stay in his house.

I mean there's only 3 people already living in a two bedroom flat - once my wife arrives then there'll be two couples in a two bedroom flat. That's excluding the living room and another misc room we have. I think that's why the Lawyer said that in the past it was required however not anymore. I'll bring this up with him again.

I want to see what the general consensus is in regards to the property inspection? Is it required?

Did your solicitor not advise you that actually your father can write this letter himself for you since you've requested title deeds with his name on them!

Only exemption from Property inspection report is when its single occupancy i.e sponsor living alone. In case of other people living in the house you need to provide property inspection report. My husband owns a 4 bedroom house and lives with his mother and we were advised to get a report from our solicitor.

metanoia wrote:Only exemption from Property inspection report is when its single occupancy i.e sponsor living alone. In case of other people living in the house you need to provide property inspection report. My husband owns a 4 bedroom house and lives with his mother and we were advised to get a report from our solicitor.

I was advised that a property inspection reports are required if you are living a house of multiple occupants with non related people.

Now I am living with my Mother & Father - the lawyer I have did my cousins spouse visa application too and he didn't have a property inspection report and still got the visa granted within 11 days of his application.

This is what's very unclear to me because I'm getting conflicted information on it.

Hi klite,

it is confusing. I do not know what your cousins situation is but it is not likely to be absolutely identical to yours. What I do understand is contained in the links I sent to you.

In short, no, it is not a mandatory requirement.

However, take note of Section 8.2 last paragraph page 20 of Appendix FM 1.7a

Where the accommodation is not ‘owned’ by the sponsor (in the sense that they are not the
head of the household but, for example, are living with their parents or are living alongside
other tenants in a house in multiple occupation), the Rules require there to be adequate
accommodation which the sponsor and any partner and dependants will occupy for their
exclusive use. This need not be a separate house or self-contained flat but, where it is as little
as one bedroom of their own, enquiries should be made about the number of rooms in the
property, the number of occupants and whether this is only intended to be a short-term
arrangement.

Your credibility will determine whether "enquiries are made" and this, as I said in my original reply, will be dependent upon the initial evidence you provide. If the deeds detail two bedrooms and a living room, it will be fine as long the ECO believes nobody else lives there.

One thing I will say with certainty is do not expect a decision within 11 days lol Have you read any of the timeline threads on here!